2018 - 2021
Frecle
Art Direction, Identity, Website
UX Research & UX Designer
The Basic Barista’s was a project that began in 2018 at an international design convention that is now a fully fledged book with a few sequels on their way to roll out. Each book discusses different crucial aspects of the coffee service industry from making coffee, customer service and how a barista can make an exceptional living starting off with minimum wage.
The website is more than an e-commerce site that facilitates the sales of the book. It is also a virtual academy that serves its subscribers with an account who prefer to gain knowledge through the digital platfrom instead which may be more convenient.
After working in the coffee industry. a few years ago, I observed that many baristas I worked with in varying coffee shops had a vague understanding of the speciality coffee making practice.
Language was a primary barrier which boiled down to training, so this project was created to alleviate the pressure of miscommunication between baristas and trainers.
UX Research
Book Design
Landing Page
User Testing
Community Platform Design
In this stage, we had already identified an industry problem. We then further used surveys, interviews, forums and first hand work experience to define why the problem occurred perpetually.
We identified key issues within the coffee training industry by observing the field within our respective experiences and then asking questions on online platforms like Barista Facebook groups. After analysis of our findings, we plotted the key issues on a map and tuned the most pressing ones into personas. We also identified who in the industry was already fulfilling this need and analysed whether thee was an opportunity for improvement or change.
Finally, we decided that a training manual was the best way to get the book in the hands of lower income groups who couldn't afford formal training. We planned the information that was to go in the books and the best way to communicate the information.
These are the covers of the book series. Each book progressively covers a different aspect of service delivery in the coffee industry from making coffee, to basic customer service, making alternative brews and training for barista championships.
The Basic Baristas is primarily for two types of people: (1) people remote areas of the world who are looking to add a little coffee culture into their city or town. (2) students living in the city who want to get a part-time job as a coffee shop barista but are being turned away for lack of experience or training.
The logo of Basic Baristas is inspired of the tamp which is a device used to compress coffee beans.
We used two typefaces .
The colour palette used is inspired by Old English style. We were looking for colours that are royal, rich and dark to assimilate the style of a British Academy.
The layout and diagrams in the books were written for optimal use in a cafe or on long-distance bus/train rides. The information never overlays to the next page unless it can be conveyed on a double page spread.
The illustrations formed the main basis
By focusing on the quality of information instead of the quantity and approaching the design and UX with careful consideration of the end user, we were able to design a website that makes discovering and understanding the scientific community's opinion on relevant issues a straightforward and engaging experience.
