Tools I Used Illustrator, Adobe Xd, Invision
How Long It Took 6 months
Project Type School Project
My Role UX Designer
HYDRATE
Hydrate is a smart water bottle that is paired with an app which helps users keep track of their daily water intake. The full design document gives a detail of all the user research that was taken place to create a high fidelity prototype
Executive Summary Hydrate is a smart water bottle that is paired with an app which helps users keep track of their daily water intake. The bottle automatically logs how much water the user has had when it is used. Hydrate encourages its audience to drink more water and stay hydrated with its notification system, design and experience. The main job to be done is tracking water intake automatically and/or manually adding drinks the users has had. Another JTBD is having the user stay motivated to drink water throughout their experience using the app. In addition, a different JTBD is allowing the user to see information regarding their water intake and how it plays into different data forms such as activity level, how much money they’ve saved with using the bottle, how many bottles they’ve saved from being wasted, etc.
To further understand the perspective of the user and to design it according to the research methods, user personas were created to keep the design/experience focused. User interviews, user testing and the feature dot voting method were also utilized in the research process. In addition, the comparative analysis method was used to study similar products/applications and interviews with professionals in the field of experience design were also conducted for further enhancement and focus on the main tasks this app/water bottle is aiming to achieve.
The main conclusion that was made with these research methods was that motivation, key features, emotion and some form of customization play an important role in keeping the user drinking more water and using this app.
Background The most obvious task this product does is track hydration levels throughout the day. When using this app, people are able to log their hydration whether it be water or any other beverage. Users are able to manually record their water/beverage intake through the app, but also experience the luxury of having the Hydrate bottle automatically send data to the app regarding how many oz of water the user has drank. For example, if the user drinks 8 oz of water out of the Hydrate bottle, this information automatically is sent to the application where it is cataloged. The user can then see how much water they’ve had based on just using the Hydrate bottle. Both of these tasks offer the same solution for the same problem. Because of this the user is given options and has a higher chance of not only staying more hydrated but also using the application/bottle more.
The main goal of Hydrate is to have the user stay hydrated throughout the day with motivational factors. There are many reasons for creating this app, but the most important one which plays a core role in the experience is to create reasons for users to track their water intake by keeping them driven emotionally and physically (health wise). These motivators come in the form of many different features such as a checklist the user fills out which gives them custom notifications based on their needs/goals, data that drives the user to use the app as it takes their emotion and motivation into consideration, and badges/achievements that are received when the user either reaches their own goals or ones that are custom. The push to use this app and to use the Hydrate product also takes form in the physical world with the water bottle. The bottle comes with features that any person would find interesting enough to use on their own; it has a filtration system that is built in and keeps the temperature of the water (either hot or cold) stable for a longer time and is synced with the app so it automatically tracks the water intake. In addition, a notification system within the physical world takes form when the top ring of the bottle lights up to inform the user to stay hydrated and track their water intake. Both these components, the water bottle and the application can theoretically be used separate from one another, but when paired together form play off one another and becomes a pool of motivation that drives the user to keep using Hydrate.
What makes the Hydrate water bottle and app different from its competitors is that it allows for users to track their intake levels with a different approach. Hydrate gives them data about their hydration goals, usage and motivations. While many water logging apps only gives information regarding the users water intake, the Hydrate bottle gives other data that is based on the user's goals/motivators. Instead of just receiving information about how many cups of water the user has had in different time periods, the Hydrate app shows data to the user such as “how many bottles you’ve saved from being wasted”, “Cups of water you’ve had since a certain time period”, “How much money you’ve saved” and also gives them a pie chart of “What drinks they’ve had in the past (day/week/month/year).
The prime objective of using the hydrate bottle is simply trying to get users to stay hydrated and feel good about themselves. By drinking from this water bottle, not only are users keeping track of their water intake, they are receiving data that makes them feel healthy, active and happier. There’s a key difference in receiving data on just on water levels, and receiving data on how many dollars you’re saving, or how much waste you’ve saved by using a reusable bottle, instead of a plastic one. By getting this this information on a daily basis, not only are users motivated to keep drinking water with Hydrate, they are also motivated to live a healthy, happy and environmentally friendly lifestyle. Through this process we would want our users to single Hydrate out on the market as being a product that is true in it’s ability to excite and inspire users to feel great and apart of something bigger.
Users essentially have the ability to use the Hydrate bottle and access the app in any location and during any time of day. Because on the surface it’s an average water bottle and the application can be downloaded on any smartphone and tablet, users have benefit of accessing the Hydrate bottle and app whenever and wherever. The purpose of the Hydrate bottle is to keep users drinking water all day long, so its capability to be with them throughout the day and in any location is a key aspect in its design. One user could be taking it to school/work everyday, while another could take it on a trip when traveling.
While the Hydrate bottle is accessible in any location, the app is also downloadable on any iPhone or Android smartphone and Apple/Google/Windows tablet. When accessing the app users can manually add how many cups of water or beverage they’ve had throughout the day. have the option of integrating the IOS health app. The provides a precise measurement of how much water the user needs by taking into consideration activity level. Users also have the ability to change how they want their water/beverages to be measured(metric or US), and can update their custom profile and what time of day they want to be notified to hydrate. Users can also change their goals and motivations at any point. The Hydrate bottle also provides the user to give some input to the application. As users drink from the water bottle, the measurements of how many cups lost or gained is subtracted or added from the daily intake level automatically.
