Project Vision
Foufet is a pop-up outdoor restaurant that was created by the chef and owner of an existing, popular high end restaurant that temporarily closed in 2020. Located on a green space, the existing restaurant decided to create a new menu and serve food directly from their kitchen to patrons who would seat themselves outside, and enjoy a high-end dining experience safely. Foufet required UI design for their online ordering app.
Objectives
1. Create an easy-to-navigate menu for mobile & web
2. Create an easy-to-use ordering system for mobile & web
3. Ensure that easy ordering translated to easy pickup.
2. Create an easy-to-use ordering system for mobile & web
3. Ensure that easy ordering translated to easy pickup.
Planning & Scope
Typical research and discovery was forgone, in service of our main goal which was to get a beautiful, useable app to launch quickly. We answered these questions ourselves: who was our user? Anyone who needed a normal night out and that was, I’m sure you can agree, everyone. What was their goal? As high-end a dining experience as was possible under the circumstances, easily obtained and nothing but enjoyable. Our scope was small: one restaurant, one summer (please, let it only be one summer).
Information Architecture
Wireframing
We didn't have the time to break the mould on homepage layout design or online ordering systems, so it was important that styling, and visual look and feel stand out, and communicate the intent of Foufet.
To that end, we developed a visual system that was what we referred to as "elevated topsy turvey," to lean into the idea that nothing in the world was the way it was supposed to be. We mixed grainy, retro imagery with 90's style fonts, we put the scroll bar on the wrong side of the page. We used typewriter text on stock printer paper to describe $70 entrées. We put the F on it's side.
We framed out the information to be simple to execute and consume. Then we gave it style.
The final product accomplishes the goal we set out with: create a simple, by the book online ordering system, that had the elevated feel of a fun, upscale night out. We wanted interactions to have the same feeling you get when a restaurant is thoughtfully, beautifully designed. This truly was an experiment in trying to re-create an actual experience digitally, and I think we succeeded.
