Ithaca to Go Checkout Redesign

Ithaca to Go Redesign

After a nightmare experience using Ithaca to Go‘s mobile app, I was determined to create an improved checkout flow.

OBJECTIVE To design a more effortless checkout experience.

DURATION 1 week sprint

TYPE Mobile UI/UX Design

Overview

I recently used the Ithaca to Go mobile app for the first time to order food to be delivered. I had previously only used the website to order food, which was never pleasant, however, the app was much worse.

After barely making it through the checkout experience, I felt motivated to design an intuitive experience. This mini passion project was solely focused on advancing my visual design skills.

The Problem

If the 2.5 star rating on the App Store was not telling enough, I have highlighted the key user pain points when advancing through the checkout flow. I kept these insights in mind as I began my design explorations.

Competitive Analysis

To gain inspiration from more successful checkout experiences, I looked at other food delivery services: GrubHub, InstaCart, and Uber Eats.

These are the key differentiators in the competitive checkout experience:

• Standardized usability guidelines

• Automation

• Visual feedback

• iOS integration

• and last but not least… clean and simple designs

All of these elements come together to facilitate a much more intuitive experience that I felt Ithaca to Go desperately needed.

The Final Flow

I targeted a redesign of four key aspects of the ordering process that were unsuccessful in Ithaca to Go’s app:

1. Browsing/Adding to Cart

2. Uploading Payment Method

3. Specifying Delivery Details

4. Post-Order Updates

The Design System

I created a Design System with reusable components for a cohesive UI design and efficient prototyping process. I was inspired by various design system resources, like Google Material Design System and Apple Human Interface Guidelines.

High Fidelity Demo

What I Learned

1. The importance of aligning an app with UI and UX standards for maintaining business value. This is what makes or breaks user retention. After a bad experience with an app, the user can and will find an alternative that better meets their needs. In my case, my expectations of making a seamless to-go order (based on my experiences with DoorDash, Grubhub, etc.) was not met on the Ithaca to Go app. Afterwards, I deleted the app and have never used it since.

2. Visual feedback is key. As I progressed through the Ithaca to Go app, I constantly doubted my progression as there was little visual or textual feedback. Thus, I prioritized informing the user in my designs to ensure a confident progression of user actions.

3. Familiarization with standard UI principles and practices. I constantly referenced resources such as Material.io to guide my design decisions. As a result, my designs were user-friendly and optimized for an approachable user interface.

4. Visual design skills. In previous projects, I had focused more on research and process, however, through this project I was able to focus on clean, more playful visual designs. This included using color, shapes, and shading to make the interface more approachable.

Moving Forward

Since this project was a quick, independent passion project, I did not present it to the Ithaca to Go company. However, with more time, I would love to build out the app and share it with Ithaca to Go as a proposition for their app redesign.

My focus on visual designs also meant I did not conduct user research or usability testing. I was limited by my own experience and opinions, which might not align with other users. Thus, I would love to get feedback from users and observe their interaction with my re-design compared to the original Ithaca to Go app. Findings from my research and analysis would also act as leverage for a proposal to Ithaca to Go.

Lastly, I would design a more thorough flow for the post-order experience. Since the focus of this project was the checkout flow, I only designed one screen relevant to this part of the user experience. Given that receiving the ordered food is the most important part of this experience, I believe giving the user assurance of their delivered food through post-order UI is crucial. In order to effectively design this, I believe user interviews are necessary to understand what is unsuccessful in current food ordering apps.

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