Little Lemon: table reservation

Initial data and design objective

Based in Chicago, Illinois, Little Lemon is a family-owned Mediterranean restaurant, focused on traditional recipes served with a modern twist. The chefs draw inspiration from Italian, Greek, and Turkish culture and have a menu of 12–15 items that they rotate seasonally. The restaurant has a rustic and relaxed atmosphere with moderate prices, making it a popular place for a meal any time of the day.

Little Lemon is owned by two Italian brothers, Mario and Adrian, who moved to the United States to pursue their shared dream of owning a restaurant. To craft the menu, Mario relies on family recipes and his experience as a chef in Italy. Adrian does all the marketing for the restaurant and led the effort to expand the menu beyond classic Italian to incorporate additional cuisines from the Mediterranean region.

Little Lemon currently has no online reserve-a-table feature. The design objective is to design and prototype it for the mobile version of the website considering the given style guide.

UI-kit provided by the client
UI-kit

The problem

Busy individuals do not have enough time to book a table in a restaurant. They often have to do it on the go, especially if they have a spontaneous, unplanned meeting.

Goals

1 Design a convenient and concise table booking option that is easy to use for multitasking people with different levels of digital literacy, in various conditions (i.e., on the go, in bright daylight outside, with a one hand full, etc.).

2 It should take a minimum of time and guarantee the users their reservation at the necessary day and time.

Persona

Primary persona

Name: Emma

Age: 39

Occupation: Career coach

Tech literate: Advanced

“A loving mom and wife, caring mentor, a woman who keeps herself in shape and is always in a hurry.”

Bio

She lives in Chicago suburb with her husband, 3 teenage sons and a dog. Emma works downtown as career consultant for a non-profit organization. She is a multitasking person and likes to communicate with different people, although she often lacks time to do everything she planned. Likes to practice yoga.

Core needs
  • Prefers to use a proven service that works reliably and quickly.
  • Any delays and unforeseen circumstances that can disrupt her schedule throw her off balance.
  • She needs time to balance between work and personal life.
Frustrations
  • She is afraid that she does not devote enough time to her husband and sons.
  • Nervous when things don't go according to plan.
  • She fears that any extra wait could derail an important meeting.
  • Emma lives according to a planned schedule that she cannot break.

User journey map

Emma is trying to reserve a table on a website of a restaurant not far away from her office, because her former classmate and good friend suddenly called and informed that she would be in town today for a short while.

They had not seen each other for a very long time and Emma took a few hours off from work. She wants to have a quiet chat with her childhood friend in a cozy place, despite the rush at work.

She is confused and annoyed by the reservation form and decides to leave the website. She recalls a charming Little Lemon restaurant nearby and is thinking of going there instead.

User expectations
  • Choose a cozy secluded table.
  • Ability to choose the number of people and the location of the table.
  • Enter her personal details and receive a booking confirmation.
  • Have a good time with a friend.
User journey map
Identified opportunities

1 Design a convenient and concise table booking option that is easy to use for multitasking people with different levels of digital literacy, in various conditions (i.e., on the go, in bright daylight outside, with a one hand full, etc.).

2 It should take a minimum of time and guarantee the users their reservation at the necessary day and time.

To do list
✓

Add a table map.

✓

Add a comment field.

✓

Optimize form fields.

Wireframes

Digital wireframes

Hi-fi designs and prototype

Considering key goals, user research findings and style guide provided by the client, I designed mock-ups and created a high-fidelity prototype of the table booking feature for mobile website of the Little Lemon restaurant.

View the high-fidelity prototype ➜ High-fidelity designs

Takeaways

When designing the new table booking option, I tried to create an easy-to-use reservation form that would save time for busy restaurant customers. I learned the importance of taking into account already existing client's design solutions, while creating consistent interface.

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