Simplifying Tea Exploration for a Growing Community of Wellness-Minded Drinkers with Kettle

Project Details
The Kettle app empowers wellness-minded users to integrate tea into their daily routines by offering personalized recommendations, educational insights on tea varieties and their benefits, and guidance on proper brewing techniques. The goal is to make tea exploration an accessible and enriching part of users’ lifestyles.

Roles and Responsibilities
As the lead designer, I focused on understanding user needs through research, developing a concept that aligned with their wellness goals, and refining the app’s interface to create an engaging and intuitive experience that supports tea exploration and routine building.

Duration
5 Months

Role
Product Designer, UI/UX Designer

Tools
Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Miro

Demo/Prototype
Live Prototype

Did you know that tea is the second most consumed beverage worldwide, second only to water? 😮

However, the specialty tea segment, which includes artisan teas, represents only about 4% of all tea sales.

“87 % of Millenials are drinking tea."
 


– Tea Association of America

While there has been a significant rise 
in the popularity of artisan teas in the United States, the above statistic seems to suggest that users aren’t connecting to the market as easily as they could be.


Listening to the Tea Community

Understanding User Preference 


Participants were selected based on their interest in health and wellness, as well as their tea consumption habits. Through in-depth interviews, I explored their tea-drinking behaviors and preferences, uncovering key insights into how they choose, prepare, and enjoy tea as part of their wellness routines.

Key Questions:


What is your experience with drinking tea, and how does it fit into your daily routine?

Can you describe the steps you take when preparing tea?



Tell me about the last time you purchased tea. How did it feel to go through those steps?

Uncovering Patterns in Tea-Drinking Habits

Themes and Insights
For Kettle, I analyzed patterns and behaviors among tea enthusiasts using affinity mapping, empathy maps, and user personas. This process revealed key themes, such as the importance of personalization, the desire for education on tea varieties and benefits, and the need for simple brewing guidance. These insights informed the app’s welcoming and calming design approach, aimed at making tea exploration feel accessible, engaging, and enriching for users.

Empathy Maps 

Visual empathy maps highlighted the emotional and practical needs of tea enthusiasts, offering a deeper understanding of their motivations, challenges, and preferences. These insights helped shape the app’s features and design choices to better align with users’ wellness journeys.

Who Is a Wellness-Minded Tea Enthusiast?

Detailed Personas
I introduced two key personas: Mindful Michael, who seeks tea as a mindful ritual for wellness, and Casual Tea Christy, who enjoys tea casually but is interested in exploring its benefits further. These personas represent the app’s target users and provided valuable insight into designing features that cater to their unique tea-drinking habits and motivations.

Backgrounds, Goals, Pain Points 

Mindful Michael views tea as a pathway to health and mindfulness, integrating it into his daily rituals for its calming benefits. Casual Tea Christy, on the other hand, enjoys tea in social settings but is curious about exploring its health properties further. Understanding their motivations and challenges helped tailor the app’s features to meet their distinct needs.

Brewing Up Initial Concepts

Sketching Out the Experience 

In the early stages of Kettle’s design, I sketched out concepts to visualize the app’s core functionality. These initial drawings helped uncover potential usability challenges and highlighted opportunities for enhancing the user experience, setting the foundation for a more refined design.

Focusing on Core Features 

To create a meaningful and efficient experience for users, the MVP focused on essential features designed to boost engagement and satisfaction. By prioritizing components that align with the wellness and convenience needs of tea enthusiasts, the app ensures a personalized and seamless journey from the very start.

Personalized Tea Recommendations & Interactive Quiz:
Offering tailored tea suggestions through an engaging quiz that matches users with the best teas for their needs and preferences.

Brew Timer:
A precise timer to guide users through the brewing process, ensuring the perfect cup every time.

Customizable Reminders:
Personalized notifications to help users integrate tea rituals into their daily routines and maintain consistency.

Mapping the User Journey

I mapped out the step-by-step interactions users would take to engage with key features, focusing on creating a smooth and intuitive experience. This approach helped pinpoint areas where users might encounter friction, allowing for optimizations that promote effortless navigation and encourage consistent use.

Structuring the Experience

To create a clear and intuitive flow, a basic site map was developed to establish a logical information architecture. This visual representation of the user journey ensured that essential MVP features were strategically positioned, making them easy for users to find and engage with effortlessly.

Steeped in Choice:
Visualizing Kettle’s Interface

Crafting Kettle’s Wireflows 

Creating wireflows for Kettle was crucial in shaping how users interact with key features, such as the personalized recommendation system. By visualizing these interactions, the approach ensured smooth navigation and enhanced usability, allowing users to seamlessly explore and enjoy their tea journey. 


