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Beerminder

Beerminder

  • Client
    REDACTED
  • Type
    Prototype IOS App
  • Role
    Dev, Animation Design

The Prototype

A major beer company approaced ISL, my employer at the time, with a proposition: make us something awesome. They wanted a hardware prototype they could demo to internal stakeholders as a proof of concept. ISL answered the call with a base that holds beer in your fridge, and reports inventory and temperature to a connected to a mobile app that can automatically order you more beer when you run low.

A major beer company approaced ISL, my employer at the time, with a proposition: make us something awesome. They wanted a hardware prototype they could demo to internal stakeholders as a proof of concept. ISL answered the call with a base that holds beer in your fridge, and reports inventory and temperature to a connected to a mobile app that can automatically order you more beer when you run low.

I built the app using Angular JS and styled it to look as much like an IOS app as possible, maintaining the native-app illustion while allowing us to easily update and iterate. Most of the features are "fake", in that it didn't actually order beer, but it did accurately report beer inventory, fridge door status and an extimated can temperature. It was a prototype after all, fake it til you make it!

I built the app using Angular JS and styled it to look as much like an IOS app as possible, maintaining the native-app illustion while allowing us to easily update and iterate. Most of the features are "fake", in that it didn't actually order beer, but it did accurately report beer inventory, fridge door status and an extimated can temperature. It was a prototype after all, fake it til you make it!

The app communicates with an Electric Imp in the beerminder rack, polling for updates every few seconds. It works over the internet, not requiring a bluetooth or shared wifi connection, so you can check your beer inventory even when you're on the go.

Designing For Personality

Animation design on this project provided two challenges: Craft UI animations to underpin the native app illusion, and create a distinct personality through delightful flourishes.

Delivery truck with friendly motion
Cute animation for delivery notification

It was important for the app to feel as native as possible. That went beyond making UI elements just look like an IOS app, they had to feel authentic too. I painstakingly recreated animations for IOs style popovers, modals, and notification to ensure the app never felt anything less than real. More than that, the UI helped the app stand out and feel fun & friendly. The delivery truck (his name is steve) became the app's de facto mascot, infusing the experience with joy & cheer.