Inter Rice Asia, The Art of Sake
Inter Rice Asia has been a distributor of premium Japanese alcohol in Singapore since 2008. The company imports high-quality Japanese sake from boutique breweries across Japan. In addition to alcohol sales, Inter Rice Asia also organises sake appreciation events for corporate, private, and public audiences, aimed at educating participants on the fragrance, acidity, body, sweetness, and dryness of the diverse range of sakes available in the market.
Role: UI/UX Design
Duration: 4 months
Background
In early 2020, I began exploring UI design as part of my daily work and developed an interest in UX principles. This interest prompted me to enrol in the Specialist Diploma in Integrated Digital Communication programme at Temasek Polytechnic later that year. As part of the course, I created my first capstone project in UI/UX design, which involved evaluating a web platform where users engage in tasks or transactions.
For this project, I chose Inter Rice Asia as my subject, as I wanted to explore a web platform that reflects the lifestyles of many young adults who regard social drinking and gifting as integral aspects of their lives.
Challenge
Problem: Users face difficulties due to the amount of time and effort required for tasks such as searching and browsing. This stems from poor information architecture, as indicated by the lack of structure and inconsistency in category naming, as well as unclear account and cart icons.
Hypothesis: By understanding these issues, I aim to develop, reconstruct, and reorganise the overall information architecture, introducing functionalities that simplify the user journey before and after checkout. This will enable users to quickly and easily find the products they wish to purchase.
Identifying strengths and weaknesses with competitor analysis
To identify potential areas for improvement, I conducted a competitor analysis of four prominent local and international sake websites before entering the design phase. By taking notes on common features, interacting with the websites, and analysing the language used to engage their audiences, I was able to observe how competitors addressed similar challenges and assess opportunities for enhancement.
Understanding the user through research analysis: Personas to user Journey
Building on the insights from my competitor analysis, I conducted interviews with potential customers interested in purchasing alcohol online to better understand their frustrations and goals throughout their user journey. These findings enabled me to create well-defined user personas and journey maps, ensuring that every feature and function was designed with the user in mind.
Revisiting the overall information architecture
With all the acquired user and competitive research in place, I began looking into current information architecture while working towards a proposed revised information architecture. Ensuring for a user-centric approach that validates the defined problems and hypotheses.
Creating a prototype design: wireframing process
With all the user and competitive research gathered, I began examining the existing information architecture while developing a proposed revised structure. This process ensured a user-centred approach that addressed and validated the defined problems and hypotheses.
Understanding the user through research analysis: Personas to user Journey
Building on the insights from my competitor analysis, I conducted interviews with potential customers interested in purchasing alcohol online to better understand their frustrations and goals throughout their user journey. These findings enabled me to create well-defined user personas and journey maps, ensuring that every feature and function was designed with the user in mind.
Putting together a cohesive style guide
As I worked on the prototype design, I also put together a consistent and cohesive style guide that users can easily recognise across all pages. This not only ensures consistency throughout the website but also improves the workflow during the development stage.
Putting together a cohesive style guide
As I worked on the prototype design, I also put together a consistent and cohesive style guide that users can easily recognise across all pages. This not only ensures consistency throughout the website but also improves the workflow during the development stage.
Putting together a cohesive style guide
As I worked on the prototype design, I also put together a consistent and cohesive style guide that users can easily recognise across all pages. This not only ensures consistency throughout the website but also improves the workflow during the development stage.
Putting together a cohesive style guide
As I worked on the prototype design, I also put together a consistent and cohesive style guide that users can easily recognise across all pages. This not only ensures consistency throughout the website but also improves the workflow during the development stage.
