Woohee Byun
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BrewGlow


Brew Glow is a mobile app aiming to invite Gen Z to tea drinking culture and educate them its benefits through sophisticated design.






TEAM
Solo Project
ROLE
UX/UI Design, Branding
DURATION

8 weeksRECOGNITION

UX Design Awards 

PROBLEM
Tea is often considered as boring and outdated by many generations, including Gen Z.
OUTCOME
I created a mobile app specifically targeting Gen Zs to introduce different types of tea and tea drinking behavior in a playful approach.




FINAL DESIGN

Tea Card Modules


Explore tea based on its health benefits and taste. Card-type modules let you easily skim through and provide detailed information whenever you want.

Customized Brewing Timer


Steep the tea long enough to bring out the perfect flavor. Choose the type of tea, brewing method, size of the cup, and preferred intensity.

AI-powered search is also here to help users explore based on their mood or the weather.


AI-powered search


Explore different types of tea based on your mood or even the weather!






MARKET RESEARCH

Gen Z, the Moderation Generation

Gen Z, who are born between 1995 and 2002, are a curious and experimental group, and prioritize their health and well-being. They have a nuanced understanding of how drinking impacts their health and that of people around them. Gen Z reshapes the idea of a 'good night out' and often socializes without drinking.




USER RESEARCH

What does Gen Z think about tea drinking?

To understand how Gen Z has incorporated tea into their daily routine, I conducted 4 interviews and 14 surveys with tea drinkers. All of them are based in North America and fall under the range of Gen Z. 

I gathered data points that revealed key challenges:





INDUSTRY AUDIT

What’s missing in current solutions?

I focused on understanding Gen Z’s behaviors and needs to guide my design approach. By analyzing current tea drinking and timer platforms, I identified two distinctive design patterns: either allow users full access to customize without any limitation or guidance, or give users only default brewing settings without any adjustment.





PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

Current tea culture being disconnected from the modern lifestyle

While tea drinking is a regular habit, it is often perceived as outdated and disconnected from users’ current lifestyles. There is a notable lack of guidance on how to brew tea properly and minimal awareness of the health benefits or cultural context behind each type. 

This has led to a passive, routine engagement with tea, rather than a reflective or personalized ritual.







IDEATION

From Passive routine to personal and engaging experience

 The ideation phase focused on reimagining tea as a personal, informative, and culturally engaging experience. Rather than treating tea as a static or functional beverage, the goal was to design features that allow users to tailor their tea routines to their moods and preferences, gain brewing confidence, and explore the rich global culture behind different tea types.






WIREFRAMES




USABILITY TESTING & ITERATION

Narrow down the design direction

I conducted a small usability test with peers. I was looking to test clarity and comprehension of the different features. Based on preference testing, I was able to narrow down the design direction.




❌ Users expected to incorporate a visual metric to measure the amount of water or the size of a cup.✅ I updated the visual that guides users more intuitively and easily.



❌ Participants wanted an easier way to find tea instead of scrolling down endlessly.✅ To address this, I reduced the options with the most recommended or brewed selections and led users to use the search feature.



SOLUTION

A new way to build tea habits through playful experience

 Through customized flows and playful interactions, BrewGlow helps Gen Z build meaningful tea habits. From discovery to brewing, every touchpoint is designed to educate, inspire, and engage.










BRANDING

Building a Brand Identity

To support the design, I created a brand guideline kit. It includes tone of voice, logos, colors, fonts, icons, images, and product vision.






OUTCOME & IMPACT

Where It Landed

BrewGlow was nominated by the UX Design Awards, which affirmed the value of combining user research with brand-forward interaction design. More importantly, the process strengthened my ability to connect strategy, visual exploration, and user insight skills that I now bring into every project.






REFLECTIONS

What did I learn from this project?

Iteration, iteration, iteration
 I didn’t land on BrewGlow’s final look on the first try—far from it. I explored all kinds of color palettes, UI vibes, and layout ideas before things started to click. Every round of iteration helped me see what worked (and what didn’t), not just visually, but conceptually.

UI is not just about visuals
This project reminded me that good design isn’t just about good visuals—it’s about asking better questions. Why don’t younger audiences drink tea? What would make it feel relevant again?  It taught me that design isn’t about making things pretty—it’s about making a better experience for users through interface design, whether it’s guiding them through different steps or minimizing selection to reduce cognitive overload.

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    ©Woohee 2025