Enjoy your food life
BB : Book and Bite
Product design
Branding
End-to-End
TIMELINE
2024 (4 Months)
TEAM
Solo Project
SECTOR
Food, Restaurant
DESIGN ROLE
Product, UXUI, Research, Branding
INTRODUCTION
BB, which stands for Book and Bite, is a comprehensive restaurant reservation service. BB is an all-inclusive platform which is personalized to the various tastes of its customers. The initial aim of this project is
not only to give customers easy and fast access to a variety of food-related cultures but also to simplify the process of booking restaurants easily.
In addition to traditional restaurant reservations, BB provides a range of opportunities such as food trucks, restaurant weeks and pop-up food events. BB enhances the way people enjoy diverse food cultures.
The goal of the platform is to make it easy for users to seek out and experience a variety of culinary experiences, leading to a more variety and fulfilling food lifestyle.
KEY FEATURES
Key Feature 1 : Filters
By using the filter feature, users can quickly and effortlessly find the ideal restaurants. They begin by setting the date and number of people. They can also use a variety of filters based on price, cuisine type, locations and etc. After that, the BB automatically looks for restaurants which match with filters been selected.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
There is still a significant gap in terms of users convenience, feature diversity and accessibility, despite the several restaurant reservation apps available on the market. Current platforms often come with too many options. Also they are not designed with easy of use by users and lack comprehensive features. Users often have time-consuming to get the best dining experience by taking on multiple platforms. And they challenge to find and attend food-related events in a time. In addition, time is lost and customers become irritated when restaurants that don’t take reservations.
The platform for restaurant reservations that effectively solves these pain points is obviously needed. Concentrating on all-in-one platform compatibility, simplicity, clarity, and call-to-action principles could assist an app like this simplify the process of making reservation and improve the overall food experience. Following solving of these issues and the implementation of innovative improvements, the Book and Bite is hoping to transform the world of restaurant booking systems and become the preferred choice for customers looking for easy to use and an extensive features.
Key Feature 2 : Reserve Restaurants
BB provides users an easy access to an extensive amount of information such as menu, photos and reviews in a single spot. Users don’t need to search elsewhere to find more informations in addition to basic informations such as location and operating hours.
Also users can make a reservation for the restaurants. They can set date, time and number of people.
Key Feature 3 : Pop Up & Event
There are many kinds of food-related events in New York, such as restaurant weeks, food truck events and special restaurant events. However, it’s sometimes hard for people to get the information about all of these food-related events; many people find out through friends or Instagram ad, but even then, it’s often too late or sold out. In order to address this, the BB app combines all of the New York food events such as restaurant weeks or food truck and food popup events into one page for users to view. To make it easier for users to stay informed and take part in these wonderful food experiences, the app provides a map that indicates the locations and times of these events. They can even purchase tickets right on the platform.
Key Feature 4 : Remote Waiting System
There are some restaurants that do not take reservations, which leads to long wait lines on the street. I created the remote waiting system in order to deal with this problem. Through this feature, users can view the expected wait time and the number of parties ahead of users in real time. Users can sign up for the waitlist by using the remote waiting system even if they aren’t physically there at the restaurant. Instead of wasting time waiting on the street, they can now better manage their schedule and arrive in time to be seated.
RESEARCH
Competitor Analysis
During the competitor analysis, I discovered that most apps lack diverse features especially related to a 'remote waiting system' and 'pop-up & event' management. Recognizing these gaps, I developed case studies centered around these key features to ensure BB meets the diverse needs of modern diners.
I did a detailed study of the six most popular restaurant reservation apps to gain a comprehensive understanding of market. This analysis focused on the different features that these platforms provide as well as to their overall overview, strengths, and weaknesses. Understanding how many restaurant reservation apps there were, it was important to pinpoint the strength and weakness of these platforms.
The majority of reservation apps currently in use focus primarily with just making reservations and recommending restaurants. But my platform, BB, addresses the break between users needs and available platform features in a different way.
The chart evaluates currently available apps for restaurant reservations in terms of how feature-rich and user-friendly they are. My goal was to place BB in the upper right corner, which stands for user-friendly and feature-rich platforms. Through the landscape analysis, I found that a lot of apps are either hard to use of don’t have a various functionality. My platform, BB, was created to address this gap by offering users an effortless, user-centered interface and a wide range of functionality to meet various dinging cultures.
PERSONA
Developing and using the user persona was crucial to ensuring that the final outcome would effectively meet the needs of its targeted customers. For example, our fictional Jenny Wilson persona is designed to closely mirror the characteristics, motivations, and difficulties faced by actual users in our target market. Jenny, a 27-year-old Manhattan-based designer, is a representative example of an important user group that is tech-savvy, values convenience, and looks for dining experiences that align with her specific presences and schedules.
