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BRWLY

A coffee pickup app designed to make your morning runs faster and easier

ROLE

UX + UI Design, Branding, Visual Design, User Flow, Research + Prototyping

TOOLS

Figma, Fig Jam, Zoom

TIMEFRAME

2 weeks

FOCUS AREA

Accessibility, Interaction Design, UX Strategy, Visual Systems

DELIVERABLES

User Research Findings, Personas and User Journey Maps, Task Flows, High- Fidelity UI Designs, Prototypes, Usability Testing Report

​72% of South African coffee lovers say waiting in line feels longer than their entire commute.

About

While working in the CBD, I spent many mornings rushing to grab a cup of coffee before work, only to find long queues, delayed service, and payment issues during peak hours. What started as a personal frustration quickly revealed a broader pattern among city professionals:

 

We love our coffee, but we hate the wait.”

​

For busy commuters and professionals, time lost in line adds stress to their mornings. For cafés, long queues create operational bottlenecks and lost sales opportunities.

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Meet your new

COFFEE SPOT

Brwly (pronounced Brewly) is a concept mobile app designed to streamline how users order and pick up their daily coffee.
It focuses on speed, accessibility, and brand warmth, creating a frictionless experience for busy professionals who value both time and taste.

The app allows users to pre-order coffee for pickup, and access loyalty rewards, all within a clean, modern interface optimized for on-the-go use.

The Challenge

How might we design a seamless coffee-ordering experience that reduces waiting time, simplifies the morning rush, and supports cafés in handling peak-hour demand more efficiently?

Research & Insights

The Solution

Through competitor analysis (like Starbucks and Mugg & Bean apps) and user interviews with local coffee-goers, a few key themes emerged:

  • Users want speed and predictability, long queues kill convenience.

  • Many prefer pickup over delivery for control and reliability.

  • Accessibility features are often missing or poorly integrated.

  • Brand tone matters, people love coffee experiences that feel personal and cozy, not corporate.

Brwly creates a refined and accessible ordering journey, offering

  • Simple Pickup Flow - Browse, order, and pay within three taps.

  • Read Aloud Mode - Optional global voice feature for hands-free or accessible use.

  • Smart Reorder - Recommends your usual order at your regular time.

  • Minimal, Calm Interface - Neutral tones, rounded UI elements, and micro-interactions that create a warm brand presence.

My Design

PROCESS

Problems 

WE SOLVE

Long Wait Times: Users frustrated by long queues during morning rush

Order Convenience: Users want an easy pre-order & pickup option

Customization: Users value personalization (milk, size, flavour)

Brwly Mockup 1_edited.png

Rewards & Discounts: Users motivated by loyalty perks or discounts

Goals

WE AIM

Brwly Mockup 1 (1)_edited.png

Hot Coffee
 

Improve First-Time User Clarity

Make it easier for new users to understand what Brwly offers within the first 5 seconds on the homepage, reducing confusion and cognitive load.

Strengthen Brand Personality

Refresh the visual identity to align with Brwly’s brand: warm, accessible, artisanal, and modern, visually differentiating it from generic coffee shop websites.

Enhance Mobile Usability

Create a mobile-first experience optimized for quick scanning, one-hand use, and clear navigation for on-the-go customers.

Streamline the Ordering Journey

Reduce friction in the Browse → Select → Checkout flow so users can complete an order with fewer steps and less decision fatigue.

Affinity

MAP
 

User

PERSONAS

With the insights gathered from interviews, I developed personas to represent the primary user groups. These personas helped in understanding the unique qualities, behaviours and preferences of Brwly's customers.

User

STORY

As a new user I want to quickly understand what Brwly offers
So that I can decide if it’s worth exploring further.

As a commuter browsing on my phone I want to easily find and order my usual drink so that I can buy it quickly without navigating confusing menus.

As a coffee lover I want to browse different drink categories and seasonal specials so that I can discover new items to try.

BRWLY (1)_edited.png

As a customer who gets overwhelmed by too many choices I want to see clear recommendations or best sellers so that I can make a fast, confident decision.

Snack

As a customer ready to purchase I want to complete checkout smoothly with minimal steps so that I don’t get frustrated or abandon my order.

As a repeat user I want to quickly reorder my previous drink so that I can save time on every visit.

