Enhancing Shinpi Omakase's website

Omakase restaurant website Redesign Journey for a better dining experience

Project: Shinpi Omakase Website Redesign

Project type: Freelance Work

Time: 2 weeks

Member: Jieming He (Jack)

Role: UX Designer (with UI contributions on Wix.com), Research, Wireframing, Interface Design, Development

Tools: Figma, Wix.com

As the sole contributor to this project, I led the UX design, addressing key user experience challenges for the Shinpi Omakase website. This case study focuses on the UX strategies employed and their impact, although UI elements were also enhanced as part of the delivery process.

Introduction

Shinpi Omakase, located in Manhattan, is known for its luxurious dining experience, offering chef's choice menus with special, seasonal ingredients. The restaurant operates on an appointment-only basis, catering to an exclusive clientele. Key goals included simplifying the online reservation process, optimizing user engagement to decrease bounce rates, and ensuring the website's design and usability effectively communicated the restaurant's high-end dining experience.

The problem

The Shinpi Omakase website redesign followed a structured approach based on the Double Diamond design process model. This method ensured a thorough understanding of the problem space, development of user-focused solutions, and delivery of a refined final product.

The Design Process

Identifying the Problem

The Shinpi Omakase website redesign project aimed to address several key user experience issues that were hindering the restaurant's online presence.

The website's complex navigation made it difficult for users to find essential information and book reservations.
A high bounce rate suggested that visitors were not finding what they needed or engaging meaningfully with the site.
Despite the restaurant's high-end image, the website failed to provide a seamless and luxurious user journey.

Approach

Competitive Analysis

From reviewing competitor sites, I noticed the impactful use of a 'Make Reservation' call-to-action button right on the homepage. This inspired me to incorporate a similar, prominent booking feature on the Shinpi Omakase site to streamline the reservation process and enhance user convenience.

Analyzed 5 NYC omakase websites, focusing on user experience aspects like navigation, content layout, and reservation systems.
Assessed user feedback and contact methods to understand how these sites successfully meet the expectations of a luxury dining audience.

User Research

Conducted targeted interviews to gather immediate insights, revealing key user frustrations with the booking process and site navigation.

Gathered feedback from 11 users through surveys, focusing on their expectations and experiences.
Insights used to pinpoint areas for improvement in user interface and reservation process.
Analyzed user behaviors and preferences on the website, focusing on how they interact with menu presentations and reservation features.

Survey results showed a clear preference for simple reservation methods and visual menus, which guided a redesign focused on straightforward navigation and engaging visual content.

Prioritized User Stories:

1. As a user, I want a quick, one-click process to make a reservation.

2. As a user, I want to see actual images of the dishes on the menu page.

3. As a user, I want to quickly find the booking section and get all the details I need to make a reservation easily.

4. As a user, I want the contact information to be clearly visible so that I can quickly find directions or get in touch with the restaurant for special requests.

Initial Feedback and Analysis

Gathered feedback from 5 testers on the original website. Common feedback highlighted issues with the homepage:

Overwhelming layout: Too much content leading to loss of interest.
Poor organization: Text alignment inconsistencies and cluttered information.
Font and color issues: Difficult-to-read fonts and color schemes.
Navigation Difficulties: The navigation bar was noted to be too small, making site navigation challenging.
Complicated Booking: The reservation process was not straightforward, and incorrect information on time slot, presenting a barrier to booking.
Limited Information: Pages lacked comprehensive details that users were looking for.
Unnecessary Login: The requirement to log in was seen as an unnecessary step.

Despite these issues, one positive aspect was noted:

Resy Booking: Testers appreciated with Resy for easy reservations.

Sketching and Refining Ideas

Started with paper sketches to explore various layouts and features, drawing insights from user feedback and competitive analysis. This early exploration helped identify the most directions for the site's layout and key functionalities. Further refinement was done based on initial user feedback to ensure the design met user needs.

Digital Prototyping with Figma

Transitioned the refined sketches to Figma, creating clickable prototypes. This digital step enabled more detailed testing with users and facilitated team collaboration, refining the designs based on this feedback.

User Testing and Iterations

Conducted user testing sessions with the Figma prototypes to validate the design concepts. Feedback from these sessions led to iterative improvements, fine-tuning the user experience and interface based on real user interactions.

Design and Navigation Enhancements

Simplified the site layout for quick access to key sections like menus and reservations.
Designed a clear, hierarchical menu, guiding users smoothly and reducing effort to book a table.