To make the experience of using the Hydrate bottle/app better for the user, various types of feedback is provided. To start off, the bottle itself uses advanced technology to determine how many ounces of water is in it at all times. For example, when the user fills the water bottle with 8 ounces of water, a small progress bar on the top portion of the bottle will fill up as well, so the user gets basic feedback. The user would then get a notification on their phone, saying that they have filled the Hydrate bottle with 8 ounces. In addition, the visual of the water bottle on the homescreen of the application would also fill up, showing the progress the user has made. Since there is a filtration system that is also included, the water bottle also has a green light that allows the user to see if the filter needs to be changed or not. When the light turns red on the bottle, the user is informed the filtration system needs to be switched. Throughout the day users are notified via app and bottle if they have reached their hydrated or not. If the user needs to drink water, the top ring of the bottle will light up to inform the user that they need to fill up. In addition the app would also notify the user if they needed to drink water at any point of day. However the notifications would vary based on the user's goals, motivations, and time of day. If the user checks off that they want to better skin and that they want to receive notification from 9AM to 9PM, then around 8PM the app would notify the user by saying, “You’ve got 2 more cups to go, drink up!” or “Drinking 8 cups of water a day is shown to clear up acne. You’ve got 1 hour to drink 2 more cups!” Users would also be notified through the perspective of their goals/motivators. To keep users drinking using the Hydrate bottle/app, notifications such as, “You’ve saved $40 this week by using a water bottle”, or “you’ve just saved 50 bottles this week from going in a landfill” would show on the user's phone. Based on activity levels and integrated information from the IOS health app, users would get informed if they need to rehydrate based on how much they’ve walked or exercised. In addition, if achievements, badges would be received, the user would also receive a graphic that would inform the user of their attainment.
User Personas The target audience for this product are young tech savvy professionals, students and everyday people. They are aware that drinking water is great for you and have their own individual reasons for why they want to stay hydrated, but often don't prioritize it based on their scheduling and loss of interest. These personas provide a better understanding on the perspective of where the user is coming from and why they would be the perfect candidates to use Hydrate.
User Journeys The user journey provides information regarding the most important functional aspects of the Hydrate app. These include manually tracking water intake, setting motivations/goals and customizing the app to make the user ultimately feel happier and healthier with the data they receive.
1) The first user journey is of the onboarding experience the Hydrate app provides. The first steps into the Hydrate app are relevant to how the user wants to interact with the application in the future. The onboarding experience features a basic walkthrough, asks the user to fill in custom settings, and provide information that will determine how they want to use the app.
2) The second user journey illustrates how the user would manually log in beverages that they’ve had while not using the Hydrate bottle. Users are able to log if they’ve had soda, juice, tea, different types of alcohol etc. and can add custom measurements.
3) The last user journey is of the user getting notified and doing a basic walkthrough of all the features that are present in the app including, Analytics, Bottle Status, Physical Activity and Goals.
Summary of User Research As a research method, user interviews were conducted to gain a further understanding on how important tracking water is to day to day people. The purpose of these interviews was to provide more insight on why users care or don’t care about staying hydrated and what would motivate them to do so. Questions such as, “Do you carry a water bottle around with you?” or “ Do you feel like you drink enough water? Why or why not?” were also asked to gain a deeper perception on what users think of it.
With the user interviews it was concluded that many people were aware of the fact that water was needed daily to feel happy and healthier. Most users explained that they felt better when they chose water over soda, but often times didn't prioritize it. Some interviewees even said they knew they were inconsistent with drinking water, even though they were highly aware of the fact of the health benefits it provided. From the user interviews it became apparent that users needed an extra push or motivation to drink more water.
Fuzzy Math Suggestions As a form of finding information on how to create a concept for Hydrate, suggestions from professionals were also taken into consideration. After explaining the product to professional experience designers, advice was given to aid in the enhancement of the experience this product provided. The designers of Fuzzy Math gave several suggestions such as gamifying the app in some way, find audience and what their motivations to track water and to taking feelings into consideration. This advice was reviewed and applied to the Hydrate app to help create a better experience for users.
Feature Dot Voting Hydrate during its beginning stages was a bottle that only tracked water intake and helped users log in the information regarding hydration only. After going through the Feature Dot Method, it was found that most users wanted to not only track their hydration, but were also interested in adding custom drinks, seeing a visualization of their progress, and wanted to have a custom profile what kept information about all kinds of activity.
Comparative Analysis A comparative analysis was also conducted to gain background information on how other apps tracked water. Through this analysis, it was first concluded that there were plenty of water tracking apps on the market and most of them had the same features. However, they were all too similar and didn't really provide complex information/data rather than water intake. Through this analysis, the concept of Hydrate became more solidified as being a product that provides motivational support to drink water along included features that other apps provided as well.
Conclusion There were many aspects of the Hydrate app that were discovered through the research methods that were carried out. Before conducting interviews, and using the comparative analysis, feature dot voting method and user journeys, the Hydrate water bottle was one dimensional in its concept and experience it provided. After conducting research, it became apparent that a more complex version needed to be considered. It became known that the product would be more successful if it kept motivation, feelings and customization in its blueprint. With this in mind, Hydrate became more intricate in its design and information that it gave to the user.
In the future, the Hydrate bottle and app could be enhanced by providing more available devices such as the Apple Watch, FitBit, etc. With keeping motivation in mind, Hydrate could also sponsor charities that provide water to those in need and could motivate/reward their users to drink more water and receive badges that would provide for the poor.
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