I used comparative research with similar companies using SWOT analysis and user interviews with five people with an age range of 26-60 who frequently online shop through websites or apps.
Through competitive analysis of iHOP, Denny's, and Perkins I evaluated best practices and areas for improvement to inform and enhance my design decisions.
Strengths: Focus on family environment with common breakfast meals, easy to navigate menu, and convenient online ordering.
Weaknesses: The websites prioritize corporate branding over local relevance, making it harder for users to quickly find location-specific information.
Interview Findings: All five participants order online at least once a week. Three users mentioned if a restaurant does not have a website, they would choose a different restaurant.
A clear understanding of business and user goals, paired with technical considerations, allowed me to outline critical product needs and proactively address potential limitations.
Currently, some small restaurants either don’t have a website or very limited online presence. This is because as a small business, they might not have time or resources to create one. As a result, potential customers do not get accurate information or have online trouble resulting in user frustration.
Drawing from research and user interviews, I designed a clear and intuitive journey that takes users from the homepage all the way to a seamless checkout experience.
The findings from interviews and research, I was able to come up with two personas that visualizes the diverse group of people this product would impact.
After sketching several layout ideas, I selected the most promising concept to develop into a digital wireframe. I then built a basic prototype and conducted usability testing with the original interview participants to collect early design feedback.
Since the business lacked a website and brand identity, I established one by selecting earthy tones of brown and green to communicate a cozy, diner-like aesthetic. I paired this with the Playwright cursive font in the logo to emphasize its local charm.
Based on user testing, not many changes needed for high fidelity. I encorporated the logo, colors, and UI elements to create high fidelity mockup.
I created a prototype from my high fidelity design in Figma for both mobile and desktop layout. This prototype was sent out to the same participants as in the interview and first testing. All participants were able to complete the task within 15 minute time frame with no errors.
Based on feedback only limited changes were needed to be made. I added calories to the menu items, cleaned up some negative space, and made the prototype a more smooth experience.
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This experience gave me the opportunity to design a website for both desktop and mobile, which was both exciting and challenging. Adapting my designs to fit the constraints of mobile—after initially working with the flexibility of a wider desktop layout—was difficult at first. But by the end of the project, I found myself able to shift between the two layouts more naturally and intuitively.
If you like what you see and want to work together, get in touch!
nickgonzo615@gmail.com