Sip Safe
UX Research
App Concept
UI/UX
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Team
4 Researchers, 2 Designers
1 PM, 1 Design Consultant
Skills & Tools:
Figma, Figjam, Zoom
User Research, Visual Design
Timeline:
3 months
Role
User
Researcher
To conduct our user research, we relied on multiple user centered design methodologies to understand how young adults perceive risk associated with social drinking, and how these perceptions influence their social behavior, to develop a relevant solution to address issues of alcohol safety among college students.
Social drinking is a major aspect of the college experience among young adults; the potential dangers of alcohol consumption are frequently underestimated by adolescents. Alcohol safety is heavily neglected with many college students struggling to understand the responsibility to engage in these activities.
Social settings involving alcohol can quickly escalate into dangerous situations, potentially leading to serious consequences. Incidents of 'roofying' and drink spiking, alongside the broader issue of irresponsible drinking, further highlight the urgency of addressing this major gap
Goal:
Our project aimed to understand how young adults perceive risk associated with social drinking, and how these perceptions influence their social behavior. Utilizing our research results, we developed a digital app concept to emphasize personal safety and address alcohol related harms
Binge Drinking: Over 50% of college students participate in binge drinking consuming 4-5 alcoholic beverages in under 2 hours. Engaging in binge drinking can result in a myriad of life-changing consequences.
According to the World Health Organization & NIAA (2021), every year approximately ___ are caused by alcohol consumption:
559,000
injuries
696,000 assaults
210,000
hospitalizations
178.000 deaths
User Interviews
Our research group wanted to understand the "why" behind our user's decisions and ideal mental model behind a safer drinking experience:
Main Topics
What are major risks participants associated with drinking?
What factors are affecting participants' behavior before/after engaging in social drinking?
What strategies do participants' use to prevent alcohol-related risks?
We initially conducted semi-structured interviews with our main stakeholders: undergraduate and graduate students at Cornell University who engage in social drinking. We wanted to engage with participants about their experiences and perceived risks with social drinking.
User Research
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Ethnographic Study
Ethnographic Study: a qualitative research method that emphasizes the observation, engagement, and analysis of user experiences in real-world settings.
This method aligned with our project goals because it allowed us to observe and understand the dynamics of social drinking and safety concerns within their natural context. As such, our ethnographic study generated two main types of data about our user group: short contextual interview data and observational field notes.
Procedure
1. Focused our field research on three separate off-campus bars in which we refer to as Bar 1,
Bar 2, & Bar 3 to maintain participant and bar staff anonymity.
3. Handwritten/typed detailed field notes were taken including descriptions of the setting,
activities, conversations, non-verbal cues, and researchers' reflections. Each team member
collected photos and recorded notes on both the drinking habits and social behavior.
2. Our research group was split into 2 pairs (one interviewer and one notetaker in each pair) to
approach our participants. We approached potential participants, briefly explained the study,
and asked for their consent for the study. We took careful note to only interview participants
who were not inebriated.
40+
62.5%
37.5%
40%
60%
&
10
Observed people in our site locations
Undergraduate Students
Interviews
3-5 drinks consumed on avg night including pregames
Higher than self-reports:
1-2 drinks per night
Wide adoption of protective strategies around strangers
Relaxed body language with friends & peers
Signs of anxiety when in close proximity unfamiliar or mostly male groups
Found close proximity = safety (Both friends & drinks)
Use technology as solutions for protective strategies
Observations
Graduate Students
Diverse participants for on-site interviews
Male participants
Female participants
What Did We Learn?
Sharing Locations
Texting Friends
Staying In Groups
Dedicated Driver
Drinking Water
Covering Drinks
Co-Design
Co-Design: A design method where users collaborate with designers (and potentially other stakeholders) in the design process by generating, identifying, critiquing, or further developing design ideas and prototypes.
Our co-design session focused on our target audience in developing solutions for improving safety in social drinking environments. As such, our user group was Cornell University students (between the ages of 21-23 yrs old) These sessions complemented our initial ethnographic study, where our field observations provided valuable insights into existing behaviors and translate those observations into user-centered design concepts.
Our research team implored multiple frameworks for our co-design sessions:
Using the How Might We framework, participants brainstormed solutions based on their experiences and the identified factors.
Our participants engaged in facilitated discussion to share positive & negative experiences from previous outings for social drinking.
Finally, we conducted group critique to discuss our sketches for each prompt., explaining the concept, & highlighting key features and feasibility.
What Is Sip Safe?
Our solution space offers an opportunity to intervene with a mobile app for interactive maps, group coordination, and emergency assistance to enable responsible drinking experiences. A mindfulness drinking app aimed to provide ways for users to stay safe, alert, and informed while out socially drinking both on and off campus.
#1: Incident Report Map
A map for drinking locations in your area. Discover new hangouts for your happy hour without the red flags. View recent safety incidents & risk levels at specific locations before hitting the streets!
Users can plan their drinking outings & avoid locations with high reports of risks such as drink spiking, sexual harassment, and other safety concerns. These reports would be anonymously gathered by users
#2: App Tracking With Your Friends
The Proximity Alert feature utilizes location tracking to keep users informed about the whereabouts of their friends in real time! Provides feedback based on proximity to friends through flash notifications, vibrations, or text alerts.
#3: Setting Drink Limits
To prevent overdrinking, users can set a limit for drinks for their session ahead of time. This feature allows users to plan their consumption while discouraging drinking beyond their limits while they are inebriated.
#4: Emergency Contact
A streamlined process to quickly reach out to emergency services, specifically 911, in times of need.
Users can swiftly seek assistance in emergencies without the need for additional steps.
