Heavenly Desserts thrived on its bespoke approach to baking, creating highly customized orders for cakes, desserts and bakes to suit every occasion and customer. However, its ordering system relied on personal communication through texts and calls. While this allowed for highly tailored service, it was inefficient, inconsistent, and challenging to scale. The goal was to design a user-friendly digital experience that simplified customization and ordering without losing the personal touch of the customer and the baker.
introduction
We aimed to drive a 15% increase in new customer orders and a 10% improvement in customer retention by creating a more efficient and streamlined ordering experience that enhanced brand trust and satisfaction.
GOAL
AMRITA ALEX
WORK SAMPLES
Résumé
my ROLE
Sole designer and researcher
SKILLS
UI/UX Design, Research, Product Strategy, Ideation, Prototype
TIMELINE
Sep - Nov 2023
THE BUSINESS PROBLEM
Heavenly Desserts struggled with miscommunications and errors in order details due to reliance on text messages and calls, leading to reduced customer trust, missed sales opportunities, and difficulty scaling. Without a digital presence, customers had a fragmented experience, resulting in lost opportunities for growth. How might we create a simple, efficient ordering system that reduces errors, builds customer trust, and supports brand growth?
The Challenge
Business goal
MY APPROACH
PROBLEM BREAAKDOWN
USER GOALS
UNDERSTANDING THE USER
KEY INSIGHTS
No matter what they ordered, customers found the process to be a hassle.
..back and ask her how much it was, and call again to ask about making the cake sugar free, adding brownies to the order. I didn't even know I could customize the designs of the cake until I spoke to them on the phone.
“It’s annoying to have to say no to my kids favorite foods but not having the time to make it myself either. It feels like I either have to compromise on the taste or on the nutrition,
“It felt really uncomfortable when I had to call..
..and ordering food online is just the most convenient option.”
UNDERSTANDING THE MARKET
KEY LEARNINGS FROM MARKET ANALYSIS
India’s top app for quick food delivery
Leading food discovery and delivery platform
Top Online Cake delivery platform
MY PROCESS
Health-Conscious Parents
Want healthier, homemade desserts for their families
Value nutrition without sacrificing taste
Trust local, homemade products
Trendy Dessert Enthusiasts (Teens & Young Adults)
Love visually stunning, Instagram-worthy desserts
Appreciate trendy customization options
Drawn to unique flavors and aesthetics
Occasion-Centric Buyers
Seek premium, custom-made desserts for special moments
Prioritize quality, craftsmanship, and personalization
Willing to invest in unique, tailored treats
Why did Customers Choose Heavenly Desserts ?
With the growing demand for homebaked goods in Indian metropolitan cities like Bangalore, particularly among an affluent, health-conscious crowd, Heavenly Desserts attracted a diverse customer base but shared values like—customization, quality, homemade appeal and mindful eating.
Payment 💸 and Pricing Uncertainty
Customers were unsure about final pricing and payment details, causing confusion and frustration during the ordering process.
Social Interaction 📞 Barriers
The need for multiple calls and messages to confirm order details created unnecessary barriers to smooth communication.
Busy Lives with Time ⏰ Constraints
Customers struggled to find the time to place orders due to the complexity and time-consuming nature of the ordering system.
No drawn out Social Interaction 📲
To place orders and mention customizations easily, without the need for lengthy calls or messages.
Effortless & Convenient Ordering 🛍
A smooth and intuitive ordering experience is key, reducing friction and time spent on the process.
Transparent Pricing & Online Payment 💳
To see the price upfront and have the ability to pay online, ensuring clarity and convenience.
Easy Customization for Dietary Needs 🍏
An easy way to mention allergies and other dietary preferences or nutritional recommendations.
What did customers want it to be like?
UNDERSTANDING THE CURRENT PROCESS
PROBLEM BREAAKDOWN
📞 Phone calls
Awkward, lacks anonymity—some users felt uncomfortable calling.
Can only verbally share requirements—no visual aid for customization.
No clear documentation—easy to forget or misinterpret details.
📲 Texting apps with photo sharing
Conversations can get lengthy and unstructured.
No standardized order format—risk of missing important details.
Pricing and payment are not integrated, requiring extra back-and-forth.
📦 Food delivery apps like Swiggy
No option for customized cakes or personal design preferences.
Lacks detailed customization features, making it unsuitable for a bespoke service.
