Toast TakeOut
Restaurant Carryout & Delivery Ordering App
The Basics
Institution - Maryland Institute College of Art
Team - Independent Project
Time - 16 Weeks
My Role - User Researcher, UX Designer
The Problem
At the beginning of 2020, Toast was valued at almost $5 billion and coming off a year of 109% revenue growth. Within a very short amount of time, states across the US forced restaurants to shutdown dine-in service as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the completion of this project I will have addressed the concerns of the restaurant management and their guests. No contact order fulfillment and general comfortability will be maintained through the incorporation of various interactions in Toast TakeOut.
The Research
During this independent project, I started by conducting user research which began with a survey directed toward restaurant customers. Specifically, those who have used Toast TakeOut prior to the request of begin a participant of the study. I was also able to interview restaurant staff/management who are responsible for the functionality of Toast within their business.
Additionally, I collected a competitive analysis of direct and indirect competitors to our brand.
Users + Audience
After finishing my research, I was able to apply the responses to construct user-personas for both user types. This allowed me to find the overarching issues that will help to better the Toast Takeout App.
Design Process
Once I completed my user research, I was able to utilize my key findings to build off of the existing interface.
Those Key Findings Include:
- Inefficient incorporation of online ordering into restaurant functions.
- Simplicity should not be time consuming.
- Miscommunication is causing frustration and concern for safety
- Guest's confusion from one location to another - Restaurant's have put their own "routine" in place, each being slightly different.
User Interface
Based on my low fidelity sketches and the existing app, I was able to implement the improvements below to the interface.
Curbside Pick Up Feature
Curbside Pick Up Feature Micro-interactions
Cart Completion
Retrospective
Throughout this project, I was able to conduct each task as a "one-man-band". Meaning, each tasked required focus and well-organized material as I constructed my research and then later turned those key takeaways into implementations within the existing app.
In future work, I hope to take with me the lessons that I learned in user research and how they apply directly to the adjustments made onto the interface. Overall, I look forward to conducting more research in the future.