Branded app design and usability study focus on beverage apps

Abstract

With the popularity of mobile devices and the increasing usage rate of mobile applications, more and more companies tend to develop branded apps for branding and marketing purposes. Despite the growing interest in applications and their market influence, there is still a lack of research on why branded apps perform successfully as a visual communication channel, branding tool, and loyalty building platform. The main objectives of this thesis are: (1) Reviewing the literature to understand the relationship between branding, marketing, and interface design; 2) Conducting a case study of four current branded apps on the market; (3) Designing a branded app to investigate how it can be a successful marketing tool for business; and (4) Conducting usability tests to learn about how the interface design and interaction design work in branded apps. In this thesis, the researcher found that the existing beverage brands have adopted their brand visual identity into their branded app user interface design for brand enhancement. The branded user interface design elements include logos, colors, icons, typography, images, illustrations, and buttons. The researcher also found that beverage brands have developed their branded apps as a consumer loyalty-building platform and an effective marketing tool by embedding a group of functions/features that support a user-centered shopping experience. The most emphasized functions/features are loyalty program, mobile pay, location service with geo-technology, and order history. Moreover, the researcher found that building a solid understanding of the users through marketing research and user research is crucial for developing a practical, aesthetic, and marketable branded app. The usability study plays a key role in the user-centered design process through examining the functions/features, and overall design is aligned with the users’ needs and expectations by observing the interaction between the users and the interface. The beverage branded app design guideline developed in this study will help designers establish an understanding of the principles and aesthetics of beverage branded app user interface design and identify the most valuable parts of the user experience from the perspective of brand management.