Overview
An intuitive recipe finder and inventory tracker designed to help beginner home bartenders mix with confidence.
Timeline: 2 months
Role: UX/UI Designer
Tools: Figma/FigJam
Year: 2026
Background
Simple Homebar is a lifestyle app designed to lower the barrier to entry for at-home mixology. The goal was to make at-home cocktail making more approachable for beginners.
Problem
As home cocktail making grows, beginners often feel overwhelmed by recipe discovery, ingredient management, and estimating drink quantities with what they already have.
Solution
A mobile app that helps users discover cocktails based on their available ingredients, manage their drink inventory, and estimate the drink quantities.
The Problem & Opportunity
Spotting an opportunity in at-home cocktail making experience
At-home (DIY) cocktail consumption has grown significantly in recent years, driven by rising interest in home entertaining and the increasing cost of dining out.
According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, the majority of spirits in the U.S. are consumed at home, highlighting a strong shift toward home-based drinking experiences.
This presents an opportunity to design a more intuitive, simple and personalized solution that helps users discover cocktails based on the ingredients they already have.
Research
Research Overview
Competitive analysis of 4 apps
6 user interviews
6 survey responses
Based on user research which includes user interview, competitive analysis, and survey, I uncovered user frustrations around:
Not knowing what to make (knowledge gap)
Needing fast & simple guidance (low patience)
Potential of wasting expensive ingredients on a mistake (hard to follow instructions).
Competitive Analysis
Product
Strengths
Weaknesses
Noflair
Cocktail Flow
Free Flow
Cocktails Hobbyists
Strong inventory system
Robust customization (create recipes, ratings, bookmarks)
Clean, intuitive UI
Strong recipe discoverability
Clean UI
Clear, simple step-by-step instructions improve usability
Strong personalization with filters
Community Cocktails feature adds inspiration
Explore page feels cluttered and overwhelming
Complex UI
Lacks inventory tracking
Visual design lacks polish (unappealing drink images)
Ingredient tracking lacks usability
Most cocktail apps either offer powerful features with high complexity, or simple interfaces with limited personalization. Many also lack effective inventory tracking that clearly shows what drinks users can make and in what quantities. Simple Homebar aims to bridge that gap with a beginner-friendly, personalized experience.
User Interview
Goal
To understand the challenges cocktail drinkers face when making cocktails at home and identify opportunities to encourage more at-home cocktail making experience.
Target Participants
People in their 20s and 30s who enjoy cocktails and are interested in making them at home.
Beginner cocktail hobbyist who is looking to get into mixology.
Social host who wants to impress friends with their own DIY cocktails at home.
Key Findings
At-home cocktails are often social rather than personal.
Knowledge gap & tool limitations create friction.
Users don’t have a system to track their ingredients.
Simplicity wins as users prefer simple recipes broken down in step-by-step and minimal prep time.
Ingredient waste is a concern as some users worry about buying specialty ingredients that may go unused after a single event.
Survey
Goal
To better understand how people experience making cocktails at home and their thoughts about at-home cocktails experience.
Key Findings
All participants have made cocktails at home before.
Majority experiences decision fatigue when it comes to making cocktails at home (they don’t know what to make with the ingredients they have at home).
People see making cocktails at home as high effort, or lengthy process.
Majority decides on what cocktails to make based on mood, with some follow recipes from online.
User problem: cost & storage space, knowledge gap & learning effort, difficult instructions to follow.
Synthesizing insights to uncover user pain points
I synthesized qualitative data from user interviews and survey responses into an affinity map to identify current patterns and key themes. Four core themes emerged: Struggles, Current Behaviors, Motivations, and Wants.
To further understand these pain points in context, I created storyboards to visualize real user scenarios and explore potential design opportunities for a more intuitive at-home cocktail making experience.
Beginner experimenter wants to make cocktails for friends at a house party but feels overwhelmed by limited knowledge and complex recipes.
Budget-conscious novice wants to save money and minimize ingredient waste when hosting guests at home.
These insights directly informed the key pain points and feature opportunities for the product.
Pain Point
Users don’t know what they can make
Waste concerns
Recipes feel intimidating
Fear of mistakes
Opportunity
Ingredient-based recommendations
Ingredient reuse suggestions
Easy mode + simple steps
Clear instructions
Cocktails Calculator
Pain Points
Knowledge gap creates decision paralysis: Users often don’t know what cocktails they can make with the ingredients they already have.
Buying extra ingredients feels wasteful: Many users hesitate to try recipes that require purchasing specialty ingredients they may rarely use again.
Complex recipes create friction: Users prefer quick, simple guidance and often lose interest when recipes feel too complicated or time consuming.
Potential of wasting expensive ingredients on a mistake which reduces confidence.
Opportunities
“What can I make right now?”: User input on-hand ingredients and receive instant recipes.
