Overview
Kaki began as Payble, an app where restaurant guests can scan a code to pay their check instantly at the table. The transition from Payble to Kaki focused on becoming a loyalty/rewards platform for restaurants subscribed to the app. Users could scan a receipt or QR code and be rewarded with points for dining at certain restaurants. Users could then redeem their points at participating restaurants for free rewards and discounts.
Problem
Stakeholders wanted to identify the key attributes to building loyalty with restaurant owners. They were concerned with how users navigated the reward redemption process and how that process might affect the restaurant wait staff that have to enact it.
My Role
I conducted an in-depth competitor analysis with 7 restaurant rewards and loyalty applications. I summarized best practice designs, key points of focus, and criteria to be avoided. I generated an array of systematic approaches to the loyalty/rewards program and defined a user flow journey for the minimum viable product. I designed and sketched physical marketing material and completed 3 rounds of sketching to assist in the redesigning of key screens. These key screens included the reformatting of key landing tabs, the “gamification” of achievement screens, and a complete redesign of the user wallet and reward discovery screens. I led weekly phone meetings to discuss new deliverables and agree on the adjusted focus for future deliverables.
Original Kaki Redeem Interface
After an updated prototype was released, I took part in a final review and assessment of the interface design and functional usability. I summarized my findings and recommendations in a report that I presented to stakeholders. In the last week of my work with the company, they discussed a name change to Delight and asked for my help designing a new logo. Before ending the project, I sketched a range of logo options for them to draw inspiration and guidance.
Research & Discovery
The following images highlight the most valuable competitors.
View the full competitive analysis here.
Recommendation Summary
View the full recommendation summary (page 7)
- Rewards are processed through the app, not the restaurant. (Never slow the steps of service)
- If the user is not allowed to use a certain aspect of the app, provide an empty space page to teach them why not and how to change this.
- Provide high incentive deals. If it’s not a good deal, it’s not worth offering it to the customer.
- Be able to search the restaurant you are in or are going to, view their profile and reward options.
- When a user searches a restaurant or scans a receipt from a restaurant that is not a member, a “request” is sent (onboarding restaurants)
- keep the navigation bar simple and clean.
- Don’t use dollar amounts, or discount visuals
- Make sure all information in the navigation is useful.
- Bottom nav = scan, wallet, progress profile
I organized the recommendations into an affinity diagram to determine to core MVPs of Kaki
Minimum Viable Product
- Viewing Rewards
- Redeeming Rewards
- Navigational Content
- Restaurant Onboarding
Affinity Mapping
Kaki MVP User Flow
Below is an excerpt of how users will experience the act of redeeming points at a participating restaurant.
View the full user flow journey here
Each restaurant has deals that are specific to their menu, but the profile template remains consistent for everyone.
The user wants to know:
- What are the deals?
- How do I get there?
- Will it be open when I arrive?
This restaurant has 2 types of deals and 1 punch card available.
The following screens will take the user through each process.
Restaurant Profile
This interface is based on a rewards app with a similar redeeming function. The app is called Rakuten.
Rakuten processes the reward and opens the retailers’ website through the Rakuten interface. Kaki can accomplish something similar through the online ordering platform of each restaurant’s choice.
The order appears as paid for to the restaurant, on equipment they are already accustomed to handling.
The user can choose to enjoy their reward at the restaurant location or take it to go. Whichever they choose, the order will be paid for and ready when they arrive.
Gamification Sketches
I was asked to create a more game-like appearance to the rewards and redeem screens. I provided a range of options and examples of how these screens would play a role in the user experience.
I was also tasked with creating promotional content that would be placed at the tables of participating restaurants. The idea was that guests would become enticed by a free reward and download Kaki for the first time.
The intention behind my design decisions was to provide direction steps to the user in the order of natural reading lines while avoiding a common pattern that appears too ad-like and is often ignored. The stakeholders and I discussed this and agreed that option 6 (bottom right) accomplished this best.
Virtual Wallet Redesign
Stakeholders requested that the rewards wallet be its own tab, separate from the profile tab which it was currently under.