Understanding the persona Jenny, we can recognize her motivations and her frustration with existing restaurant reservation platforms. It provided invaluable insights into the various features and design elements that would be more beneficial. For example, Jenny needs to make a reservation for her boss’s birthday party. But she struggles to find the suitable restaurant with the inconvenience of navigating multiple platforms such as Google, Instagram and Resy and the lack of an easy-to-use solution.
This understanding showed the need for BB to prioritize ease of use.
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
An intuitive user experience is greatly influenced by information architecture. It proves users can find what they're looking for, swiftly complete their tasks, and flow across a platform with ease. An organized IA streamlines the user experience and increases engagement, which improves the process as a whole.
The BB app's entire information architecture is depicted in the diagram below. I divided the design's main flow into four sections: the remote waiting system, food pop-up events, making reservations, and filters.
Users can narrow down their search results by specifying parameters like location and cuisine type in the first flow, Filters. It guarantees that people can find restaurants that suit their tastes in a hurry. Making Reservations, the second flow, focuses on optimizing the reservation process so that users may easily reserve a table at the place of their choice. Food Pop-up Events, the third part, offers a platform for users to easily book tickets and explore multiple food events in the city. It also provides them with further details. Last but not least, the Remote Waiting System solves an increasingly common problem with dining out by providing a way for customers to manage their time and position in line remotely and reduce wait times.
Users may interact with the BB app quickly and easily because to the well-organized, user-centered interface that offers clarity and ease of use. With little effort, users can accomplish a variety of goals by concentrating on these essential elements.
USER TESTING
LOW-FIDELITY WIREFRAME
USER INTERVIEW
An essential part of the design process is user testing, which validates that the choices specified in terms of design really meet the needs and preferences of the target audience. By conducting user testing, I can uncover usability issues that may not have been apparent during the design phase, ensuring that the final product is both functional and user-friendly. Furthermore, user testing offers a priceless chance to get firsthand feedback from potential customers, which can assist in forming and improve the design even more.
To learn more about the expectations and experiences of the users, I conducted user interviews. I created an interview discussion guide to help with the facilitation of these interviews, which provided an outline for our discussions.
Individuals who are the main target market for the BB app were the targets of the interviews. The main goal of these discussions was to evaluate the features and functionality of the app, estimate how well they satisfied user needs, as well as pinpoint areas for advancement. I was able to gather a better knowledge of the consumers' viewpoints through these interviews, which in turn assisted in validating the design decisions and pointing out potential improvement areas.
Significant insights into the most appreciated elements of the BB app were obtained through user testing. I divided it down into four primary elements and showed how each works. Then, in order to express their preferences, test participants attached stickers with the labels "Love," "Like," "Dislike," and "Hate" to different features.
Most people found the 'Remote Waiting System' to be the most helpful feature. Considering the lengthy wait times at many New York restaurants—particularly those that do not accept reservations—users valued the option to control their position in line without having to wait in physically. This feature effectively reduces wasted time spent on the road, which is why interviewees liked it strongly.
The second most popular feature was 'Food Pop-up Event'. Pop-up food events are common in New York, but there are so many going on at once that it can be difficult for consumers to keep up to date. The concept of having a specific page for these events showed to be especially helpful to the participants, as it would make it easier for them to find and attend pop-up events without having to browse through other platforms.
REFINEMENT BASED ON THE USER TEST
Popular Time Zone
I added a new element that lets customers view busy time zones at restaurants in addition to the existing features. With the support of this feature, users may more strategically plan their visits and avoid clear of busy times by viewing a visual motion graph that indicates peak hours. Users can enjoy a more leisurely dining experience without the bother of busy moments by using this it.
Information about the restaurant
User testing uncovered a widespread issue concerning restaurant reservation platforms among users: insufficient restaurant information. Usually, before making a reservation for the restaurant in the app, users are forced to use Google to find out more information, such as pictures of the food and menu, and sometimes even go to Instagram to get a feel for the vibe of the place of dining. People frequently complained about this process being both time-consuming and irritating.
In order to solve this, my main goal was to incorporate as much specific information as I could into the BB app. This allowed users to look for restaurants and make reservations all in one place without having to navigate between other platforms.
CONCLUSION
The Book and Bite project provided me with a valuable opportunity to apply my UX design skills independently. Having primarily worked on team projects until last year, it had been some time since I managed the entire process on my own. This experience reinforced the importance of the UX process, particularly the value of user testing. Conducting user interviews was especially enlightening. The feedback I received revealed insights and pain points that I hadn’t initially considered, giving me a deeper understanding of real-world user concerns.
The ways I would like to improve this project...
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Spend additional time refining the survey, incorporating specific metrics and statistics to gain a deeper understanding of the real concerns of users
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Conduct a more thorough competitor analysis, expanding beyond direct competitors to include secondary and indirect competitors as well
