Akatsuki Sushi

Concept Case Study & Product Design

Client

Akatsuki Sushi

Role

Product Designer and UX Researcher

Year

2025

Info

This conceptual project was created as a part of the Google UX Design Certificate course. The goal was to design a mobile app for a Japanese restaurant that allows customers to track their food deliveries in real time. The focus was on improving the post-order experience by providing clear updates, estimated arrival times, and a seamless interface.

I worked independently on this project and followed a full UX design process, from identifying user pain points to creating wireframes, interactive prototypes, and conducting usability testing. I also conducted a competitive analysis to better understand how existing food delivery apps handle order tracking and where they fall short.

Research

Competitive Analysis

A competitive analysis between other popular food delivery apps, including DoorDash and UberEats, and other restaurant-specific apps like Domino's was conducted. Both had to be considered, as the goal was to incorporate the convenience of third-party apps with the brand appeal of restaurant apps. 

The competitive analysis revealed these key findings:

  • Third-party apps emphasize logistics but lack unique branding and feel generic.

  • Restaurant-specific apps excel at personal branding and memorability (eg. Domino's iconic order tracker), but often lack real-time transparency.

User Research

To better understand user needs and expectations around food delivery, I conducted interviews with users who frequently use mobile apps to order meals.

Participants included college students and working professionals who order delivery at least once per week, primarily using apps like Uber Eats, DoorDash, and occasionally, restaurant-specific apps. The interviews were conversational in nature, focused on uncovering common frustrations, expectations during the post-checkout phase, and what makes an app feel trustworthy and convenient.


Across the interviews, several common themes emerged:

Uncertainty
after Checkout

"I'm constantly reopening the app because I don't know if my food's been made or if it's just sitting there on the shelf."


Nearly every participant mentioned feeling a lack of control once the order was placed. Questions like “Did they get my order?”, “Is it actually going to arrive on time?”, and “Why hasn’t anything updated yet?” were common. This often led to compulsive checking of the app or even calling the restaurant directly. In the case of using third-party apps, the restaurant has no knowledge of the order after it leaves their store.

Frustrated With
Limited Communication

Several users had experienced delays or missing items but felt frustrated by the lack of ways to contact the restaurant or driver directly. Third-party apps often routed communication through a help center, which felt impersonal and slow.

Desire for
Real-Time Updates

"Even if [my food]'s not on the way yet, I want to see that something's happening."


Users strongly called features that offered real-time delivery tracking and clear time estimates. Seeing the driver’s location or knowing that their food was being prepared offered peace of mind. Apps that lacked this kind of feedback were viewed as unreliable or outdates.

Clean, Effortless
Interface Expectations

Participants described often being busy when ordering, so they wanted the app experience to be fast, intuitive, and easy to navigate. Overcomplicated interfaces, or too many steps to find order information made them less likely to return.

Key Insights

My research informed the following priorities to keep in mind as I moved forward:

  • Keep the user informed throughout the entire process

  • Show order progress in a clear and visual way

  • Offer quick, low-effort access to help or contact options

  • Ensure the app feels modern, simple, and reliable at every stop

User Personas

  • Jonathan Ellis

    Age: 21

    Education: Undergraduate student (junior)

    Hometown: Chicago, IL

    Family: Lives alone, off-campus

    Occupation: Student, part-time barista

    I just want to know exactly what I'm getting and that it's safe for me to eat."

    Jonathan is a busy college student with multiple food allergies. He enjoys trying new places but is cautions when ordering food online. He prefers apps that are transparent, easy to customize, and keep him updated to he can trust his dietary needs are being taken seriously. When he regularly orders at a particular location, he prefers for have his allergies saved in the system.

    Goals:​

    • Find restaurants and meals that can be easily customized to meet dietary restrictions

    • Feel confident that the restaurant is handling his order carefully

    • Get updates about his food’s status

    Frustrations:​​

    • Menus that don’t clearly show ingredients or allergy warnings

    • Not knowing whether special instructions (e.g., “no cucumber”) were received or understood

    • Lack of feedback after ordering, especially involving a customized request

  • Kim Vaughn

    Age: 42

    Education: Master's Degree

    Hometown: Chicago, IL

    Family: Married

    Occupation: Human Resources Manager

    "If I know when it's coming, I can plan my day around it."

    Kim is a full-time HR manager at a busy manufacturing firm. Her workdays are packed with meetings and solving last-minute issues, which leaves her with little time to eat. She orders lunch almost everyday and values apps that simplify the process of reordering her past orders. Kim places her orders during short breaks and appreciates apps that are easy to navigate, require minimal effort, and giver her accurate progress updates.

    Goals:​

    • Order food quickly during short lunch breaks without delays

    • See clear and accurate delivery timelines so she can plan her schedule

    • Use apps that save her time and simplify the process

    • Easily reorder meals she likes without having to search and customize them again

    Frustrations:​​

    • Vague or inaccurate delivery updates that cause missed breaks or cold meals

    • Cluttered or overcomplicated interfaces with too many steps to checkout

    • Not being able to quickly find previous orders

    • Lack of communication when there is an unexpected issue

DESIGN

SKETCHES

DIGITAL WIREFRAME

STYLE GUIDE

#DA0000

#D9D9D9

#f5f5f5

This palette was chosen to balance recognizability with clarity; red draws attention where needed, while the grays and whites ensure that the interface doesn’t feel overwhelming and is easy to follow. The distinct red theme, which was also used for the restaurant’s logo, creates a memorable experience using the restaurant-specific app

FONTS

BUTTONS & COMPONENTS

PROTOTYPE TESTING

After creating the low-fidelity prototype, I conducted informal usability tests with a small group of target users to evaluate the flow and intuitiveness of the app. I observed their interactions with the interface and gathers their thoughts on what worked well and what I needed to improve.

I had 5 individual participants, two of which were college students and three working professionals. Throughout testing, I observed a few key findings:

​

  1. Difficulty Finding Chat Feature

Nearly every user expressed the expectation for the customer support and delivery driver chat to be more prominently placed.​​

One user also expressed concern in response-time regarding live support. If the restaurant is busy and there is no one available to reply to your chat, what solutions are there?

This led to me designing the chat to begin with an AI chatbot, which can handle basic questions and tasks, but will refer to you to a live representative for more complex requests.

​

  1. Lack of Notification Badges

Users were unaware of an unread message from the store due to the lack of any notification indicators on the main page.

​

  1. No Option to Adjust General App Settings

Users were surprised at the lack of a dedicated section to modify basic app preferences, such as enabling dark mode or adjusting notification settings.

​

  1. Lack of Tip Customizability

Multiple users mentioned that they often opt to enter custom tip amounts rather than use the presets, especially when submitting group orders, which they did not see any option for.

​

Based on the feedback I received from my initial design, I made edits to my interface and created certain options for actions I overlooked the first time around.

FINAL MOCKUPS

Reflections

As my first end-to-end design project, this case study was a deep dive into what it means to think like a designer, from empathizing with users to testing and iterating based on real feedback. Working through each phase of the design process taught me how much intention goes into even the smallest details of an experience.

One of the biggest challenges was balancing visual appeal with usability, especially in designing the menu and checkout experience to support both new and repeat users.

​

If I were to continue this project I would:

  • Conduct more usability testing across different demographics

  • Explore animations and micro interactions for user feedback and visual stimulation

  • Add loyalty and promotion features to support business retention

​​

Completion of this project solidified my interest in user experience design and gave me a hands-on experience applying design thinking in a real, structured way. I’m proud of the result and even more excited to continue to learn and grow in this field.