The Local Tongue
The Local Tongue (TLT) platform shares where the world’s finest food and drink experts love to eat and drink in their home city. TLT guides are designed to enhance one’s traveling experience and celebrate food and drink's power in bringing people together.
UI/UX Design
Mobile Site Redesign
Solution
Our objective was to enable users to discover guides matching their preferences or requirements. We implemented several solutions to achieve this goal, which included:
Improving the site's navigation.
Introduced an enhanced content strategy and information architecture to make it easier for users to discover content.
Implemented a search filter based navigation system for finding guides and recommendations based on specific queries.
The Challenge
TLT is hoping to improve its website to attract a new audience, increase monetization opportunities, and establish brand partnerships. This will be achieved through:
Redesigning the site with a mobile-first approach.
Simplifying the process of discovering content for travelers.
Incorporate Google Maps into destination page.
Enhancing the visual brand identity.
Product Description and Goals
The Local Tongue (TLT) provides guides for food and drinks worldwide, so travelers can eat like a local no matter where they are. TLT curates guides and editorials written by chefs, food writers, and industry experts on their favorite places to eat in their home city.
High-Level Goals
Reinforce the brand’s unique feature, ‘Perfect For Venues,’ which provides curated venue recommendations.
Attract a new audience of users to the site, specifically travelers.
Monetize the site and create space for brand partnerships.
Discovery
Research Process
Our team was presented with TLT's preliminary research results which were collected through user interviews and surveys from their current reader base. These findings helped us gain insight into TLT's current audience, which primarily consists of industry professionals in the food and drink industry. However, as TLT aims to attract a new audience of intentional travelers, we conducted further research to identify their specific needs and pain points and explore ways to enhance TLT's website.
Objective
Understand TLT’s competitors
Understand users’ behaviors & challenges around travel
Understand users’ experience on TLT’s current website
Methods
Competitive Analysis
User Survey
Usability Testing
Competitive Analysis
Process
The first step in our research process was understanding and identifying TLT’s competitors. We looked at 8 competitors with a background in food/drink, travel/leisure, and integration of a navigable maps feature. The table below shows the top 4 competitors most aligned with TLT’s content and business goals.
Key Insights
All competitors offer a membership feature.
Integration of Google Maps makes locating venues easy.
Competitors offer detailed venue descriptions.
Opportunity to improve navigation with a filtered search feature.
User Survey
Process
Our objective was to understand how travelers plan dining and drinking experiences while traveling. To achieve this, we sent out a survey that included questions about:
Travel planning processes and activities.
How users incorporate navigation tools.
Social media usage in discovering new places to eat & drink.
Background
41 participants - travelers who prioritize food & drink
12 participants - TLT Readers
Key Insights
76% of users create a travel bucket list on social media or notes app
83% of users use Google Maps for navigation
43% of users rely on reviews when deciding where to eat and drink
71% of users prioritized local cuisine
61% of users consider researching restaurants to visit very important
88% of users use social media to plan their trip details
Current Site Analysis
Process
We aimed to gain insight and understand how users navigate and find information on TLT’s current website. To do this, we created a usability test centered around:
Locating an expert based on the destination.
Finding and sharing a venue recommendation.
Locating more information about TLT.
Background
5 participants - travelers who prioritize food & drink
Homepage
Users had difficulty understanding the TLT’s services.
Users found the content on homepage confusing.
Expert / Destination page
Users had difficulty differentiating content from one another because they were visually identical.
Users wanted specific details from the destinations page.
Menu / Navigation
Users had difficulty locating the About page, expecting to find it in the main menu.
Users wanted the option to filter their search quickly.
Developing Solutions
Persona
After conducting thorough research, we developed a persona to lead us in our design process. We aim to address the users' pain points while simultaneously achieving TLT's business objectives.
Goals
To discover new local venues for food & drink, cultural sightseeing, and outdoor activities while traveling.
Needs
A quick and easy way to search for places to eat & drink when traveling.
User Journey
Through the usability testing conducted on TLT's website, we gained valuable insights into the pain points users encountered while exploring and planning trips on the site.
Pain points on TLT’s Site
Overwhelming amount of content.
Difficulty locating the ‘About’ page.
Unable to distinguish the purpose and differences between the ‘Experts’ and ‘Destinations’ pages.
