Little Lemon
Mobile website registration flow
The Little Lemon restaurant currently lacks an online table reservation system, creating a point of friction for modern diners who value efficiency. This case study details my approach to designing a seamless digital solution that allows customers to easily and quickly reserve a table, transforming a frustrating phone call into a delightful user experience.
Client
Bootcamp Project
Services
UI & UX Design Wireframing Prototyping
Industries
Restaurant
Date
September 2025
The Challenge
Little Lemon, a vibrant local restaurant, currently lacks an online table reservation feature, forcing customers to call the restaurant to book a table. This outdated system creates a significant point of friction for modern diners who value convenience and efficiency. The core problem was to design a seamless and intuitive digital solution that would allow customers to easily and quickly reserve a table, thereby enhancing the overall user experience and capturing a wider audience. Our primary goal was to design a user-centered reservation flow that is both intuitive and exceptionally fast. We aimed to create a solution where users could make a reservation in as few taps as possible, without encountering confusion or unnecessary steps. The success of this project would be measured by its ability to provide a frictionless experience that encourages diners to book a table at Little Lemon.
The Research & Process
To build a solution that truly solves the problem, I began by stepping into the user's shoes. I created a user persona, Taryn, a busy young professional who values convenience, to understand her motivations and frustrations with the current phone-based reservation system. By building a user journey map, I was able to visualize her entire experience, from the moment she considers dining at Little Lemon to her post-visit thoughts, which helped to pinpoint key pain points in the existing process.
I also conducted a competitive analysis of leading reservation platforms to understand current user expectations and identify industry best practices. I delved into the user flows of OpenTable, and the platforms used by Uchi (SevenRooms) and Mercantile (Tock). This research provided key insights into common user behaviors and helped me avoid potential pitfalls, ensuring my design would feel familiar and trustworthy to a user already accustomed to these systems.
My process began with a simple user flow diagram created in Miro to outline the logical path a user would take. However, as I began to mock up low-fidelity wireframes, I discovered a flaw in my initial plan: it included an extra pop-up that would have added unnecessary friction. I quickly pivoted, eliminating the pop-up and redesigning the flow to be more direct and coherent. This experience taught me the value of using wireframes to not just visualize an idea but to test and validate its underlying logic before moving forward. It solidified my belief in the importance of an iterative design process.
Conclusion
While this project was a hypothetical exercise, it served as a robust test of my end-to-end design process. It proved that a strong foundation in user research and competitive analysis is critical for informing design decisions. The most valuable learning was the importance of iterative design and the role of wireframes as a tool for validating a user flow. If this project had moved into development, my next step would have been to conduct usability testing to validate my assumptions and ensure the final product truly solved the user's problem. This experience reinforced my passion for designing with intent and my commitment to creating user-centered solutions.