The Original Pancake // Redesign
Class Project
Overview:
My goal for this project was to identify a poorly designed website and transform it into a mobile-friendly platform.
After extensive research, I chose to redesign The Original Pancake House website. The existing website lacked a clear hierarchy and presented a cluttered design. In my solution, I focused on creating clean menus that prominently displayed essential information for users. The design includes a mobile version of the site and two desktop examples, aiming to enhance user experience across various devices.
Skills Used
Research
Competitive Analysis
Sketching
High-Fidelity Prototyping
Paper Prototyping
Wireframing
Figma
Original Website
Process
Sketch.
I started this project by sketching potential solutions to address the identified issues in the main website design.
My design approach was guided by a focus on alignment and hierarchy. Following the initial sketches, I conducted a competitive analysis, exploring websites of other breakfast restaurants. Insights from this analysis played a crucial role in shaping the features and layout of my redesign, ensuring a solution informed by industry best practices and user expectations.
Wireframe.
Transitioning from my rough sketches, I proceeded to translate my design concepts digitally by crafting wireframes in Figma.
This approach allowed me to refine the spacing between menus and determine optimal text sizes. The use of wireframes provided a tangible manifestation of my ideas and facilitated swift testing of various design iterations.
Prototype.
Once I felt confident in the direction for my redesign, I transitioned to develop a high-fidelity prototype.
The initial step involved creating a style tile consolidating color palettes, fonts, icons, and images to maintain organization and consistency in my design. The subsequent phase involved crafting 13 mobile screens and 2 desktop screens. After finalizing the screen designs, I proceeded to imbue functionality into buttons and menus, enhancing the interactive elements of the prototype.
Website Redesign
![Menu [expanded]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ea075bf00cf0d64a499a2a8/1587605891401-Z8JBLKTNBAICJE6OFATR/OPH+Images-05.png)
Final Takeaways
“The overarching goal was to enhance the user experience, ensuring that the design facilitated, rather than hindered, the primary objectives of the website.”
The process of redesigning a website is incredibly comprehensive, prompting contemplation of various aspects involved in creating a seamless user experience. Throughout the redesign, I consistently revisited the core purposes of the site: ordering food and locating a restaurant. Any design element that impeded these functions would be considered unsuccessful.