reverie
Ux DesignProject
- Passion Project
- UX Bootcamp
tools
- Adobe XD
- Figma
- InDesign (pitch deck)
Roles
- UX Researcher
- UI Designer
- Interaction Designer
Deliverables
- 25 Screens
- LoFi Wireframes
- HiFi Wireframes
- Prototype
- Pitch Deck
Project Info
Challenge
Humans are busier and more stressed than ever before. As a result, mental health is becoming increasingly important in today’s day and age.
The trouble is finding the time for mindfulness. Everyone know’s we should — it’s just tough to get into the habit of setting aside time when we feel as though we don’t have any to begin with!
Solution
Tea drinkers need a way to find a mindful moment within a tea ritual because their lives are busy and they seek something beyond simply drinking tea — they’re looking for a tea experience.
UX Process
Revised problem statement
Originally, we thought the problem users had was one of measurement. Upon further research, we realized that brewing tea wasn’t exactly the problem. No one cared about what the tea particularly tasted like, it was more about what came along with sipping a cup of tea: comfort, relaxation, and mindfulness. The problem they were trying to solve when drinking the tea wasn’t about tea itself but rather, in ritual.
Test early, test often
While interviewing users and doing some initial testing, we found that the many were confused during the onboarding process.
At first, there were no obvious buttons; it was a swipe alone feature. We changed this feature to display a large “next” button on the lower half of the screen and a progress bar along the top.
This demonstrates one of many small changes we made after making a giant shift in problem statement. So, there are small details such as these, and large changes like the revised problem statement to be made while testing.
Balancing Criticism
I think one of the biggest challenges any designer faces is getting defensive as criticism is being hurled at us from seemingly every direction. From peers to mentors to executive stakeholders, it’s easy to feel like you’re protecting a human infant. But the thing is, it’s not a human infant and you’re not protecting it if you get defensive.
To reinforce existing strengths and rid of excess flaws and bias, we must aim to let projects get stripped down and built right back up. And it only gets more difficult as the project goes on and we get more attached. I remember receiving the first criticism I didn’t fully agree with. It was an email from a mentor and I had just received a ton of praise from other people. I was quite pleased with reverie and frankly, myself admittedly.
It took me three days to see the clarity of his advice. Sage as it was, I reacted with an email immediately. Regrettably, I sort of shucked off his suggestions and defended my decisions with arbitrary answers. Don’t get me wrong, there is a time and place to defend decisions based on data and qualitative information. But, this wasn’t it.
Since then, I’ve adopted a more serene approach to my process. Marcus Aurelius said, “Receive without pride, let go without attachment.” I keep this quote in mind at all points of the process. It’s important to stay impassive and objective rather than defensive in order to create the best product imaginable.
Final Takeaways
Iterative and continuous
Starting out, we assumed that users just needed to know the perfect temperature and steep times to brew the perfect cup of tea. After interviewing tea lovers and moderate tea drinkers alike, we found that rather than a scientifically perfect cup, users were looking for a comforting experience when reaching for a cup of tea.
Some learnings:
+ user testing can result in some mixed feedback; wait until all data is collected before making changes.
+ save copies of your iterations just in case.
+ testing wireframes earlier would have been more ideal.
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