Desserter App Design
An iPhone App Designed to locate the Dessert spots which matches the User's criteria in addition to offering more unique "indulgent" features - just perfect for the ideal Sweet-tooth.
Wireframing
Prototyping
iOS
Flinto
Sketch
User Research
In Search for the best Pie
PROJECT OVERVIEW
An iOS app with curated data from pastry chefs, confectioners targeted to help the dessert lovers to find a dessert location based on their preferences to satisfy their sweet cravings.
In short a Yelp-Like App designed exclusively for Desserts with even more feature addition.
DESSERT TARGETS ALL
The target market for desserts reaches across all genders. Women appear to be more likely to crave sweets than men, coinciding with hormonal fluctuations, says Alexei B. Kampov-Polevoi, professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina. Children are even more inclined to like sweets, relating to an increase in calorie use associated with growth. Men enjoy desserts as well, a result of the human brain experiencing a rush of chemical reactions to sugar that includes the production of dopamine -- a neurotransmitter controlling the pleasure centers in the brain.
DO YOU EAT DESSERT ONCE, TWICE OR THRICE A WEEK?
PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING
39 percent of U.S. consumers ate dessert at least once a week. With 45 percent of those between the ages of 18 and 24 years and almost half of those aged 25 to 34 years eating dessert at least once a week, Millennials were the generation most likely to eat dessert this often. Consumers aged 65 and over were the least likely to eat dessert once a week or more often.
SHUTDOWN OF THE BEST DESSERT SHOPS
Many small businesses continue to be a prey to shutdown and essentially there are many small dessert shops which offer exotic desserts but has suffered a monetary loss since they were not able to take the dessert journey any further with only regular customers and not reaching new customers.
ARE YOU A DESSERTARIAN?
No matter how much people enjoy a well balanced and executed dinner, there is something about what comes next that makes all thoughts of that delicious dinner slip from the mind: dessert. Regardless of what form it takes, dessert is often the most anticipated and enjoyed meal of the day.
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Source - Statista, 2019
THE NEED FOR AN EXCLUSIVE DESSERT APP
There is no way for a soul to escape the sweet rush. A Dessert is something which peoples from every part of the world relish.
A dessert spot is often seen as a hub suitable for a hangout, romantic date or a place to relax. In short, An ideal dessert feeds the heart and the soul and also has a strong visual connect. From Weddings to Birthdays, A dessert occupies a place for every occasion and hence a homage to D-community by creating this App for the Sweet Lovers.
The Target Users of the App
Pastry Chefs
Dessertarian
Event Organizers
Individuals
Food Critics
Caterers
STORIES OF THE TARGET USERS
As a dessert lover, I want to know the nearest location of a dessert shop to satisfy my sweet craving.
As a dessert lover, I want to search for a specific dessert of choice to help me filter out locations.
As a party host, I want to know the places which offer customizations to help me theme the desserts
As a pastry Chef, I want to know about the dessert shops close to my location, so that I can apply for a job if there is a vacancy.
As a dessert lover, I want to find places which have offers a good hangout spot so that I can hang out with friends.
As a dessert lover, I want to know the nearest location of a dessert shop to satisfy my sweet craving.
As an individual, I want to find dessert stops within a certain price range so that I can eat a dessert on a limited budget.
As a dessert lover/individual, I want to know about any offers available to desserts near my location so that I can redeem the offer.
As an individual with gluten allergy, i want to find dessert shop which offer gluten free desserts.
As a food explorer, I want to know more about a dessert shop so that I can advertise its history via social media.
As a food explorer, I want to get the information about a dessert shop so that I can review and rate the desserts sold.
"We believe that by creating a mobile app for the target users, we will help them to satisfy their sweet cravings. We know this to be true when the users refer the app to locate the dessert shop of their choice"
User Research and Business Value
USER RESEARCH
A Market survey was conducted among 40 participants to determine the shortcomings of the existing apps available in the market and also the features which they think might be needed in a stand-alone app for desserts. The survey also identified the reasons why the customers might want to visit the place in the first place.
The target age group of the users were 18-30 and included all genders.
The survey consisted of multiple-choice questions and open-ended questions and the results were analysed.
RESULT OF THE USER SURVEY
Users considered varied reviews from Yelp to be a major drawback and also Yelp offers a volley of information which hides ideal information.
The existing apps don’t show the featured/popular item of a dessert place and the users are left with only a menu to choose from.
25% of the users eat dessert almost 2-3 times a month and they would prefer an app to check the places of interest
Users prefer to see different views/pictures of the desserts to capture their attention towards a particular place. They go to a place based on Aesthetics.
The Hours of operation differs from Google and Yelp and some of the users have to call to the place for a reservation
Competitive Analysis of other Apps
EXISTING APPS IN THE APP STORE
On a complete search for a dessert locator in the App Store, There are no dedicated apps available to locate just desserts. Most of the target users relied on Yelp/ Google to find a dessert shop near them.
Most Apps used by the Users are Google Maps, Yelp, Facebook, Instagram to find a dessert spot. Word of the Mouth is also a powerful aspect to know about a spot. A way to incorporate all the useful features of competitive apps with a focus on new features would be ideal
WHAT DOES THE GENERAL CATEGORY APPS LACK
All the apps are a general version of location finder which covers many places of interest. Vendor Customization filters are also missing from many apps.
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Exclusive filters for each category of Interest is missing. All the places had the same filter and the selection was made from them.
