BrunchSpot is a mobile app concept designed to connect users with unique brunch experiences and daily drink specials in their neighborhood. Facing competition from established platforms, the project focused on identifying and implementing key features that would differentiate BrunchSpot and drive user adoption. This case study explores the journey from concept to interactive prototype, highlighting the challenges and learnings of creating a niche restaurant discovery app.
Product Designer
Adobe XD
Illustrator
Ballsamiq
Personas
User Flows
Wireframes
Prototypes
The current restaurant discovery landscape leaves many brunch options undiscovered. Due to incomplete search results, users experience long waits at popular venues, while smaller restaurants lose potential customers who are unable to find them. This creates a significant gap in the brunch market.
A mixed-methods research approach, encompassing user interviews, competitor analysis, and market research, was conducted to validate BrunchSpot's need and understand user behavior, revealing significant pain points such as inaccurate wait times, difficulty in group dining planning, and lack of visibility into brunch specials, alongside identifying market gaps in competitor apps regarding real-time updates and detailed group information, ultimately informing the development of BrunchSpot's core features to address these user needs.
Following user research, I developed two visual personas representing BrunchSpot's target audience. These personas allowed me to empathize with users, understand their needs and pain points, and prioritize features for a user-centered design.
I defined core features and organized them by screen, creating task and user flows to visualize user journeys and identify content gaps. A content map then solidified the app's structure. These flows and map directly informed the wireframing process, ensuring a logical and intuitive user experience.
The visual identity of BrunchSpot aimed to capture the vibrant and social atmosphere of brunch, balancing a playful aesthetic with a sophisticated appeal for adult users. To achieve this, I developed a mood board inspired by the colorful imagery of brunch cocktails, such as Mimosas and Bloody Marys. This visual exploration informed the app's color palette, typography, and overall aesthetic, creating an engaging user experience. Initially, a simple text logo was used, but during the icon design process, a more distinctive and memorable logo emerged, perfectly representing the brand's personality.
To establish BrunchSpot's distinct visual identity, I created custom icons and UI components. I began by designing a comprehensive icon set, which then served as a foundation for the component library. This approach ensured a cohesive and consistent visual language throughout the app.
Before starting the prototype I recognized the importance of finalizing the mockups first. This approach allowed me to establish a solid visual foundation and ensure design consistency across all screens before introducing dynamic elements. Completing the mockups in their entirety enabled me to refine the user interface and address potential design flaws early on, ultimately streamlining the prototyping process and preventing timely revisions later.
I prototyped in sections, starting with onboarding, allowing for iterative testing and refinement. Noticing similar designs in favorites and list views, I revised the mockups, creating distinct visual solutions for an improved user experience.
In the initial usability testing phase, my goals were to gather first impressions, identify areas for improvement, and uncover any user confusion. Testing the prototype with a small group yielded valuable feedback, leading to a list of potential features and updates, including ideas I hadn't considered. Prioritizing the most impactful suggestions, I returned to the ideation phase to develop these new features. This structured approach ensured a clear visualization of the additions in the next iteration, enhancing the overall user experience.
Once the wireframes were complete, I handed off the project to the design team to finalize the visual elements. They seamlessly integrated the existing course graphics into the site design, maintaining brand consistency. The site has evolved since then, but the core checkout flow I established remains intact. I'm proud to have contributed to this innovative project.
BrunchSpot delivered a solution to common brunch-related frustrations by empowering users to effortlessly discover new restaurants, access real-time wait times, and apply specialized filters for specific offerings. User feedback proved invaluable in validating the app’s core concept and inspiring the development of new features, such as expandable images and daily hours, ultimately enriching the overall dining experience and simplifying the restaurant selection process.