Laying the Foundation for Kettle 

Wireframing provided a blueprint for visualizing Kettle’s layout and core features, like the brew timer and customizable reminders. This step was essential in crafting an interface that offers clear, personalized options for users, setting the stage for further refinement and ensuring that the design effectively supports user preferences during testing

*Edge Cases
Incorporating edge cases during the wireframing process helped in identifying and designing error or empty states, ensuring the app handles unexpected user scenarios gracefully.
 


Infusing Identity:
Kettle’s Branding Guidelines

Style Guide
 

Kettle’s style guide focused on creating an approachable and inviting visual identity. Drawing from user insights, I selected a warm, friendly color palette and easy-to-read typography that aligns with the wellness focus of the app. The design was crafted to feel accessible and welcoming, making it enjoyable for both seasoned tea enthusiasts and those new to exploring artisan teas.

Kettle aims to transform tea drinking into a rejuvenating daily ritual, enhancing wellness, mood, and sleep through the mindful enjoyment of tea. We provide an intuitive platform for discovering, learning, and engaging with the vast world of teas, empowering users to integrate this ancient practice into modern wellness routines.

– “Kettle” (Mobile Tea App)

Themes: 

Nurturing, Authentic, Enlightening, Approachable, Holistic

Primary Palette: 

Alabaster, Chestnut, Powder Blue

Crafting the Final Design:
High-Fidelity Screens

It’s Tea Time!
Evaluating our Design Through User Testing

User Insights
Two rounds of testing were conducted with daily and weekly tea drinkers to explore their interactions with the Kettle app. By observing how users navigated the interface, valuable insights emerged regarding their preferences and any obstacles they faced. This feedback illuminated the importance of clarity and ease of use in enhancing the overall experience. Ultimately, these insights guided improvements that ensure the app aligns with the needs of tea enthusiasts, making their journey into the world of tea more enjoyable and fulfilling.

Key Discoveries
The usability testing revealed key issues, such as confusing navigation and inconsistent design elements. These findings highlighted specific areas for improvement, guiding the next steps in refining the app to ensure a more cohesive experience for users.

Transforming Insights into Action

Feedback from the initial round of testing with five participants revealed specific issues that contributed to friction in the app’s usability. This hands-on opportunity was invaluable, as it helped refine my understanding of user interactions and clarified areas for improvement. With these insights, I was able to make meaningful adjustments to enhance how users engage with the interface in their daily interactions. Here are some examples:

Homepage Redesign
This redesign focused on streamlining navigation and enhancing intuitive controls, ensuring users can easily access essential features and enjoy a more seamless interaction with the app.

Enhanced Empty State for Brew Timer

The empty state in the Brew Timer was improved to provide clearer guidance when selecting a tea, ensuring users feel supported and informed throughout the brewing process.

Updated Iconography and Text in Reminders

The iconography and text in the Reminders section were updated to enhance cognitive clarity and accessibility, making it easier for users to understand and engage with their tea-brewing schedule.

The Last Sip: Reflections on Kettle

Research Insights

The research phase was a revealing journey that illuminated the diverse habits of tea drinkers and the challenges they encounter. One key lesson was the significance of understanding user motivations and resistance points. This phase underscored the need for accessibility and education to promote a healthier, tea-centric lifestyle, particularly for those making the transition from coffee. By recognizing these factors, we can better support users in their journey to incorporate tea into their daily routines.

Design Realizations

Designing Kettle reinforced the importance of simplicity in user interface design. Striking a balance between aesthetic appeal and functionality proved crucial for creating an effective user experience. We discovered that intuitive navigation not only enhances user engagement but also increases satisfaction. This phase underscored the principle that great design should feel invisible; users should feel naturally guided through the app without being hindered by the interface.

User Testing Outcomes

User testing proved to be invaluable, uncovering both anticipated and unexpected reactions to Kettle’s features. This experience reinforced the notion that real user feedback is crucial, often revealing issues and opportunities that even the most comprehensive hypothetical scenarios can overlook. It highlighted the significance of iterative design—continuously refining and evolving the app based on user insights to better align with their needs and preferences.

What I Learned 🍵

The journey of designing Kettle has been both enlightening and rewarding, reinforcing my belief in the power of user-centered design. Throughout this process, I learned that creating a successful app for wellness-minded users requires more than just functionality; it necessitates an understanding of their motivations, challenges, and aspirations. By actively engaging with users and incorporating their feedback, I was able to craft an experience that not only simplifies the tea-drinking process but also inspires a healthier lifestyle.

This project taught me the importance of balance—between aesthetic appeal and usability, as well as between guiding users and allowing them the freedom to explore. As I move forward, I carry with me the lessons learned from Kettle: the significance of empathy in design, the value of iterative refinement, and the transformative potential of tea as a daily ritual. I’m excited to apply these insights to future projects, continuously striving to create meaningful and enriching experiences for users.

Thank you for reading my case study! ☺️ Would you like to get in touch? 👉

kevinscottdavis.gw
@gmail.com

Kevin Scott Davis, Product Designer