Explore, Collect, Share - Whiskey Room
OVERVIEW
Whiskey Room is currently in the early design phase but hopefully one day soon will become an innovative mobile app for whiskey enthusiasts to digitally manage and expand their collections. Users will be able to scan and catalog bottles, track market values, and share their collections with others. The app will feature multiple shelves for different whiskey types (Bourbon, Rye, Scotch, etc.), an AI chatbot to answer questions and offer insights, and a marketplace for buying, selling, and discovering rare bottles. Additionally, a dedicated Knowledge section will provide both beginners and experts with valuable content on whiskey, tasting techniques, and collecting. By integrating organization, social engagement, and market insights, Whiskey Room will deliver a seamless and comprehensive whiskey experience.
Product Design
Visual Systems
Role: Sr. UX Designer
Company: Catalyst Design
THE CHALLENGE
As a new product in a competitive market, the challenge is to:
Validate the Idea: Determine whether whiskey enthusiasts would be interested in an app that combines collection management, market insights, social sharing, AI-driven recommendations, and a learning component.
Feature Prioritization: Given the diverse needs of whiskey collectors, investors, and casual drinkers, it is critical to identify the key features that would resonate most and provide real value.
OBJECTIVE
User Research: Conduct user interviews to understand what whiskey enthusiasts want in a mobile app and whether Whiskey Room would meet their needs.
Feature Development: Identify which features—like multiple shelves, market value tracking, and an AI chatbot—would be most beneficial for the different personas.
Market Differentiation: Position Whiskey Room as a unique solution that blends both functionality and community for whiskey lovers of all types.
PROCESS
User Interviews: Hope to conduct more detailed interviews with potential users across three key personas: Bourbon Collectors, Whiskey Investors, and Social Sippers.
Feature Exploration: Based on feedback, we explored different features including multiple shelves for different types of whiskey, a marketplace for buying and selling bottles, and a social component to connect with others.
Competitive Analysis: We analyzed existing whiskey apps and identified gaps in the market, especially around community engagement, personalized recommendations, and educational content.
Prototyping: Developed wireframes and prototypes of the app, incorporating the AI chatbot for whiskey recommendations and opinions, along with a “Knowledge” section to support user learning.
Feedback Loop: After gathering feedback from potential users on the prototype, we refined the design and prioritized features that offered the most value.
THE SOLUTION
Whiskey Room offers a comprehensive set of features based on user feedback:
Multiple Shelves: Users can create different shelves for categories like Bourbon, Rye, Scotch, or even Foreign Whiskey, allowing for better organization and tracking of their collection.
AI Chatbot: The app includes an AI-driven chatbot that answers user questions, offers whiskey recommendations, and provides tasting opinions, giving users a more interactive experience.
Social Sharing: Users will be able to share their shelves with the future Whiskey Room community, allowing for social engagement, feedback, and the discovery of new bottles.
Marketplace: The app will also provide a marketplace where users can sell their bottles and find rare, hard-to-get whiskeys.
Rating & Reviews: Users will be able to rate and review bottles, share tasting notes, and view other community members’ ratings.
Knowledge Section: The knowledge section will provide a variety of educational content for whiskey enthusiasts at all levels, from beginner tips on tasting and collecting to expert-level insights on rare bottles and trends in the whiskey market.
OUTCOME & IMPACT
User Interest: Our user interviews confirmed strong interest in the app’s concept, with over 80% of participants expressing excitement about the idea of having an organized, digital whiskey collection with social, educational, and marketplace features.
Feature Validation: We successfully validated the most requested features—multiple shelves, AI recommendations, and a marketplace—which will form the core of the app’s user experience.
Community Engagement: Whiskey Room is well-positioned to create a unique, engaged community of whiskey lovers who can share their collections, exchange recommendations, and track their whiskey investments.
Market Differentiation: By combining whiskey collection management with social sharing, real-time value tracking, AI-driven guidance, and a comprehensive educational knowledge section for both beginners and experts, Whiskey Room will stand apart as a highly interactive, user-centric, and innovative app in the whiskey enthusiast space.