Waste reduction: Suggest recipes that reuse ingredients.
Inventory awareness: Tracks available ingredients, calculates how many drinks can be made, offers substitution for lack of bar tools or missing ingredients.
Beginner-friendly guidance: Provides simple step-by-step recipes with easy to follow instructions.
Library database: Designs a fast, simple, uncluttered UI that avoids overwhelming users with excessive features or filters
POV & HMWs
The key pain points and opportunities were synthesized into Point-of-view (POV) statement and How-might-we (HMW) questions to define the design challenge and guide ideation.
Beginner at-home cocktail drinkers need a simple and intuitive way to discover cocktails using ingredients they already own because existing recipes and tools feel overwhelming, time-consuming, and often lead to wasted ingredients.
How might we simplify at-home cocktail making for beginners?
How might we help users track ingredients and reduce waste?
How might we make cocktail discovery fast and personalized?
Project Goals
To ensure the solution delivered value beyond user needs alone, I defined project goals by balancing user goals with business objectives. The overlap revealed key opportunities where both aligned, helping prioritize features that would create meaningful user value while supporting product growth.
Key aligned goals:
Simplify cocktail-making for beginners through intuitive guidance.
Delivering specialized recommendations based on available ingredients.
Reducing ingredient waste and cost through inventory tracking and smart suggestions.
User Personas
Two primary user archetypes emerged from the research: the beginner experimenter seeking confidence and simplicity, and the budget-conscious social host focused on efficiency and reducing waste.
The Design Solution
Designing for simplicity with a human-centered approach
Defining the MVP
To define the MVP, I focused on which features that delivered the highest user value: difficulty tracking ingredients, simple guidance, and uncertainty around what to make. This led to the 4 core features (must-have) that formed the foundation of Simple Homebar.
Must-Have
User ingredient-based recipes
Inventory tracking
Step-by-step instructions
Drink quantity calculator
Nice-to-Have
Favorite/Save Recipes
Rate recipes
Add notes to recipes
Suggest recipes to friend
Surprising & Delightful
Cost $ calculation
Quick recipes < 2 mins
Ingredient reuse suggestion
Cocktail photos log
Can Come Later
Party planning
AI-powered customization
Community features
Create your own recipes
Flows
To support the two primary user needs identified during research, I mapped the core task flows for Simple Homebar: discovering cocktails using available ingredients and managing inventory efficiently.
Building the solution with a clickable prototype in Figma
Wireframes
Key mid-fidelity wireframes were created to define the app’s core structure and user flows. This helped map out the information architecture for the Home and My Bar tabs before visual refinements.
Homepage
My Inventory
My Bar (Easy Mode)
My Recipes
Recipe Detail
Drink Calculator
UI & Branding
I explored the visual direction for Simple Homebar by creating a moodboard inspired by my brand’s core values. The goal was to design a modern and approachable cocktail companion that encourages beginners to explore mixology in a fun and low-pressure way.
Visual inspiration exploring color, typography, UI patterns, and brand personality for Simple Homebar
The name Simple Homebar reflects the app’s core goal: simplifying the at-home cocktail making experience.
The color palette combines deep blue tones inspired by the moody ambiance of a cocktail bar with warm gold accents to create a balance of sophistication and approachability. The typography was chosen to emphasize friendliness and readability above all else.
Final Prototype
The final prototype focused on three MVP features designed to address the most important user pain points: reducing decision fatigue, simplifying cocktail-making for beginners, and minimizing ingredient waste.
MVP Feature 1 - Guided Drink Discovery
The Drink Discovery feature helps users quickly find cocktails through search and guided filters. Users can browse recipes by Ingredient, Flavor, Mood, or Season, reducing decision fatigue and making recipe discovery feel effortless.
Homepage
Find recipes
Search by Ingredients
Search by Flavor
Search by Mood
Designed for users like Midori who often know the type of drink they want, but not the exact cocktail name.
MVP Feature 2 - Inventory-based Recipes
The Inventory-based Recipes feature allows users to input the ingredients they already own and instantly discover cocktails they can make. To encourage exploration and reduce waste, the app also recommends near-match recipes based on missing ingredient(s) (e.g. missing 1, missing 2, or missing 3 items).
Build inventory
Users build their inventory by adding ingredients through categorized browsing or quick search.
Build Inventory
Search Ingredients
Select Ingredients
*only key screens shown here
Search Ingredients in Easy Mode
Search with 2 categories only
Simplified categories + Quick Add
Easy mode option
To reduce setup friction for beginners, Easy Mode simplifies ingredient selection from 7 categories into 2 broader groups with a Quick Add feature.
Users can easily turn it on and off based on their preferred level of control.
*only key screens shown here
Generate Recipes & Start Making
From there, users can see recipes based on their ingredients input.
The Clear the Bar recommendation system highlights recipes that use “at-risk” ingredients, helping users reduce waste before items expire.
