el dorado restaurant app
Project Overview
The problem
Busy adults lack the time necessary to prepare an ethnic meal.
The goal
Design an app for El Dorado Restaurant that allows users to easily order their favorite meals.
The product
El Dorado is a high-dining Colombian restaurant located in Montreal. El Dorado delivers a gourmet latin option for their customers. The target user of the restaurant is working adults who lack the time to prepare a family meal.
The role
UX designer designing an app for El Dorado Restaurant from conception to delivery.
Responsibilities
Conducting interviews, paper and digital wireframing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, conducting usability studies, accounting for accessibility, and iterating on designs.
Project duration
September 2021 to November 2021
Understanding the user
I conducted interviews and created empathy maps to understand the users I’m designing for and their needs. My first group identified through research was working adults with different types of ethnicities and cultures who don’t have time to cook special elaborate meals and don’t have time to go pick them up at the restaurant.
This user group confirmed initial assumptions about El Dorado restaurant customers, but research also revealed that time was not the only factor limiting users from not cooking or reaching the restaurant personally. Other users included meetings, obligations, last-time decisions, deficits in transportation, don’t have knowledge of meal recipes.
User pain points
1. Time
Working adults don’t have the time to prepare meals.
2. Limited Options
Not enough delivery app options for fine dining types of restaurants.
3. Amounts
Adults preferred to order elaborate meals for big gatherings.
4. Accessibility
Platforms for ordering food are not equipped with assistive technologies.
Persona and problem Statement
User journey map
Lorenzo’s user journey revealed how helpful it would be for users to have access to a dedicated El Dorado Restaurant app.
![Case study slide deck [Nicolas Sanabria] (1)_edited.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/21f0eb_53334f44876a4749ae3a86c72d2e1978~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_609,h_305,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/Case%20study%20slide%20deck%20%5BNicolas%20Sanabria%5D%20(1)_edited.jpg)
Starting the design
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 would be well-suited to address user pain points. For the home screen, I prioritized the feature menu item to encourage users to discover new flavors and ingredients.
Digital Wireframes
As the initial design phase continued, I made sure to base screen designs on feedback and findings from the user research.
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.
Redefining the design
Mockups
After the usability studies, I added a more clear way to visualize the checkout process, including a description of the items added to the cart.
Ingredients page was added after usability study one. I added the full description of the meal, options for the users to change some ingredients depending on their diets, and special instructions for the restaurant. Also, added a button to add more than one meal at the time
Before usability study
After usability study
Before usability study
After usability study
Accessibility Considerations
1. Provided access to users who are visually impaired through adding alt text to images for screen readers.
2. Used icons to help make navigation easier.
3. Used detailed imagery for all meals and ingredients to help all users better understand the product.
Refined designs
High-fidelity prototype
The final high-fidelity prototype presented cleaner user flows, including a new page to show the user their order was complete and it’s ready for delivery.
View “El Dorado App” High-fidelity prototype
Takeaways
Impact
El Dorado App makes the users feel the restaurant thinks about their needs.
One quote from peer feedback:
“It’s awesome we can order meals from El Dorado restaurant for delivery and be able to have those incredible meals and home”
What I learned
While designing El Dorado app, I learned how the users and the designer work together to build an app that can resolve their needs.
Next steps
1. Conduct another round of usability studies to validate whether the pain points users experienced have been effectively addressed.
2. Conduct more user research to determine any new areas of need.