I wanted to maintain the design format that had just been introduced in the new version of the official prototype. With this in mind, my first plan of action was to remove the restaurant tab and embed that under the discover section of the rewards tab.
I utilized the discover section as a combination of finding nearby deals and browsing nearby restaurants. With this design, users could do both at the same and from the same screen. When a restaurant is selected, its tab will slide upward to detail the rewards offered. When the user selects “unlock”, the modal that was already designed and in use would pop-up to detail each of the rewards even further before selecting.
It was important for me to note that when a user does not have any awards in their wallet, the empty space should be used to inform the user how they can collect rewards. This may be an explanation of how the process works or an action button to directly bring them to the next desired step.
I identified this as a critical point for onboarding and retaining first-time users.
Rewards Empty Space
The Final Assessment
For my final assessment of the Kaki Rewards app I took myself through every step of the user journey I defined above. Through each screen, I determined a goal and recorded my experience trying to accomplish that goal. I found every flaw from glitches and cosmetic inconsistencies to critical disruptions of user flows. I sketched new screens that could correct these disruptions and lay the groundwork for future iterations of the platform.
Below is an excerpt of the most critical disruption I found in the user flow process.
View the full assessment here.
Go to wallet button (critical)
- When I am viewing the details of a deal, the action button reads “go to wallet”. This currently brings me to my empty wallet. I would then have to go to the discover tab and manually find the deal again through that list. This bug breaks the user flow and inhibits the user from being able to complete their journey.
- To solve this issue, I recommend changing the action button to read “Add to wallet”. Once this button is selected, the user can be directed to view their wallet (as is currently), but the deal they were viewing must be automatically added to their wallet.
- If a deal is not yet available to be claimed, replace the “Add to wallet” button with a progress bar that states the number of points needed to unlock and add this deal to one’s wallet. This should be the same progress bar the user would see from the discover tab.
My final task with the Kaki team was to create some logo ideas for the new branding. The team had decided on a name change to Delight and were in a bind to come up with a new logo for the rebrand. I offered the team a range of design ideas to help spark some inspiration with the design team.
The stakeholder and co-founder that I spoke to had been very keen on the Kaki name and its reference to a unique fruit. He had expressed that he really liked the branding design I used on the table promotional content and seemed unenthused about the name change. I kept that in mind as I designed a range of logos for Delight that was both unique to the company and meaningful to the founders. The repeating pattern is inspired by the defining characteristic of the inside of the Kaki fruit. This was constant at the root of all my design variations.
What I Learned
The most critical skill I learned during this consultancy was quick adaptability. When I first started with the company and learned of the change in the core mission of the product, I had to reevaluate my previous research and begin again with a new focus in mind. However, I didn’t throw this research away completely. I determined that acknowledging the details of where this company began and analyzing what worked and what didn’t would be crucial in designing a new path of success in the eyes of the stakeholder (co-founder) I was in contact with.
When the mission shifted to focusing on restaurants and loyalty rewards, I was in charge of designing how the exchange between guests and wait staff would function. As the product was preparing to roll out, my stakeholder became increasingly concerned with the name and branding of the platform rather than the functionality of its interface designs.
To soothe the conflict of interest, I played the role of devil’s advocate. Instead of directing what I believed the stakeholder should focus on, I was able to work my concerns into the context of the user’s experience. When we spoke about which new branding option would be best suited for the app, I provided situations, stories, and hypothetical interactions for every scenario that would assist in the decision making of core functions. In doing this, he convinced himself of the best step to take for the user, and I could utilize his thoughts, opinions, and feelings on all topics to design a solution in the branding of his taste.
In the 4 short weeks I worked on this project, the company changed its name and brand identity 3 times. While this did institute barriers for creating a high fidelity visual design, I learned how to react quickly to the desires of a stakeholder while maintaining the frameworks designed for the needs of the user. I was pleased with how the stakeholder received my feedback and implemented my designs into the updated release. I know this skill will be translated into a lifelong practice of team management and strategy.