Current Ingredients
Generate Recipes
See Recipes
MVP Feature 3 - Inventory Tracking
With Inventory Tracking feature, users can manage their ingredient inventory while estimating how many drinks they can make based on the quantities they currently have. By adjusting the ingredient amounts, users receive an instant estimate of the number of servings available for a selected recipe.
Current Ingredients
Cocktail Estimator
Adjust Ingredient Quantities
See Drink Yield
Why it matters:
Estimates servings based on current inventory
Helps users plan for gatherings
Prevents running out of ingredients mid-recipe
Reduces unnecessary purchase and waste
*The “Drink Calculator” UI was inspired by the familiar layout of a handheld calculator with the intention of making quantity estimation feel approachable. Usability testing later revealed that the design introduced unnecessary complexity, leading to a simplified redesign.
Supporting Features
To complete the experience, I also designed a Profile page where users can mange their account, revisit saved recipes, and keep a photo log of drinks they’ve created.
Profile page
<———
Manage preferences and account
<———
Build a personal collection of cocktails made
<———
Quickly revisit favorite cocktails
Testing
Overview
5 moderated usability tests
Users who have made cocktails before
3 core tasks
Tasks
Task 1: Use filter to find a drink recipe
Task 2: Enter your ingredients to see what you can make
Task 3: Check your inventory to see how many drinks you can make
What worked
Ingredient counter was intuitive
Easy Mode reduced overwhelm
Overall visual design felt approachable
Pain Points
Calculator feature UI felt overwhelming
Search filter interaction wasn’t expected
Inventory page felt too complex
Homepage hierarchy unclear
Insights from usability testing directly informed several design refinements, with changes focused on reducing cognitive load, improving discoverability, and simplifying key workflows.
Iteration 1 - Simplified Homepage Navigation
Usability testing revealed that users struggled to identify the primary action on the homepage.
Before
After
Homepage
Problem
Homepage lacked visual hierarchy
Users didn’t know where to begin
Homepage
Design Changes
Promoted “What Can I Make?” to primary CTA
UI refinements
Before
After
Homepage
Problem
Filter by is a separate page which was counterintuitive from a dropdown expectation
"Filter by" label is confusing
Homepage
Design Changes
Moved filters into one homepage
Renamed “filter by” to “search by”
UI refinements
Iteration 2 - Improved Inventory Navigation & Hierarchy
Participants found inventory management overwhelming and navigation restrictive.
Before
After
My Bar - My Inventory
Problem
Inventory management lacked a clear visual hierarchy, and the search flow felt restrictive
Drink Calculator feature sounds technical and less approachable for users
My Bar - My Inventory
Design Changes
Renamed Drink Calculator to Cocktail Estimator to better communicate its purpose and feel less technical
Moved Cocktail Estimator below Your Ingredients to prioritize users’ primary task
Added a My Inventory / My Recipes toggle for quicker navigation
Added an Exit (X) button to make entering and leaving search more intuitive
Iteration 3 - Improved Cocktail Estimator
Testing showed that the Cocktail Estimator introduced unnecessary cognitive load, making it one of the most confusing parts of the experience.
Before
After
My Bar - Cocktail Estimator
Problem
Calculator design felt visually overwhelming
Too many controls competed for attention
High cognitive load
My Bar - Cocktail Estimator
Design Changes
Introduced drop-downs to progressively reveal options
Used sliders to simplify quantity adjustments
Renamed "Drink Calculator" to "Cocktail Estimator" to improve clarity
UI refinements
Iteration 4 - Refined Recipe Experience
Although users successfully completed the recipe flow, the recipe page UI lacked clear visual hierarchy, making key information less scannable.
Before
After
Recipe page
Problem
Recipe information lacked clear visual hierarchy, making key details harder to scan
My Bar
Design Changes
Polished key information such as servings, units, and ingredients
UI refinements
Reflection & Future Considerations
One of the biggest lessons from this project was realizing how different my assumptions were from users’ actual behaviors. Features I expected to be straightforward sometimes became the biggest sources of confusion during usability testing. This experience reinforced that great design comes from listening to users, testing early, and continuously iterating rather than relying on intuition alone. While participants responded positively to Simple Homebar app’s approachable design and beginner-friendly experience, their feedback also revealed meaningful opportunities to further improve the experience.
Users interact with interfaces very differently than expected, testing early prevents bigger problems later.
Next Steps
Future development will focus on clarifying feature purpose, creating a more intuitive onboarding experience, and strengthening visual hierarchy throughout the app while keeping simplicity in mind. While the core MVP was validated through usability testing, there are still opportunities to refine the experience before further testing and development.
Looking ahead, I plan to develop Simple Homebar into a functional MVP, allowing me to validate the experience with real users and continue iterating beyond the prototype stage.
View prototype
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