Introduction

Ultimamesa is a restaurant reservation and management platform that aims to connect diners with restaurants and improve their overall dining experience. The company didn't have an initial application design, so my role as a UX/UI Designer was to create a design solution that aligns with their brand identity and improves the user experience of their application.

I started with conducting competitor research to identify industry trends, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of competitors, and identify areas where Ultimamesa could differentiate itself. Through my research, I identified that OpenTable and Resy were the top competitors in this space. I analyzed their websites and mobile applications and identified their unique value propositions, user flows, and design patterns.

To better understand the needs and behaviors of the target audience, I created user personas based on the information gathered from interviews and surveys. I created three user personas representing different types of users that would use Ultimamesa's application. One of the personas, Ana Garcia, was a busy marketing manager who is enthusiastic about great dining experiences and discovering new restaurants in her area.

I started the design process by creating low-fidelity wireframes that focused on the core features of the application. The wireframes were designed to show the basic layout and structure of the application and to ensure that the user interface was easy to use and navigate.

To ensure a consistent design across the application, I created an atomic design system. This design system included UI components such as buttons, icons, typography, and color palette. It also included guidelines for how to use these components across different screens.

Using the design system, I created high-fidelity mockups that were visually appealing and aligned with the brand identity of Ultimamesa. The design of the application was inspired by user personas and competitor research. It included features such as filtering by location, restaurant rating, and promo.

To hand over the design to the development team, I created an interactive prototype of the application. The prototype allowed the team to experience the design, test the interactions, and give feedback on the design before starting development.

The application design was well received by Ultimamesa and the development team. The atomic design system allowed for consistency across different screens, while the interactive prototype helped the team understand the design better. The improved design and user experience helped Ultimamesa attract more customers, and the platform was able to increase the number of restaurant partners.