Buna Kurs is a quaint cafe located in the heart of Richmond. Bringing authentic Ethiopian cuisine to its consumers, we designed a potential new website layout and system for a more user-friendly experience. Our efforts focused on telling their story, introducing Ethiopian food to new consumers, and selling local goods through the Buna Kurs website.
Created with: Darshana Sanjay
User Research
Through our research, we found that Buna Kurs has a very positive reputation with locals and visitors alike. It is well known for its excellent food service during its lifespan. The few complaints that did arise after interviewing customers were long wait times for food, especially during peak hours, which called for an improved ordering experience to make it quicker. Through our user research, we landed on two user personas representing the consumers of Buna Kurs.
Wireframes & Sketches
Through our user research, we were originally set on creating an online ordering system for Buna Kurs to combat the wait in line, giving consumers a chance to order ahead of time. However, we had the chance to talk with the owner herself, who expressed two main points that she wanted from their website:
1. Uber Eats was their preferred method of online ordering, so creating a new system wasn't favorable
2. More info on their weekly coffee ceremonies and handmade products
With new insight from the owner herself, we sought to adjust our original plans to follow the wishes of the cafe owner as well. Our sketches and wireframes would focus on revamping the website layout to a more seamless experience and, instead of creating a new online ordering system, focus on a new products and services page alongside their menu. After several iterations and review from our professor, we finally landed on our prototype for Buna Kurs.
Prototype
Summary
The prototype development involved maintaining the original feel for the home page but enhancing it with attention-grabbing elements and incorporating more personal aspects such as the owner's story and values. Although a "our traditions" page is pending due to a lack of information from the business, efforts were made to create a user-friendly menu page, inspired by the Starbucks app, with a table of contents that moves as users scroll. There is a debate about whether to use a carousel or showcase all items on the page, with a preference for the latter due to the addition of a left navigation feature.
A section for items not on the menu, suggested by the store owner, was included to highlight products like gift cards. An events page was also added for owners to update store-related information. Initially focusing on online ordering, a shift occurred after realizing the business was well-established on Uber Eats. Consequently, attention turned to addressing missing information about Buna Kurs on the website to better serve users. It was a long journey getting to the final prototype, but Darshana and I are both very proud of how it came out. Thank you to everyone who read our whole journey to improve Buna Kurs User experience!