Role: Product Designer & Barista, I worked at SuperCoff and designed this to solve a problem I deal with on shift.
Timeline: February 2026 - July 2026 (self-initiated, developed alongside working hours as the café's needs evolved)
Tools: Figma
Context: Recipes at SuperCoff were kept on paper printouts around the café, easy to lose, hard to keep updated, and confusing for new hires. As a barista there myself, I designed this app to replace that system.
Overview
A two-sided system helping baristas prepare drinks consistently and managers maintain recipes across a café built from firsthand experience with the paper recipe system it replaces.
*SuperCoff is an internal tool built for the café where I used to work, it's not publicly prototyped or hosted, as it's proprietary to the business. The case study below reflects the actual design process and testing conducted for it.
Problem
Baristas struggle to recall multiple recipes under pressure, maintain consistency in taste and presentation, and learn recipes during onboarding especially with no centralized, standardized reference.
Managers struggle to keep recipes accurate and up to date, communicate changes across the team, and monitor recurring recipe issues.
Without a centralized system, cafés risk inconsistent drinks, slower onboarding, and repeated mistakes , problems I saw firsthand working the floor.
Goal
A shared operational system:
Baristas get instant, step-by-step recipe access built for speed under pressure; managers get a dashboard to edit, publish, and monitor recipe consistency across the team.
Users
Baristas: access recipes instantly, follow step-by-step preparation, report incorrect recipes, maintain consistency during busy shifts.
Managers: edit and publish recipes, review reported issues, maintain accuracy across the team, standardize drink preparation.
Key Insight
Operational consistency depends on both accurate execution and effective recipe management.
Providing baristas with accessible guidance while enabling managers to maintain and improve recipes creates a continuous quality improvement system.
Usability & Workflow Study
Objective
I tested a low-fi prototype with 6 baristas at SuperCoff, from new hires to experienced staff, preparing 3 popular drinks under simulated rush conditions.
Key findings:
20–30% faster: Recipe preparation was 20–30% faster with the app. One new hire made a Strawberry Matcha in 1:24 vs. 2:00 without the app, a 30% reduction.
Under pressure, baristas relied on visual cues rather than reading text. They also needed to find drinks quickly, but search was only available on the home screen.
Increased button sizes, made primary actions visually dominant, and made search persistent across the app. Most Ordered / Featured drinks were also surfaced for faster access.
Design Response
Increased button sizes, made primary actions visually dominant, and made search persistent across the app. Most Ordered / Featured drinks were also surfaced for faster access.
Features
Quick Access Recipes
Problem: Baristas waste time searching through inconsistent recipes.
Solution: Categorized, searchable recipes.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Problem: Risk of mistakes under pressure.
Solution: Clear, visual steps with timers and reminders.
Featured & Most Ordered Drinks
Problem: Baristas need fast access to high-priority drinks during peak hours.
Solution: A dedicated section surfacing popular drinks for faster service
Recipe Dashboard (For Managers)
Problem: Recipes become outdated and inconsistent.
Solution: Managers can edit, update, and publish recipes.
Issue Management (For Managers)
Problem: Managers lack visibility into recipe problems.
Solution: Review and resolve reports submitted by baristas.
Barista User Flow
Home (featured/most ordered drinks) → select drink → guided step-by-step preparation → completion, reinforcing familiarity over repetition.
Manager User Flow
Dashboard → view recipe library → edit ingredients/steps → publish updates, keeping baristas aligned on accurate information.
Design System
Typeface: Inter (Extra Bold, Regular, Light) for speed and legibility during fast-paced shifts.
Color Palette
Orange and light green for warmth and energy, with white, black, and navy for contrast and structure in the navigation.
Outcome & Reflection
As this project is still ongoing, the outcomes above are based on testing so far with real baristas at SuperCoff, not yet a full rollout , the next step is expanding testing across more shifts and eventually replacing the paper system entirely.
Designing SuperCoff reinforced how UX can extend beyond a single user's task to improve communication, quality control, and continuous improvement across a whole team, and working the floor myself meant I was designing from firsthand frustration, not assumption.