No summarized keynotes highlighting the most important information.
Venue recommendations link to external sites, causing users to leave the site.
The Problem
Travelers enjoy taking time away from their busy schedules to experience other cultures from around the globe. However, they find it challenging to discover the best local places to visit.
Travelers need an efficient way to access reliable and comprehensive guides in a personalized way because researching places to eat & drink, saving and sharing destinations, and managing venue details can be time-consuming.
Ideating Solutions
Together we developed How Might We statements, small but mighty questions that allow us to reframe our insights into opportunity areas and innovate. We centered our solutions on creating a personalized experience and improving the navigation on TLT’s site.
How might we improve navigation on the website?
How might we create an exciting and personalized experience when discovering new places?
Improving Navigation
To save users time accessing the information on TLT’s site, we dove deeper into testing the navigation, looking for areas we could improve. Our usability testing showed that users struggled to locate information quickly and promptly.
TLT has 3,280 venues with 23 unique venue types and provides every guide and venue with a ‘perfect for’ tag.
82 food categories
9 drink categories
13 shop categories
Card Sorting
Process
Conducting a card sort to analyze how users grouped information on TLT’s website. Participants were instructed to group similar information and give each group a descriptive title accurately representing the content.
Background
14 Participants - travelers who prioritized food & drink
64 Cards - food, drink, and shopping content from existing site
Key Insights
93% of users agreed that country, cuisine, and culture cards should be grouped together.
86% of users agreed that deserts and sweets should be grouped together.
71% of users agreed that coffee and tea should be separate from alcoholic beverages.
100% of users agreed that all alcohol programs should be grouped in a unique category.
Tree Testing
Process
Our team updated the sitemap to improve content discoverability and save users time. A tree test was conducted to observe user navigation.
Background
10 Participants, travelers who prioritized food & drink
Key Insights
90% of participants successfully located the “About” page
70% of participants successfully located an expert food writer
100% of participants failed to locate wine-tasting programs
Final Sitemap
Participants from both testing groups unanimously agreed that the information was overwhelming to search through. This feedback influenced our decision to create two different systems for our navigation: a navigable sitemap and a filtered search.
Filtered Search
TLT's platform boasts a filtered search system that efficiently assists users in finding their perfect food, drink, or venue. Conveniently located beneath the primary navigation, numerous search filters have been seamlessly integrated to ensure precise and refined search results.
Consolidating Groups
Grouped Confectionary & Desert items together.
Alcohol Programs
Moved alcohol programs back to the drinks category.
Creating Categories
Created new sections under the ‘Shopping’ category.
Created an ‘Online’ category for venues that offer online shopping.
Recommended Category
Provides space for monetization and brand partnerships.
Experiences chosen based on survey key insights.
Design
Design System
Our team was challenged to update TLT's website while adhering to their existing brand and style guidelines, which have been in place for over ten years. We focused on incorporating vibrant colors into the redesign to enhance the overall brand identity and differentiate TLT from its competitors.
Color Pallet
Keeping TLT’s brand color, Moss Green, as the anchor and foundation of our color pallet, we created multiple pallets to explore accent colors that enhanced the brand's visual appearance. We then conducted A/B testing to see which pallet our client thought aligned most with the overall brand. TLT chose to use Color Pallet - B.
Primary Brand Color
Moss Green is the primary brand color representing growth, renewal, and rebirth, strengthening TLT’s concept of smart, genuine, and modern.
Accent Brand Color
Orange Pantone is the accent color representing warmth, happiness, and freedom, highlighting TLT’s brand concept of being warm and approachable.
A/B Testing
Design System Components
Accessible Information
Process
To save users time by creating accessible information, our solution was to create interactive information cards containing only the most essential details a user needs. Our team designed 3 distinct card types: Destination, Expert, and Venue cards to be purposefully used throughout the site.
Destination Card
Destination image
Country flag icon / country name
Share Destination - button
TLT green overlay
Number of cities, guides, and venues at the destination
Interaction Design
Mobile: press and hold the card to reveal destination information.
Desktop: hover the cursor over the card to reveal destination information.
Expert Card
Expert image
Expert location / expert name
Share / favorite
Expert quote
TLT green overlay
Interaction Design
Mobile: press and hold the card to reveal expert quote.
Desktop: hover the cursor over the card to reveal expert quote.
