sipn is a social media platform designed for drink enthusiasts, fostering a vibrant community where users can discover, rate, and engage with beverage establishments. Unlike Yelp, sipn is tailored exclusively for drink lovers, offering specific rating criteria such as shop aesthetics, seating availability, and drink quality. The platform will first target the coffee and matcha industry in Southern California before expanding into broader beverage categories. sipn aims to create a niche, data-driven ecosystem that benefits both consumers and businesses.

My Role & Process

My role in this project was to design and conduct research on the existing Yelp and Google apps to analyze the services they provide to consumers. As part of this process, I worked on UX strategies, created personas, competitive analysis, and flowcharts. I also conducted user testing based on wireframes and ultimately designed a mobile app as the final deliverable for the project.


Project Detail

CSULB Sunstone Innovation Challenge (Click here for link)

February - April 22, 2025

Team

Jieun Ok

Khang Ho

Kent Stark

Bailey Delker

Aaron Chen

Role

UX Designer

Founder

Co-founder/Developer

CTO/Developer

Finance

Duration

Nearly 3 months

Project Overview

Business Description

Vision

To become the go-to platform for drink enthusiasts worldwide, providing a tailored and engaging experience that enhances the discovery and appreciation of beverage establishments.

Mission

To build a community-driven social media app where users can share their experiences, discover new drinks, and foster relationships based on their passion for beverages.

Objectives

  • Develop and launch the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) by March 27, 2025.

  • Establish partnerships with local coffee shops and matcha establishments.

  • Achieve a user base of 10,000 active users within the first six months.

  • Integrate third-party APIs for location tracking and crowd estimation.

  • Onboard businesses with structured partnership programs.

Problem, solution & Value Proposition

Problem Definition

Consumers seeking high-quality drink experiences often rely on generic review platforms like Yelp or Google, which lack drink-specific insights such as flavor profiles, preparation methods, and shop ambiance. This results in an inefficient discovery process and diluted recommendations that do not cater to beverage enthusiasts.

Solution

sipn provides a specialized platform where drink lovers can access detailed reviews, personalized recommendations, and social interactions based on shared interests. AI-driven suggestions and real-time crowd-tracking enhance the user experience, while businesses benefit from direct customer engagement and visibility.

Value Proposition

Product-Market Fit

Technology & Development

Competitive Analysis

Beli and Yelp are both platforms that assist users in discovering and reviewing restaurants, with Beli emphasizing personalized suggestions and curated user lists, while Yelp provides a wider array of features and has a larger, more diverse community of users.

Currently, both restaurant platform apps primarily focus on broader businesses with sharing, rankings, and reviews. Users are frustrated by unclear business information and multiple searches/categories, which makes it difficult to track real-time business status and leads to lower engagement with the app.

Survey & Results

Our team conducted a Google Form survey with 62 participants to gather responses and gain deeper insights into the problem. We aimed to ask key questions that would help us define the essential features of our app and identify ways we could differentiate ourselves from existing platforms like Yelp and Beli in the market.

UX insights

Through surveys, interviews, and reviews of the current apps, it is clear that the platform does not fully satisfy users in terms of personalized recommendations or real-time crowd tracking for local businesses. Based on the research and collected data from the survey, I have identified three main UX insights to address the problems that users are experiencing.

01. Social interactions based on shared interests

By interacting with users who share common interests, users can discover new coffee shop places that they may not have found on their own.

UI Roadmap

02. Personalized recommendations

Personalized suggestions based on preferences and behavior encourage users to engage with the app while searching for the places they want to visit.

I have created two types of user personas based on different age groups, painpoints and individual needs/goals.

By mapping out key UI goals and features, teams can track progress and identify if adjustments are needed. It enables continuous iteration to improve the interface based on user feedback or technical challenges.

03. Real-time seat availability

Help prevent overcrowding by informing customers when the coffee shop is at capacity, encouraging them to visit at a different time or use takeout services.

Personas

By understanding the users' perspectives throughout the process, our team was able to design an app that is solely focused on the user experience, ultimately building a mobile app that meets their needs.

Information Architecture

I created an IA to organize information, making it intuitive and easy to navigate, with a focus on content and user interaction.

User Experience and Social Platform Project

Designed for Drink Enthusiasts

Sipn Mobile App

Next
Next

Experimental UI design for Tesla