Private Dining Website
Duration: 8 weeks
SFPDV
Project Overview
Come up with a redesign and strategy for a customer facing group private event space website with custom inquiry form and system.
Responsibility
Tools
UX Research
UX Design
Web Design
Figma
Adobe Suite
Squarespace
Problem Statement
"With there being so many restaurant websites to go through, how can we design a digital platform for event planners, that not only showcases the best private dining options in San Francisco all in one spot, but also saves valuable time reserving event spaces?"
Goals
"To design an intuitive and engaging digital platform for event planners that helps them find and reserve private dining spaces in San Francisco.”
Design Process
I began with targeted research on private dining websites and apps, and insights from restaurant reservations platforms, and email systems.
Post-research, I embarked on ideation sessions, creating initial wireframes that merged private dining venue content, and a custom email system and form. Through iterative design, testing, and feedback, the final product was honed to be both engaging and intuitive and help event planners reserve private event spaces faster and easier.
Design Timeline
Target Audience
Event planners looking to reserve private dining spaces in San Francisco.
User Research
I conducted user research involving interviews with professional event planners, restaurant private dining managers, business owners, and casual users. These insights shaped my understanding of the target audience's needs and preferences, and helped to guide the design strategy for an engaging experience.
Competitive Analysis
While users can find event spaces on websites like "SixPlus" and "OpenTable", none have a method that let users inquire to all venues at once, possibly saving valuable time. By letting users to inquire with no required sign-up, SFPDV has an opportunity to help those users connect with 40+ of the top private dining and event spaces in San Francisco, without asking them to share personal information.
Unique Features
Contact all venues at once
No requirements, sign-ups or fees
Unique compilation of premiere restaurants & venues in San Francisco
Multiple search methods, and popular venue page compilations
Qualitative Research
I used qualitative research to better understand the perceptions and interests of event planners regarding finding and booking event reservations. Through screener questions, I identified participants based on their frequency of event needs, experience with private event websites and apps, and familiarity with reserving events online.
Screeners
Have you used any private dining specific websites or apps before?
How do you usually find a private event space?
What types of methods do you utilize when searching for a private event space? Why?
What type of events to you plan for?
What criteria is important to you when searching for a private dining/event space?
Observations
Have used a website to reserve a private event space.
Say party size and budget are the most important criteria details.
Had heard of private dining specific websites and apps.
Are compelled to talk with a person to reserve event spaces.
Use Google as their main tool to use when searching for the private dining venues and event spaces.
Empathy Map
Pain Points
1. Not Enough Time:
With so many choices of venues to sift through online, it takes too much time to find and reserve the ideal venue.
2. Overwhelming Choices:
With an vast array of restaurant options to choose from in San Francisco, they might feel overwhelmed about how many venues there are to explore or consider.
3. Lack of Information:
Venue websites often don’t have enough vital information at hand regarding their event spaces, leading to frustration.
User Persona
Information Architecture/User Flow
Sketches/Low-fidelity Wireframes
Venue Details
Home
Up To # Guests
Reviews
Wireframes were used to help guide the creation of the final page designs.
User Tests
Feedback was gathered after testing the initial design and prototype. Testing take-away was that users were not entirely aware about the various search option offerings because they are hidden in the “Search Venues” drop-down menu .
Adding a new block presenting various ways to search for venues helped users onboard and find venues faster.
High Fidelity Screens
Home page
Impact
· Increased private dining reservations
· Increased revenue
· Increased site visits
· Increased search engines ranking
Feedback
“We have seen a huge increase of customer inquiries after the new website was launched! Our members have reported an increase of reservations which means an increase in revenue. Thank you Jon!”