Kini Koffee
UX research
ROLE
UX Researcher
TIMELINE
Jun 2021 - Sep 2021
TEAM
Edward de Leon, Stella Seki, Chynna Tumalad, Deepika Vuppala
FINAL WEBSITE
Overview
Kini Koffee is a women-owned coffee shop based in San Diego featuring unique and creative drinks. They hope to build a community of women who work unconventional jobs while also creating a fun place for people to grab a quick drink on their way to the nearby beaches.
Impact
I spearheaded the research and interview process, including the end-to-end process involving recruitment and data analysis and synthesis. Collaborating with the UI/UX and Visual Designers, I helped pull key insights from our research and interviews to help inform our design decisions. The work showcased below are my primary contributions.
Identifying problem statements
To address both client and customer needs, we created 2 problem statements that encompassed our goals for this project while designing Kini Koffee’s website and expanding their brand:
- Kini Koffee needs a place where all their information is centralized so customers can easily learn more about the business, drinks, and prices.
- People who are looking for coffee shops in the Del Mar area need access to attractive, unique features about Kini Koffee to encourage them to go over there over any other coffee shop in the area.
Understanding our users
Kini Koffee wants to be portrayed as a “fun, beachy, creative” coffee shop for people ~16-20 years old. To kickoff our discovery research, I:
+ Surveyed 60 users within the target demographic on their outlook on small coffee shops.
+ Interviewed 5 customers and 1 employee at Kini Koffee’s Del Mar location.
KEY INSIGHTS
- Coffee shop aficionados value the scenery and ambiance of a coffee shop just as much as the taste of their coffee.
→ 88.3% of our survey participants responded that they care about the scenery and ambiance of a coffee shop.
→ 4/5 customers interviewed mentioned how they appreciated the atmosphere they experience from Kini Koffee
“ One - if the drinks are good and the service - drinks and service would be primary, and then the atmosphere, like this [points at ocean] definitely is the icing on the cake.
- Most users discover coffee shops on Google Maps and Yelp rather than on websites and social media.
→ 38.3% of people usually find coffee shops through Google Maps & 36.7% usually find coffee shops through Yelp.
channels
- Customers of Kini Koffee love the taste of the shop’s specialty drinks.
→ All 5 interviewees enjoyed one of Kini Koffee’s featured, specialty drinks.
→ 73.3% of people mentioned that the taste of the coffee is one of the top three things they value most about small coffee shops.
What do you value about small coffee shops? Select your top 3 reasons.
60 responses
Looks of the coffee
11 (18.3%)
How nice it is to take pictures
4 (6.7%)
Taste of the coffee
44 (73.3%)
Scenery/ambiance
53 (88.3%)
Ability to work/study
46 (76.7%)
Accessibility of the store
7 (11.7%)
“Story” behind the store
2 (3.3%)
Location of the store
13 (21.7%)
Determining website features
We had 7 participants do a feature sorting exercise to determine what to prioritize when designing Kini Koffee’s website. Given a scenario, we had them sort features usually seen in a coffee shop website into 4 categories.
Scenario: Your friend told you about a new coffee shop and you’re trying to figure out if it’s worth going to when you’re in the area.
Things I want to know right away
Things that are nice to know, but not my priority
Things I would disregard even if I saw it
Things I wouldn't go to a store's website for (I would search for this somewhere else)
KEY INSIGHTS
+ 6/7 participants said item prices were things they want to know right away.
+ 4/7 participants said pictures of the location would be nice to have.
+ People usually find out about coffee shops on Google Maps and Yelp rather than websites or social media.
From our survey earlier, we found that:
+ 31.7% would try to find the menu FIRST
+ 30% would try to find the store location FIRST
+ 32% would try to find pictures SECOND
Alongside the logistical information, we needed to show off Kini Koffee’s strongest points--their scenery, location, and unique drinks--so people are motivated to visit and spend time there.
A/B testing
I conducted A/B Testing with 3 participants after the UX Designers finished developing 2 wireframes. Each user engaged with both wireframes given a task list and answered prototype-specific questions.
KEY INSIGHTS
- Social media isn’t a priority, but adds legitimacy to the site and business.
- Users had difficulty navigating back to the homepage.
- Users don’t trust curated or selected content, which is why they gravitate towards Google Maps or Yelp as they are more likely to showcase honest customer feedback and reviews.
- Career opportunities needed to be more discoverable.
Analysis and synthesis
I grouped each user’s feedback into suggestions, expectations, likes, and confusions, to help us determine features we want to implement into the final prototype.
PROTOTYPE A KEY INSIGHTS
+ Menu is more visually exciting and engaging with pictures of the drinks, but it needs to show drink prices.
+ Too much blank space and images detracts from the user experience (too much scrolling).
+ Using smaller text to display important information may dissuade users from reading through it.
+ Displaying speciality drinks in the homepage is engaging and fun.
+ Menu and online ordering are showcased well.
PROTOTYPE B KEY INSIGHTS
+ Menu is better for finding prices and drink information, and also shows Kini Koffee’s specialization in drinks.
+ Prototype B has more clarity, making it easier to access information, such as directions and locations.
+ Menu and online ordering are showcased well.
Takeaways
+ Working with an actual stakeholder (as opposed to school projects) highlights the necessity of effective communication and compromise.
+ UX research is fundamental to the design process. Analysis and synthesis of your research guides all design decisions and prevents teams from designing for the “wrong” problem.