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Death & Co

Client
Death & Co
Role
Lead Product Designer
Company
Valere
Year
2024
Death & Co cocktail assistant — Saved Recipes on iPhone in a Valere case study cover shot

Overview

Death & Co, an iconic cocktail brand, partnered with Valere to develop an AI-powered bartender chatbot — designed as a personalized digital assistant offering curated cocktail recommendations, expert mixology guidance, and recipe support. As Lead Product Designer, I participated from the initial discovery phase, helping define the concept and aligning it with both user needs and brand heritage. I then led the design direction and UI efforts to shape a proof of concept (PoC) that delivers an engaging experience for both enthusiasts and professionals, while also functioning as a marketing funnel to collect user data for future engagement. The tool is embedded directly on the Death & Co website and reflects the brand's distinctive voice and identity.

Challenge

Despite having a collection of over 2,000 cocktail recipes, Death & Co lacked a centralized and interactive tool to help users engage with this content meaningfully. During the discovery phase, I helped uncover key pain points: • Static Experience — existing resources were static, making it hard for both home users and professional bartenders to explore recipes based on their ingredients, preferences, or context. • Low Engagement Potential — without an interactive experience, there was a missed opportunity to build stronger customer relationships or convert engagement into marketing insights.

Objective

We're developing a single-page application featuring an AI-powered chatbot with a bartender-like persona designed to deliver conversational recommendations and cocktail education. I led the product design direction, shaping both the conversational experience and the interface to reflect the brand's tone and goals. The system is built on a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) framework, allowing real-time access to Death & Co's recipe database, user preference tracking, and paving the way for future e-commerce integration. This tool is set to elevate digital engagement and reinforce Death & Co's position as an innovator in cocktail culture.

Death & Co cocktail assistant — Let's Get Started onboarding screen on a laptop
Death & Co cocktail assistant — four mobile screens showing welcome, chat with cocktail card, intro and bartender greeting
Death & Co cocktail assistant — six desktop screens showing onboarding, login, chat, saved recipes and settings
Next project
Onyx
Get in touch
mathevssa@gmail.com
Connect
lkdn.com/matheus-sa-almeida