Project Overview

 HGS snack shop is a local snack store located in Beijing, China. HGS strives to deliver traditional beijing snacks, and not only do tourists come to the store to try the local snacks, many local people have the habit of buying their snacks for daily needs. It’s a very local and favorable brand by local people as well as tourists. HGS’s target customers who loves traditional snacks but lack the time to go to the store.

hi-fi prototype

My Role

UX designer designing an app for HGS snacks from conception to delivery

Responsibilities

Conducting interviews, paper and digital wire-framing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, conducting usability studies, accounting for accessibility, and iterating on designs.

Project Duration

April 2022 - June 2022

The Problem

People who have busy schedules lack the time to go to the HGS store and shop what they need, and tourists who go to the store lack the information of knowing the snacks.

The Goal

Design an app for HGS snacks that allows users to easily understand the menu and order freshly made traditional snacks.

User Research

I conducted interviews and created empathy maps to understand the users I’m designing for and their needs. A primary user group identified through research was people who are interested in traditional Beijing snacks.

This user group confirmed initial assumptions about HGS snacks customers, but research also revealed that there are many other factors limiting users from going to the store such as limitations of parking spot, the long line of waiting, the lack of information on the menu in the store…These are all factors that challenge the user from getting what they want from the store.

Pain Points

Time

The store is always crowded so that working adults don’t have enough time to go to the store and wait in line.

Location

There’s no parking lots near the store and it’s located in a narrow alley. It’s hard for people to go there.

Accessibility

Platforms for ordering food are not equipped with assistive technologies, and HGS snacks shop does not offer a solution for people to order online.

Allergy Concerns

Menus in the store is very much for local customers, first-time users have a hard time understanding the menu and have allergy concerns.

Takeaways

The app makes users feel that HGS snacks actually want everyone to understand what they have on their menu each day, and thinks about how to meet users’ need. 

While designing the HGS app, I learned that the first ideas for the app are only the beginning of the process. Usability studies and peer feedback influenced each iteration of the app’s designs, so it’s never actually ever done.

Conduct another round of usability studies to validate whether the pain points users experienced have been effectively addressed.

Usability 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. 

1. Users need a more direct connection between the icon we use and the concept of customers’ favorite 

2. Users need the app to be more straight-forward.

3. Users need the app to be ‘smart’ for saving more time.

4. Users find the allergy pop-up questionnaire unnecessary.

5. The check-out process has too many steps (too much information to fill in) - make some part auto-filled would be good

Accessibility considerations

1. Used pictures for each snack dish for better recognization and understanding of the dish.

2. Used icons to help make navigation easier.

3. Provided access to users who are vision impaired through adding alt text to images for screen readers.