Project overview
The product:
Dining & Lounge is a local high-end restaurant app that offers the finest dishes, wines and a relaxing atmosphere whose target audience is busy working adults.
Project duration:
April 2022 - August 2022
The problem:
Busy working adults feel frustrated to contact the restaurant to book a table because they have limited time.
The goal:
Design a restaurant app that will let users book a table online fast and easily.
My role:
UX Designer designing the Dining & Lounge App from scratch.
Responsibilities
Conducting user research, competitive & comparative analysis, affinity mapping, user journey mapping, feature prioritization, paper and digital wireframing, accounting for accessibility, prototyping, creating mockups, and iterating on designs.
User research: summary
I conducted interviews and created empathy maps to understand the users I’m designing for and their needs. A primary user group identified through research was busy working adults.
Research has shown that the first thing most users pay attention to when browsing the app is the ability to book a table easily. The second thing is photos, users tend to look for a gallery that would reflect the atmosphere of the restaurant.
User research: pain points
Persona: Adam Smith
Problem statement:
Adam is a busy working adult who needs an easy and fast way to book a table at the restaurant because he is time limited.
User journey map
I’ve created user journey maps to better understand what users think and feel while completing the main task in the app. It helped me to come up with ideas about features the app should have.
Paper wireframes
Taking the time to draft iterations of each screen of the app on paper ensured that the elements that made it to digital wireframes will be well-suited to address user pain points. For the home screen, I prioritized a quick and easy booking process to help users save time.
Stars were used to mark the elements of each sketch that would be used in the initial digital wireframes.
Digital wireframes
As the initial design phase continued, I made sure to base screen designs on feedback and findings from user research.
Calendar booking was a feature users need to quickly and efficiently book a table.
Low-fidelity prototype
The low-fidelity prototype connected the primary user flow of booking a table, so the prototype could be used in a usability study with users.
View the Dining & Lounge App low-fidelity prototype.
Usability study: findings
I conducted two rounds of usability studies. Findings from the first study helped guide the designs from wireframes to mockups. The second study used a high-fidelity prototype and revealed what aspects of the mockups needed refining.
Mockups
The second usability study revealed frustration with the main screen navigation. To address this issue, I added a tab bar at the bottom of the screen.
The calendar in the early designs was on the first screen of the booking process, but after usability studies, I changed it to be a pop-up feature, to save the screen space.
Key mockups
High-fidelity prototype
The final prototype presented cleaner user flows for booking a table and navigating the app.
View the Dining & Lounge Restaurant App:
Accessibility considerations
Takeaways
Impact:
The app lets users book a table easily and fast, therefore saving them time.
Quote from peer feedback: "The app is really easy to use. I like how intuitive everything is." Sara
What I learned:
During the design of the app, I learned that I need to keep the users in mind from the beginning of the project till the end.
I also learned how to make designs accessible for everyone, it helped me build an inclusive product from the start.
NEXT STEPS