Visual Design Overhaul

Selected a color palette that aligns with the restaurant's high-end atmosphere.

Conversion-Focused Design

Simplified the reservation process with clear, visible call-to-action buttons.
Making a user-friendly forms and reservation to encourage immediate booking and minimize user drop-off rate.

User Experience Improvements

Each update was a targeted response to user feedback, aimed at making the website simple and more friendly to use:

Homepage redesign: Simplified content and created focal points to guide user attention.

Content organization: Standardized text alignment and reduced clutter for a cleaner look.

Typography and Color Scheme: Selected readable fonts and a harmonious color palette to enhance readability and aesthetic appeal.

Navigation Enhancement: Enlarged and repositioned the navigation bar for better visibility and accessibility.

Reservation Process Simplification: Added a standout 'Book with Resy' button on the main page, simplifying the reservation process to a one-click action, which markedly increased user interactions.

Visual Comparison: Before & After

Key Feature: 'Book with Resy' Button

Positioned the booking button at the center of the homepage for high visibility and tested its functionality on various devices for a easy and smooth booking experience.

Tasks Performed During User Testing

Booking a reservation
Finding reservation details (price, contact info, menu)
(Additional Task) Reviewing the restaurant's policy on cancellations and no-shows

Surprising Feedback

One surprising piece of feedback was how much users valued simplicity and direct access to information. This led me to design a more straightforward site layout, ensuring that essential features like the 'Book with Resy' button were easy to find and use, significantly improving the overall user experience.

Iterative Changes Based on Feedback

Relocated reservation details and policies to a more user-friendly section on the reservation page, simplifying the booking process.

Enhanced the About Us page by adding a "View Our Moments" button. This leads to a multimedia gallery showcasing the restaurant's highlights, including social media content and influencer visits. The addition of this feature has led to increased user engagement, with visitors spending more time on the site and a noticeable uptick in social media interactions, positively impacting the brand's perception.

Measurable Outcomes

Following the redesign, Shinpi Omakase's website saw significant improvements, directly aligning with our goals to streamline reservations, enhance user engagement, and reflect the restaurant's luxury.

Notably, site interactions and unique visitor numbers increased by 32% and 26% respectively, indicating a broader reach and heightened interest.
The site's design changes, particularly the simplified layout and prominent 'Book with Resy' button, contributed to a 5% decrease in bounce rate and a notable rise in bookings, validating the effectiveness of our user-focused solutions.

Wix.com Analytics & Reports

Improving the Menu Page Engagement

Despite overall improvements, the menu page saw a 28% decrease in visits which caught our attention.

Why the Decrease?

It seems users are getting what they need faster elsewhere on the site, bypassing the menu page.

My Response

Based on tester suggestions, I'm experimenting with innovative ways to highlight the menu, such as showcasing key menu items on the homepage.

What's Happening Now

The changes I've made, guided by tester feedback, are starting to show a more balanced site engagement. I'm continuously analyzing data, keeping an eye on the stats to guide the next moves.

Reflections and Future Directions

Key Learnings

This project taught me the value of direct user feedback and competitive insights in shaping a successful design. Moving forward, I'll continue to prioritize clear navigation and prominent call-to-action features in my projects, using data-driven results to guide my design decisions.

Impact of Visual Storytelling

The "View Our Moments" section showed how powerful visuals can enhance user engagement. This approach will be a key feature in my future projects.

Plans for Future Projects

I aim to focus on creating more engaging designs and adding deeper content in my next projects. Keeping a close loop with user feedback will be crucial to this process.

Next Steps for This Project

I'm planning to incorporate content from our users to enhance the community vibe around the restaurant. Plus, I'll continue analyzing data, ensuring it aligns with how our visitors engage with it. This includes making the menu more prominent based on recent insights, with ongoing adjustments guided by user feedback and analytics.

Analyzing Project Impact Through Data

After implementing the design changes, data from Wix.com highlighted notable improvements in user engagement and site performance. Key metrics include:

An increase in average time spent on the site, indicating that the new features, especially the "View Our Moments" section, are capturing users' interest.
A rise in page views for the About Us and reservation pages, suggesting that the enhancements have made these sections more appealing and accessible.
Positive feedback on social media, with users sharing their experiences and interactions with the site, contributing to an improved online presence and brand perception.

This data validates the success of the redesign in meeting our goals of enhancing user experience and engagement.

Thank you for taking the time to explore this project.
Your interest and feedback are greatly appreciated.

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Jieminghe008@gmail.com