Sweet — not stress — Boba Ordering
Having always been known as the Boba connoisseur in all of my friend groups — naturally, I frequent Boba shops at least a couple times a week. Having spent the first half of my life in Taiwan — the birthplace of Boba, I am always proud and eager to be the one to pop my friends’ Boba cherry, showing them the greatest (duh) drink ever. However, I soon caught a problem. It is just so complicated.
There are many customizations — ice level — tea selection — milk, or sea salt cream top (what is that?)? lychee jelly or boba? at last, do you want 75% sweetness… or was it 82.35%?
Having the freedom to customize can be good — but this can lead to decision fatigue. The abundance of choice scares people, leads to confusion, and exhausts the mind — ultimately an unpleasant UX. This case is especially worsened in the case of Boba, which can be an exotic experience to many. I have more than once heard my friends exhaled in panic:
There are so many choices, I get so nervous… and sometimes I just say yes to everything so I don’t have to make these choices.
I never know what I’m gonna get… I just choose one, and I end up with a random drink. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s so horrible that I just throw it away.
The experience can be daunting! The good thing is, as confused as they are, people are still loving their boba’s. They just bring me along to spit out “yes they mean lychee jelly” at the right time so they don’t enter a panic zone and end up with some durian jelly… or any other surprises.
This is the problem. The experience should be as sweet as the chewy balls they go for. And they should always know what they’re getting. One bad experience is enough to turn the new adventurists away… and I cannot bear to watch that happen to anybody. Not everybody has a persistent boba advocate friend. So, for my chewy balls, for my country… I want to make everybody fall in love with boba, the right way.
The lightening
A few weeks ago, I realized that Philz removed the order-ahead service from Cavier and came up with their own app. As an efficiency-OCD person, I downloaded the app right away.
I was amazed with it. The UI is clean, intuitive, its use of natural language form is just right for its user base. From the app to the pickup process at the store, everything felt perfectly stream-lined and thoroughly enjoyable. Yes.. I am fascinated and a little obsessed with efficiency.



This got to me — Philz also has a nerve-wrecking rep for its ordering process — and they did it. They’ve made it so easy with this wonderful app. Boba lovers should also have a wonderful experience.
What, and why?
An order-ahead app for Boba, because…
- Ordering boba can get complicated,
- people get nervous,
- this app will simplify the process. People can order at ease.
- No more stammering and time queueing, due to everybody’s stammering.
- People will leave the boba shop happy, knowing what they got into, holding exactly what they had in mind.
Challenge
- There is a great deal of variety of choices for customization
- They need to be conveyed clearly — for both the new comers and loyal customers
- Through the complications, provide a pleasant, time-efficient experience
Goal
- Good, relaxed, confusion-free and fun ordering experience
- Significantly improves store efficiency by saving everybody (customers & store) time
Wireframe
For new, boba adventurists:

When you are facing something completely new, it is overwhelming to be thrown in a pool of unfamiliar terms. I am a strong believer in procedural order. I decided to break it down into one step at a time.
- Choosing the tea is simple and a concept familiar to most. New triers would not get intimidated by this.
- Customization is broken down into smaller steps so new users can process one step at a time. Each option is shown in illustrations to give convey a clear message of what they are.
- Users can review their order at the last step, edit, remove or add another order.
For returning boba enthusiasts:

For returning Boba enthusiasts, the focus is different. These people have already been exposed to the Boba world and are less intimidated. In this case, they are provided with combinations they have previously ordered to quickly check out. If needed, they can customize their usual order. This comes in handy, as we tend to order the same, or similar items that we associated with good memories.
As users scroll, they see either the previous orders or recommended combinations. The previous orders act as accelerators for the expert users to complete their frequent actions while the recommendations are great effort savers for clueless, novice users.
The App

I incorporated visual illustrations, step-by-step approach and the natural language form to ease novice users’ experiences.
With an app that simplifies the experience, users are able to order ahead at their own pace without the pressure of 10 people’s steaming gaze. The menu broken-down helps users to visualize what they’re getting into, and organizes their thought process into easier-processed chunks. This is especially useful when the users are experiencing something new.
For expert users, they don’t have to go through the complicated tasks of drinks customizations every time — their previous orders and tailored recommendations are only one tap away.
Now that’s done… it’s Boba hour!
I have finally made a small contribution to my Boba religion, and satisfied my OCD for simplified systems. The drink might seem like a simple matter, but to people who are unfamiliar with it, it has its complications. A UX designer’s calling is to resolve all the complications in the world — and I don’t mind starting small.
This is just the first step. I propose a boba-toast to appreciating, and understanding all the exotic foods in the world!
Shapes and colors



More to come…
