Flight Club
UX/UI Design
Problem
With a plethora of options, unfamiliar terminology, and the pressure to make a quality purchase, many people struggle to select a wine. How might we create a service for people who are intimidated by the prospect of choosing a bottle?
Solution
Flight Club is a wine subscription service that aims to ease the paradox of choice often found in wine purchasing. Flight Club is a community-focused, fun brand experience for an often under-served wine audience. The first rule of Flight Club: No Snobbery.
type
Student project
role
UI/UX Design, Research, App Design
time
9 weeks
tools
Figma, WebFlow, Photoshop, Illustrator, Miro
core principals
Our goal at Flight Club is to make wine accessible and fun. Our voice is honest and amiable.
No Snobbery, No Meaningless Terms, No Judgement, Always Local, Always Fun, Always Accessible
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Rating App Flow - Click to Expand
Process
Process Overview
Research
We conducted three interviews, a survey, completed market research, and conducted guerilla research by observing wine purchasing behavior in order to pull qualitative data. Our market research included researching wine consumption, the wine market, and a competitor analysis of other wine subscription services.
"
I once went on a Wine Club meeting with a friend. We were drawing with wine. It was awesome.
"
[It’s] Overwhelming because there is so much selection even within my narrower purchasing categories that a choice just has to be made based on intuition or packaging.
"
It feels weird to have wine delivered, I think because of our outdated liquor laws. It just doesn’t feel legal - it feels sketchy.
Interview Quotes
Research
key findings
user insight
While fewer people these days consider themselves a “wine snob,” many people are still intimated by the idea that others are experts.
Application
By building a community aspect into our brand approach, users are able to interact with one another and we take away the sense that everyone interested in wine is an expert.
user insight
Technical wine terms (varieties, regions, etc.) are not easily understood by many users.
Application
We limit the terms required to purchase wine. When a term appears in the app or website, we provide a description as a means to learn.
user insight
Many people prioritize price when purchasing wine (often over variety or brand recognition).
Application
By being transparent about pricing across the board, there are no surprises. Users understand what they are paying.
user insight
Users are overwhelmed by the number of choices available to them and have a hard time narrowing down the selection.
Application
By providing recommended wines based on the user's review, we take away the paradox of choice.
Where survey respondents purchase wine:
Audience
Flight Club’s primary audience are Seattleites between 30-45 years old who have recently begun to develop an interest in wine. They enjoying drinking, but are overwhelmed by having so many choices in the wine category. While they have an interest in learning more about wine, they don’t want to be tripped up by hard-to-pronounce wine terms or feel that they are being judged for the wines they like.
Our secondary audience consists of people 50-70 years old who have a deeper understanding of wine, but do not fit traditional wine snob stereotype. They heavily emphasize the value of a bottle.
Our audience is not frequently targeted by current wine subscription services.
solution
potential solutions
We considered a few different solutions to solve the problem for the user.
We chose solution one. While it can be a challenging sell for some consumers, it is a less costly option and we know our audience cares about price. The customer's personal preferences are taken into account without providing too many options. With a subscription service, we can still engage the user with a fun voice, a sense of community, and teach them more about wine while they enjoy curated bottles.
solution
By using a subscription service model and by focusing on local wines, we can create a brand from which purchasing wine feels easy, fun, and does not overwhelm the customer. Balancing a bold aesthetic with a transparent and honest voice, we strive to create a community-focused, engaging brand. Our simplified, personalized approach lets our customers explore the world of wine without the baggage that comes with selection.
Our solution highlighted:
A Transparent Voice
By clearly explaining the subscription process, always being transparent with prices, and ensuring the user knows what to expect, we helped grow trust.
Bold and Energetic Branding
While simplifying the energetic brand in the app but still keeping the tone, I created a more user-friendly experience.
A Strong Sense of Community
By encouraging users to connect, we helped eliminate fears of pretension and exclusivity.
No Complicated Terms
Narrowed choices
Local Wines
solution
customer touchpoints
We developed a user journey map and solidified the steps of our unboxing experience to help us fully understand the user touchpoints.
Customer Journey
Wine Box - Unboxing Steps
solution
branding
Flight Club is fun, unpretentious, and targeted at an audience that is under-served in the current wine subscription market. Flight Club’s branding appeals to our audience through humor and by giving an edgier voice to wine.
Brand Moodboard
solution
design system
Our design system allowed us to create a cohesive visual language across multiple platforms.
Design System Example
solution
app overview
The companion app for Flight Club is the main touch-point after the user purchases the subscription. It is designed to help further both user and business goals.
After I established the app user flows, I built a wireframe, created a prototype, and conducted user testing.
Potential App User Flows - We focused on Flow 1
solution
App Wireframes
A low-fidelity, annotated wireframe helped determine the requirements for each screen.
App Wireframe
solution
app screens
Our main task flow for the app provides a space for users to rate the wines when they receive them. Rating the wine is not only fun, it also allows the company to develop a deeper understanding of each customer’s wine preferences and provide a more personalized service as the user continues to review.
Rating Screen
Simple Questions:
By keeping the questions straightforward, the user can quickly accomplish the task of rating, avoiding a large ask on their time.
progression:
With a prominent progress bar, the user can see that they are getting closer to the end goal. This encourages them to fully complete their task.
Branding:
By simplifying the branding in the app, we ensured usability and clarity. The Flight Club brand comes out in the use of color, the playful photography, and the conversational tone in the copywriting.
increased confidence:
While keeping our terminology simple, we encourage our users to learn by providing explanations at various points in the app, leading to more confidence when they purchase the next bottle of wine.
business goals:
We encourage our users to purchase additional bottles of wine as add-ons, increasing sales for the company.
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More Information Button
solution
Tested USER flow
I prototyped a few user flows for the wine subscription app in Figma and conducted user testing to ensure usability.
Rating App Flow - Click to Expand
Reflections
final thoughts
While staying true to the brand and the users, we developed a visual language that is different than most approaches in the wine subscription world. By combining the brand energy with a usable and clean design, I created an interface that feels approachable and fun yet still operates in a familiar way.
Next steps
I would prototype other task flows that would exist in the app in order to create an even more fleshed out design.
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