Venue Card
After reviewing TLT’s venue information, our team decided to include only the most essential information on the cards. Venues were organized into 3 categories: Drink, Eat, and Shop. With this approach, we aimed to provide users with critical take-away information about a venue, making planning easier.
Venue name / destination
“Perfect for” tags
Expert type, expert name, expert image
Share / favorite
Cuisine type
Address
Designing Destinations
Creating a clear distinction between the content and function of the Destinations page was essential. From our testing, users were confused and struggled to understand the purpose and contents of the site due to the repetition of information on both the ‘Destinations’ and ‘Experts’ pages on TLT’s site.
Google Maps
Received approval from the TLT Development team to integrate Google Maps in redesigning the ‘Destinations’ page.
Venue Recommendations
Newly designed ‘Venue’ cards enable users to search and share venue recommendations with others quickly.
Google Maps integration allows users to see where venues are located in a given destination.
The number of recommended experts and venues are listed to inform users about a destination.
Each destination has unique Expert and Venue cards that make browsing and accessing relevant information easy.
The venue cards are divided into four categories: Popular Venues, Eat, Drink, and Shop.
The filtered search system is tailored to filter and present venues that suit each user's unique and personal requirements.
Testing the Design
Process
After finishing our mid-fidelity prototype, it was time to evaluate our designs and solutions. We opted to conduct the test in color to gauge users' reactions to our revamped style guide and color palette.
Key Insights
Users responded positively to visual design and style updates.
Understood the purpose of the site.
Successfully found the search bar on the homepage.
Users preferred to search by city or country instead of destination.
Users had difficulty locating the ‘Filter Search’ button on the Destinations page.
Users found it easy and intuitive to navigate the filtered search while making their selections.
Users expected key takeaways to be located before the guide on ‘Stories’ page.
Improving Our Design
Improvement 1
Removed the constraint of selecting a region before selecting a country or city.
Improvement 2
Relocated the ‘Filter search’ button to be more accessible for users.
Improvement 3
Moved the ‘Venue’ cards above the editorial guide on the ‘Experts’ page for higher priority.
Deliver
Homepage
In our homepage redesign, we made it a priority to enhance users' comprehension of TLT's purpose and services. Through site analysis, we found that users faced difficulty in distinguishing between various content sections.
Unique Content
Distinguishable content sections with descriptive subtext provide clarity and purposeful information.
Interactive carousels give users access to critical information.
Monetization / Brand Opportunities
Designed spaces for brand partnerships and monetized content.
Finding The Perfect Venue
To find the perfect location, we have implemented a seamless filter search system that guarantees accurate and refined results tailored to each user's specific needs.
Perfect For Feature
TLT has assigned a ‘Perfect for’ tag to all venues, which is displayed on their individual cards.
Search Filter
Relocated the ‘Filter search’ button above the ‘Venue’ cards for easier access.
‘Perfect for’ tags are displayed under the ‘Filter search’ button to show active filters and help users understand how their search is being refined.
Membership Features
To simplify trip planning and make it easier to plan with others, we developed TLT's membership with unique features tailored to personalized user experiences.
My Favorites
Users can save and organize their favorite expert and venue cards in custom lists for future trips.
Share Venues & Guides
Users can quickly share venue recommendations with others to make planning a trip easier.
Next Steps
Refine the ‘Perfect for’ list to remove duplicated items.
To enhance the user experience on TLT's website, expanding personalized features such as ‘My trips’ or ‘My experiences’ for members to enjoy. With this, we aim to expand the perks of membership and provide every user with a tailored experience.
Design the ‘Experiences’ page by incorporating fresh categories and activities that enable users to engage with partnered brands while also boosting opportunities for monetization.
Reflection
To improve the design process, consider conducting style guide testing earlier on. This can positively impact the flow and visual design in later stages, especially when transitioning into high-fidelity design.
Conduct additional workshop sessions with clients to gain a better understanding of how they absorb and process information. This knowledge will be beneficial in the future, as we can make our upcoming meetings more efficient and effective.
To avoid overwhelming users with too many search filters during mid-fi usability testing, it is recommended to limit the number of filters to three or less. Feedback from users showed that they became fatigued from having to apply and search through too many filters. Initially, users were given five filters to select, but reducing the number would have likely resulted in different feedback and results.