A streamlined food ordering experience for a food truck
KAMI FOOD TRUCK APP
AT-A-GLANCE
Kami Food Truck is a local Korean food truck on Drexel University's campus. Noticing the challenge Drexel's students and faculty faced with long wait times, our group of four set out to redesign the experience. Over a 10-week project, we transformed Kami Food Truck’s ordering process by streamlining communication between customers and the owner, implementing preordering, and reducing wait times through a user-friendly mobile app—all while refreshing the truck's brand identity.
CONTRIBUTIONS
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Real life observation, survey and 1:1 interviews with 20 users and business owners to understand user flow, pain points and constraints
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Owned end-to-end design process
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Redesigned branding, UI Design
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Collaborated with 1 PM, 2 designers
ROLE
UX Researcher, UX Designer, UI Designer
TIMELINE
10 weeks
TOOLS
Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Trello, Miro
DELIVERABLES
Mobile UI Design and Prototype
THE PROBLEM - LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE
Time management is a huge problem
On rush hours, an average and ordering time can last to 10 mins, and waiting time for food can go up to 15 mins.
Empathize
UNDERSTANDING THE BUSINESS
Through guerrilla surveys with and on-site interviews with Kami’s owner and staff, we come to understand their services, vision, unique selling points, its needs and limitations. Despite no direct Korean food rivals on Drexel's campus, competition arises from neighboring trucks due to lunchtime popularity and prime location amid heavy foot traffic.
UNDERSTANDING THE AUDIENCE
Using Fly on the Wall method, we pinpointed our target audience
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University City students (from Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania)
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Faculty members
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People who appreciate Korean cuisine
Define
PERSONA
We compile how customers say, think, do and feel about their experience to identify their 3 major pain points.
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"I'm late for class standing in line"
Kami, being the sole Korean food truck on campus, experiences a rush during lunch hours. Customers often wait up to 10 minutes to order and another 15 minutes for their food, which can be quite time-consuming, especially given that they usually have just a one-hour lunch break. -
“I get confused whether there’s an actual line at Kami or not because it’s too crowded around the truck.”
Positioned right on the sidewalk, Kami can quickly become crowded with just a few people waiting for their food. -
“I'm unsure if my order is ready because my name can get lost in the busy line.”
Without a system to track orders, customers are compelled to stay attentive to verbal order announcements, leading to confusion for both customers and staff.
THE OPPORTUNITY - HOW MIGHT WE...?
streamline order and pickup process?
eliminate the frustration of long wait time?
streamline communication to better connect Kami and its customers?
An app that solves
⏱️ Long waiting times
👥 Crowded spaces
📋 Order tracking problem
DEFINING THE DESIRED USER JOURNEY
After talking to users to gain a holistic understanding of a typical user journey when ordering at Kami, we flipped the script and asked them what would make the perfect experience. I then created this user journey to find opportunities and features where we can improve this ordering experience.
Ideate
WITH LIMITED TIME, WHAT DO WE PRIORITIZE?
With a 10-week timeframe, I knew it was crucial to focus on the most impactful features. I gathered user suggestions and used a NUF (New, Useful, Feasible) analysis to explore different ideas and their potential impact. I then organized these ideas in a Priority Bullseye diagram to ensure we tackled the most important ones first.
ROADBLOCK 🚧
Login page placement in the user flow
In the sketching phase, I faced a key challenge of deciding where to place the login page in the user flow, before ordering or before checkout. After discussing with the te
We created two user flows for different placements, and did A/B testings with 10 users. We asked questions to understand how intuitive each solution is for ordering and checking out (input payment options).
Final Decision: We placed the sign-up/login page at the start but included a guest checkout option. This lets users decide when to create an account, minimizing friction for newcomers while keeping the benefits of account creation for those who want it.
Prototype ⇆ Test
PAPER PROTOTYPE
For our paper prototype, we prioritized intuitive navigation and information hierarchy. We mapped out the main sections of the website, such as the menu, location, and contact details, to ensure easy access to essential information for our users.
REBRANDING
Introducing colors and typography to the mid-fidelity prototype, we undertook a rebrand inspired by Korean food colors. I led the branding decisions as the main UI designer, incorporating feedback from the team.
Kami App UI Design incorporates a color palette with retained Kami’s original red hues with added vibrancy, typography influenced by Hangul's geometric shapes, engaging custom icons and curated imagery, as well as established button styles with interaction states.
Final Design
GOAL 1
Optimize the speed and simplicity of placing orders
We created distinct user flows in our high-fidelity wireframes for both account-based logins and guest users, resulting in a significantly streamlined ordering process compared to our original design.
GOAL 2
Facilitate customer communication
Since the owners and staff are always busy with no extra time to check messages, we introduced a quick notification section that they can easily scan between tasks. On the customer side, this appears as a progress bar that tracks order status and estimated travel time to the food truck, eliminating the need to constantly wait and listen for their order.
GOAL 3
Stay updated on location and opening hours
Additionally, as the idea of what would be most beneficial to Kami's customers was further realized, we incorporated features such as order favoriting, reviewing recent orders, and a location-hours tab offering directions to Kami via their phone's map app.
IMPACTS
LEARNINGS
FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS
Thank you ☻☼
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