Moonrise Coffee Roasters
Customer Education

A speculative customer education project designed to help Moonrise Coffee Roasters differentiate their air-roasted products and simplify the online buying experience. This prototype blends instructional storytelling, UX strategy, and microlearning to reduce customer overwhelm and drive confident purchasing decisions.

problem

Moonrise Coffee has a beautifully crafted brand and calming, high-end aesthetic. But their site assumes a certain level of coffee knowledge—especially when it comes to air roasting.

For customers new to specialty coffee, there’s little on the homepage or product pages that explains why air roasting matters or how to choose the right product. This creates friction at a critical point in the buying journey, and risks missed conversions.

Additionally, an interactive roast quiz was built to reduce decision fatigue and boost customer confidence at the point of purchase. This embedded experience aligns with Moonrise’s clean aesthetic and simplifies the shopping journey through intuitive, branded guidance.

solution

I proposed a content-focused, embedded microlearning experience integrated directly into the website. Instead of a separate module, I designed a lightweight customer education flow that supports decision-making while honoring the brand’s aesthetic and tone.

Why this approach works:

  • Natural Fit: Blends seamlessly into the website, using soft nudges and well-placed content blocks

  • Bite-Sized Clarity: Breaks down air roasting in simple, benefit-driven language

  • Decision Support: Guides customers to choose a roast with embedded tools (e.g., roast finder quiz or “Which one’s for me?” widget)

  • Mobile-Friendly: Optimized for on-the-go browsing and mobile purchases

my process

Analysis
To ground the project, I explored Moonrise’s product pages, blog, and “Our Story” section to get a feel for their voice and customer experience. I also reviewed how roasters like Verve, Blue Bottle, and Equator use product education and guided flows — which revealed gaps Moonrise could close with a more intuitive, supportive buying experience.

Design
To help customers feel more confident while shopping, I reimagined how educational content could show up across the homepage and shop pages — things like a simple explainer banner, a roast comparison chart, and a visual module that breaks down the air-roasting process. I also designed a “Why Air Roasting?” graphic. To stay organized while building the quiz, I created a table that outlined each question, branching path, roast pairing, and description. This helped me visualize the flow and make sure each experience aligned with Moonrise’s tone and product offerings.

Development
Using Canva, I designed visual assets like the “Why Air Roasting?” callout and a simple roast comparison graphic to help explain key concepts quickly. I wanted an asset that could potentially be used on social media if desired.

I then used Genially to build the interactive roast quiz, focusing on a mobile-friendly flow that guides users to the right roast based on flavor preferences. I also explored ways to highlight roast profiles directly on product cards — like badges or tags — to support quicker decisions.

Feedback
I shared the designs with coffee drinkers unfamiliar with air roasting. Feedback confirmed the original copy was too jargon-heavy. Users appreciated the simplified comparison and preferred visual cues like “Smooth,” “Bold,” and “Chocolatey” over tasting notes.

microlearning elements

  • What Is Air Roasting?

    A quick-hit explainer that makes Moonrise’s signature process accessible to every customer.

    To help demystify air roasting, I designed a short, benefit-focused content block that could be embedded on the homepage or shop page. The language is plain and welcoming, guiding new customers to understand what makes Moonrise’s coffee different—and why that matters for flavor. This piece was designed for mobile and desktop, with the option to expand into a motion explainer video.

    Experience it

  • Find Your Roast Quiz

    A guided decision tool that personalizes product recommendations based on taste and brew habits.

    This short, three-question quiz helps customers identify which roast best fits their preferences. Built as a low-friction prototype using Google Forms, the quiz models an embedded, interactive experience that could be integrated into the product catalog. It reflects instructional design principles like user control, personalization, and relevance—while supporting the business goal of product discovery.

    Experience It