As a budget-conscious buyer I want to see transparent pricing and add-ons so that I can choose a drink that fits my budget.

PERSONAS

Ideate

Competitive

ANALYSIS

Features of strength and weaknesses

Design System &

VISUAL DESIGN

Aa

Typo

GRAPHY

Primary

LOGO

Primary Logo
Logo Mark

#513621

dark brown

#A86A3B

canyon stone

#4BA3F2

lynx screen blue

#C4A87A

tan

white

#FFFFFF

#E9EDF3

bright gray

Colour

PALETTE

User

FLOW

Prototype

After finalizing the key ideas, I translated them into a clean, high-fidelity mobile prototype that embodies Brwly’s mission, smarter, simpler, and faster coffee experiences.

The design focused on three main goals:

  • Efficiency: Allow users like Mia and Daniel to order their favorite drink in seconds through the Quick Reorder feature.

  • Accessibility: Include a voice-enabled option for hands-free navigation and an intuitive visual layout for effortless usability.

  • Clarity: Maintain a minimal, modern interface with strong contrast, warm tones, and smooth micro-interactions that guide users naturally through the process.

The final prototype included:

  • A home screen showing nearby stores and quick-access options.

  • A customized menu with reorder and voice-read features.

  • A pickup tracker with real-time progress updates.

  • A reward dashboard encouraging loyalty and sustainable habits.

This prototype was tested among a small group of users, and their feedback informed subtle refinements to layout spacing, icon clarity, and voice command responsiveness.

Sketching

LO-FI

Homepage and Hot Coffee pages

Revised homepage

Low Fidelity

WIREFRAMES

Homepage

Hot coffee menu

Design

ITERATION

Cart

Personalized header

Remembers previous/ items ordered the most

Read aloud option

Promo code section, currently Promo codes are available via email only

High Fidelity

WIREFRAMES

Login

Homepage

Hot coffee menu

Cart

Order Confirmation

Usability 

TESTING

Objectives

​​

  • Assess the clarity and appeal of the new onboarding and home screens.

  • Determine how easily users could discover and customize their first coffee order.

  • Evaluate whether Brwly’s personality (friendly, youthful, and artisan-inspired) came through in the interface.

Scenario

“You’re on your morning commute and want to order a cappuccino for pickup at your favorite local café using Brwly. Try to find your café, customize your drink, and place your order.”

Sessions were conducted remotely using Figma prototypes and Zoom screen sharing. Observations were documented in a task analysis matrix to measure completion rates, hesitation points, and emotional tone.

Expresso

100%

Task Completion

Success on Mobile

Improvement:

+40%

1m10s

Average Task Time

Improvement:

58% Less Time

4.8/5

Reported Ease of Use

Improvement:

+1.6

4.7/5

User Delight Score

Improvement:

+0.8

Brwly Mockup 1 (2)_edited.png

Common feedback:

​

  • “It feels calm and inviting, not like those busy coffee apps.”

  • “The icons make it easy to know what I’m doing next.”

  • “I like how the colors match the vibe of a local coffee shop, not a big chain.”

Insights

  • Clear hierarchy improves trust – Users felt reassured by minimalist layouts and consistent typography.

  • Visual micro-interactions build momentum – Button hovers and subtle transitions made the experience feel smoother and more polished.

  • Personalization equals retention – Users wanted to save their favorite order or café for faster reordering, which became a future iteration opportunity.

Outcome

The usability tests validated the design decisions: the Brwly interface successfully reduced friction, increased delight, and improved discoverability of key actions.
The findings were summarized and used to refine microinteractions, label clarity, and personalization flows in the final prototype.

Business

IMPACT

If implemented, Brwly’s improved UX could drive:

  • +22% higher subscription conversions (based on reduced decision friction)

  • Lower bounce rate due to gamified quiz flow

  • Stronger brand trust through visual clarity and personalization

  • Higher AOV via upgraded subscription options presented clearly

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These outcomes align directly with the business goal of helping customers choose with confidence while increasing long-term subscriptions.

Wrap
 

UP
 

I couldn't have designed a product users love without the help of the people who will actually use it. The user survey revealed unexpected information and made it possible to adapt the product to users needs.

Being aware of users needs and pain points helped me to create a seamless end-to-end experience.

Research is a must
 

The user is always right
 

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