Annapurna  Café 

Website Redesign Concept

Restructure information architecture and redesign page layouts for Annapurna Cafe, a restaurant serving authentic Nepal and Tibet cuisine in Seattle

Role: User Experience Designer
  
  Tools: Pencil & Paper, Omnigraffle, Sketch, InVision, Keynote

Overview

I re-designed website concept to improved user foot-traffic and enticed customer to dine in or deliver take out by adding delicious images of the restaurant dishes and redirecting users to DoorDash through the client’s site . I identified users current pain points with a persona to improve user’s online shopping experience.

Discovery

Background

I chose this client because I have a great appreciation for the owner of Annapurna Cafe Roshita Shrestha. Restaurant has high reviews, which is not portray well on their current website . There are zero images of the dishes from the menu. Users have to rely on other websites like Yelp, Trip Advisor, and Google Review to find images of dishes they were looking for.

Persona

User Research

The proto-persona provided is a 29 year old scriptwriter who cares about authenticity, exclusivity and uniqueness of purchases.
Laura has a well developed collection of fashion and jewelry and is big fan of 'retro-chic.’

When something catches her eye she must have it, whatever the cost. She considers herself a digital native and a smart consumer, and she loves to download new apps, check out technology trends, and show off her purchases. As a writer, she has a keen eye for sharp copy and likes brands who express their personality through their words.

User Interview

I interviewed six users whose priorities lined up with our persona to get a better idea of the user needs. My goal was to understand what would incentivize a user to dine at a restaurant and discover what the pain points are.

I synthesize my data with an affinity map and major paint points are there are no pictures of the dishes from the dinner menu or, credibility if food is authentic and delicious, and the option to order online or delivery.

Define

Comparative Analysis

I wanted to focus on three main design features that are linked to my user’s pain points to improve person Lauren’s overall online shopping experience.

Compare features across competitors to help identify good design patterns. I picked these business competitors because they have a story like Roshita Shrestha to share when she opened Annapurna.

Feature Prioritization

1. Images of dishes from restuarant menu

2. Highlight importance of the "Story"

3. Redirect users to DoorDash for online orders and delivery

“I heard a lot of positive reviews on this restaurant, but I don’t know what to order because there are no pictures of any of the dishes on the menu.”
- website visitor

Develop

Current Site Map

There are nine secondary navigation panels. Most users didn’t bother to view other navigations or understand why it was there.

It made navigation confusing and some navigation panels seemed unnecessary or repetitive. For example, Photos and Yeti Bar page look exactly the same.

1. Grouped Dinner and Yeti Bar under Menu navigation

2. Redirect users to DoorDash for online orders

Restructure Site Map

I facilitated an open card sorting activity with three users to categorize common themes with all of the topics available on Annapurna’s site.

Findings:

Main categories were accurate
No cross over between Dinner Menu & Yeti Bar categories
Secondary navigation were grouped

3.Grouped Dinner items with Yeti Bar under Menu to reduce number of clicks

4. Grouped Noodle Soup and House Specials specials were common group types based on user's feedback

User Flow Map

I designed a user flow based on the iterated sitemap to show how a user would navigate through the website.

Navigation Layout Testing

My main focus for this website redesign is to reduce the number of clicks for the user in the Menu section for our persona Lauren.

I tested three different possible navigation styles with four different users to determine which version worked best for retrieving content quickly and efficiently.

1. Design A required less clicks and the overall layout was easier to navigate when all panels were visible on the left side

2. Users had to refer back to main menu which required additional clicks

Paper Prototype

I based my paper prototype of the Navigation A. Sketch for usability testing. I conducted three iterated designs based on user’s feedback.

Wireframe

After testing with the paper prototype and conducting iterations validated by user’s feedback, I designed the wireframe for each of the screens.

Usability Testing

Info Policy Page Iteration

1. Based on user's feedback, "Info Policy" did not sound as friendly so I renamed it to "Visit Us"

Online Order Iteration

1. Added icon for users to download DoorDash to improve online shopping experience

I conducting five usability testing to measured the likeliness of users dining in or ordering online with the website redesign concept wireframes. My added features of imagery and direct online order link proved to increase Annapurna’s Cafe service drastically.

99% of users were more inclined to try a new restaurant that provided images of the dishes

99% of users were willing to Order Online when a direct link to DoorDash is present on Annapurnna's Cafe website

Delivery

HI-Fidelity Wireframes

Interaction Design

I created paths with CRAFT and in InVision Studio. Below is a graph of where the users will be leaded based on the clicked hotspots. The main navigation on the left hand side.

Outcomes

Results

Improved Lauren’s online shopping experience by adding more photos for menu and restaurant. Easy access to order online through a trust 3rd party DoorDash and allowing customers to share authentic dining experience on social media and write reviews

Next Steps

Measure the number of visits conduct extensive user testing to improve overall online shopping experience.

The next area to redesign is the order online process to with an emphasis of Annapurna Cafe’s branding.

Users reported the need to find outside resources to get online delivery. Develop online booking reservation system. Users are more willing to try a new restaurant if the connivence is factored in.

What I Learned

In researching this project, I found that user are more incentivized to try a new restaurant by images of food. The placement of images and the number of clicks to obtain information quickly can alter the user’s experience. This made me aware of how deep problems create symptoms in many places.

Another challenge was designing for users who are customers who plan on dinning in. Improving the process of booking reservations online. I also find that most users like to view images of the dishes from restaurant so they know what to order prior to their visiting the restaurant.