Does not distinguish between images of place and food. All the user wanted a clear picture of the Food and the place
Does not show the Top-rated or the Featured desserts of the place which the customers might want to try
HOW DOES THE PROPOSED DESIGN COMPARE WITH THE EXISTING APPS?
YES FEATURES
NICE TO HAVE FEATURES
NO FEATURES
Location Finder
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Exclusive Dessert Filters
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Featured Dessert
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Review Submission
Competitive Analysis of other Apps
EXISTING APPS IN THE APP STORE
On a complete search for a dessert locator in the App Store, There are no dedicated apps available to locate just desserts. Most of the target users relied on Yelp/ Google to find a dessert shop near them.
Most Apps used by the Users are Google Maps, Yelp, Facebook, Instagram to find a dessert spot. Word of the Mouth is also a powerful aspect to know about a spot. A way to incorporate all the useful features of competitive apps with a focus on new features would be ideal
WHAT DOES THE GENERAL CATEGORY APPS LACK
All the apps are a general version of location finder which covers many places of interest. Vendor Customization filters are also missing from many apps.
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Exclusive filters for each category of Interest is missing. All the places had the same filter and the selection was made from them.
Does not distinguish between images of place and food. All the user wanted a clear picture of the Food and the place
Does not show the Top-rated or the Featured desserts of the place which the customers might want to try
HOW DOES THE PROPOSED DESIGN COMPARE WITH THE EXISTING APPS?
YES FEATURES
Location Finder
Filtered Search
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Ratings and Reviews
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Instagram Photos
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Top Rated Desserts
NICE TO HAVE FEATURES
Different Views
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Social Sharing
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Nearby Attractions
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History/Points
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Suggested Itinerary
NO FEATURES
Makes Reservations
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Events
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Add Friends
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Chatbot
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User Personas
Proposed Features
LOCATION FINDER
This app must be able to populate best dessert experiences near a location. On a map with location markers, the app also aims to show the places and their ratings
FILTERED SEARCH
Filters are exclusively optimized for a dessert shop and have filters for dietary restrictions and even decor
DIRECTION & HOURS OF OPERATION
Hours of Operation for a shop is not a constant entity and the verified members of the app can edit the hours if there is a change and a request can be submitted.
SUBMISSION OF A NEW SHOP
Users are given the ability to add a new shop. On submission, the authenticity will be verified before publishing it public on the app.
LOGIN
To register the user for rating, review and adding places as favorites
REVIEW AND RATING
The app allows the verified local users or people to rate the app in addition to gathering high-standard reviews available from critically acclaimed sources
DESSERT SELECTION
The app displays a varied choices of desserts and allows an user to make a selection based on their interest. The app displays only the shops relevant to the dessert selected
FEATURED PRODUCT
SOCIAL MEDIA EXPOSURE
This feature allows a dessert place to showcase a dessert standalone to the shop- their signature product.
Sharing an experience via social media apps such as Facebook, Instagram etc
COMMUNITY SHARING
An inbuilt community of the members of the app and any valuable information about the dessert can be shared and made public online, for from the survey,
LOYALTY/REWARDS
For the participating stores, if they have a mobile rewards program, integration with the app will yield benefit.
THEMED SELECTION
Series of themes and dessert shops which satisfy the themes, Helps to make decision based on the mood of the user
DESSERT DETAILS
Details about the dessert with more high-res images to bring aesthetics.
CUSTOM COMBINATIONS
Some shops intend to share some of their custom combinations which can be a part of the app.
WEATHER FORECAST
To display the weather as a part of app screen design.
Impact Map for the Features
High Impact
Expected
Location Finder
Review & Rating
Dessert Selection
Filtered Search
Featured product
Social Icons
Direction/Hours
Community Share
Dessert Details
Login
Popularity of Menu
Submission of New Shop
Labelling Locations
Themed Selection
Loyalty/Rewards
Editing details
Weather
Favorites
Unexpected
Recipes
Nutrition Info
Low Impact
CONSTRAINTS OF THE APP
Though the app aims to satisfy the dessert needs, since it is a curated app, It will take a long time to populate the contents.
Providing Authenticity is a whole new model in itself and time taken to verify the data will be a major constraint.
The app entirely depends on user’s participation to function for a larger population.
User Journey Map
Placement & Design Layout
SITE MAP
NAVIGATION EXPLAINED
After a card sorting to determine the navigation, there was an intention to keep two types of navigation. The main options are laid below on the tab bar and the submission was assigned a separate navigation on the top
Medium Fidelity Wireframes
ACCESS TO LOCATION
SINGLE SIGN ON
FILTER CRITERIA
MOMENT SELECTION
RATING A SHOP
COMPLETION PAGE
SUBMISSION PAGE
RESULTS OF SEARCH
MoodBoard
Stylesheet
Desserter Prototype
High Fidelity Wireframes
SINGLE SIGN ON
SHOP DETAILS
FILTERED SEARCH
THEME SELECTION
SEARCH BY TYPE
RESULTS OF SEARCH
REWARDS
DESSERT INFO
Future Enhancements
Adding a section for the Dessert Topping. After all, what is a dessert without a topping? There might be a section displaying the pairing of topping with the dessert as a part of the display details page.
Including an online Reservation and Online Ordering system with a connection to the different dessert-shop apps for easier flow and to save time standing in the queues
Including Personalization for different users to allow giving recommendations exclusive to an user.
