LoCafe
Caroline David
Design at UCI
LoCafe
ROLE
UX/UI Designer
DURATION
October 2023 - December 2023
(8 weeks)
TOOLS
Miro
Figma
TEAM
Thanusree Ammisetti
Emily Boo
Nina Nguyen
Isabelle Salvador
Context
LoCafe is a mobile application to streamline the search for new cafes
My team designed a functional prototype to reduce the user friction in finding new cafes for work sessions or studying.
The Problem
Many face challenges in finding coffee shops for productivity
My team shared a common love for working at cafes, but also a common struggle to find new cafes that match our preferences—from suitable noise levels to specific ambiences.
How can we help college students to easily filter cafes for distance, availability, and atmosphere to satisfy their cafe experience?
???
Research
We surveyed 30+ college students and interviewed 4 UCI students
Key Findings
65% of students consider outlet availability important to their cafe search
55% of students strongly value the amount of seating at cafes
32% of students take location most into account and prefer cafes closer in distance
!!!
Overall, we discovered outlets, seating availability, Wi-Fi, and noise level are the most prioritized features respondents take into consideration when searching for cafes. Finding good nearby work environments are also big challenges faced when looking for cafes.
User Journey & Wireframes
We used our findings to target user pain points
We created user/task flows, information architectures, and sketched out wireframes to address user needs. We then created a coffee-themed branding style to match our product's purpose and iterated through mid and high fidelity wireframes.
Low-Fi
Sketches of search functionality, cafe screen, and profile sections
Mid-Fi
Branding Style
Usability Testing
We conducted usability tests to monitor key user interactions
We observed the user account sign-up process, how users naturally navigate through the app's features, and noted if any features were missing or hindered usability.
User Feedback
Users found some features to be unclear
Button inconsistencies caused confusion amongst users
Designed more thorough onboarding and tutorial screens
Refined components to maximize consistency and follow brand guidelines
Tutorial added to clarify confusion
Features
Introducing… LOCAFE
Feature #1
CAFE MATCHING
One of our app's main features is the capability to match users to local cafes based on preferences. Users take a short quiz at the beginning of the onboarding process to determine the user's needs. The selected preferences are used to filter through cafes and recommend those suitable for the user, which streamlines the process of manually needing to search for the perfect cafe.
Feature #2
CAFE LISTS
Find a cafe you like, but don't want to go to just yet? No worries! It can be saved within a Cafe List—a folder saved within a user's profile. This keeps all recommended cafes in one place and allows users to better store the cafes that satisfy their cafe experience
Feature #3
POMODORO TIMER
As an added extra fun feature, we included a Pomodoro Timer to supplement productivity.
Outcome
Our team was awarded the 3rd place prize out of 9 total teams
We presented our prototype at Design at UCI's Project Teams Demo Day and were glad to see our work highly praised by both the panel of judges and members of the organization.
Reflection
Incorporating feedback and reducing bias
I learned how to clearly iterate my own ideas, while also listening to feedback and ideas from others. I was able to reflect on all ideas and created compromises that incorporated everyone's contributions. This Project Team experience was very rewarding and it is a project that truly resonates with me—and my love for cafes. I am so thankful for my team and all the work we put into creating this prototype.
Check out our full prototype here:
Thank you for stopping by!
٩(^v^ )و ´-♡ ༘*.ﾟ
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Posted May 22, 2026
LoCafe is a mobile app designed to help users find cafes suitable for work and study.
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