(above) The process of a customer ordering a cake at Heavenly Desserts
Ordering Was Manual, Time-Consuming, and Hard to Customize, leading to Confusion and Extra Effort
Top platforms in the market showed the importance of Intuitive and Personable Design, but left opportunity for a Personalized experience through detailed Customization and Homemade quality assurance
Without a dedicated system, the ordering process was unstructured across various platforms, requiring back-and-forth communication. This often led to missed details, uncertainty about pricing, and difficulty in customizing orders, resulting in a inconvenient experience.
1
Effortless Onboarding, only necessary details
Apps were designed for quick onboarding, requiring only minimal information (name, phone number), which suited the Indian user preferences.
2
Intuitive Navigation Design
Navigation needed to be simple to allow easy exploration and take-backs considering the multiple options and the possible indecisiveness of the user.
3
Easy Product Discoverability
Well-thought-out categories and options made finding products a breeze, which allowed users to explore the menu without frustration.
KEY OPPORTUNITIES FROM MARKET ANALYSIS
📜 No Endless Scrolling
Unlike traditional food delivery apps that overwhelm users with endless scrolling, we could limit choices without sacrificing variety, making it easier to find what they want.
✅ Detailed Customizations
As a bespoke service, Heavenly Desserts offered tailored products. There was an opportunity to provide more granular customization options to match the unique nature of each order.
How could Heavenly Desserts stand out in the market ?
How do food delivery apps meet user expectations ?
Organize Products for Clarity
I started by categorizing all products on paper, grouping them into clear, structured sections.
This helped define intuitive product organization, ensuring easy navigation while maintaining a diverse selection.
Process
Design Considerations
One-Page Customization Form
I created a single-page layout with clear sections for flavor, size, special requests, and additional options, ensuring all choices were visible without overwhelming the user.
Guiding the User with Text Cues
To make customization easier, I used suggestive text in form fields, helping users know exactly what to enter and which options were essential.
Highlighting Unique Features
I included a “Baker’s Choice” option for users who wanted something unique, making customization both personal and fun while still maintaining clarity.
Process
Horizontal Vertical Scrolling
Assumption:
Observing existing design patterns on competitor apps, I believed horizontal scrolling, would make product exploration easier.
Learning:
A discussion with my mentor introduced me to a study showing that users prefer vertical scrolling for discovery.
Iteration:
I minimized the number of products displayed on the homepage, making it more scannable and encouraging deeper exploration through categorized pages.
Practical considerations first
Assumption:
Initially, I focused on a classic form-style customization page, prioritizing user needs and preferences, without factoring in how practical aspects like cost might impact decisions.
Learning:
"The prices should be there next to the weight option if it changes"
Iteration:
I updated the form to display the price right under each weight option, providing better clarity and transparency for the user.
Curated Homescreen for Easy Product Discovery
Streamlining Detailed Customizations for Users
Streamlining Detailed Customizations for Users
THE USER PROBLEM
Many users are juggling demanding work schedules and family responsibilities, making it hard to spend a lot of time placing orders through drawn out social interactions or phone calls. How might we enhance and streamline the current ordering process, enabling users to effortlessly convey their unique preferences through an intuitive and user-friendly experience?
The Challenge
User Needs
Problem Statement
Heavenly Desserts offered a wide variety of products, but displaying this range without overwhelming users was a challenge. The homepage needed to showcase customer favorites while promoting product discoverability through intuitive navigation and strategic content hierarchy. How might we design a homepage that highlights the brand’s variety, engages users with customer favorites, and encourages exploration without causing decision fatigue?
Problem Statement
Customizations were scattered across multiple texts and calls, making the process inefficient and prone to forgetfulness and errors. Users needed a streamlined way to customize orders in a single, easy-to-use interface that captured every detail. How might we create a simple, intuitive form that consolidates and highlights customization options while keeping the process easy and error-free?
Problem Statement
Customers often wanted cakes beyond the standard menu but didn’t know if customization beyond listed options was possible. Communicating these requests required multiple messages and back-and-forth clarifications. How might we simplify and streamline the process for customers to make custom cake requests beyond the standard menu, while reducing communication barriers and ensuring clarity?
Structuring the Homepage for Engagement
To balance variety and ease of navigation, I mapped out a strategic content hierarchy. I prioritized customer-favorite products, brand highlights, and visually appealing selections—showing just enough to spark interest while encouraging further exploration through categorized pages.
PROCESS
A Scannable, Engaging Homepage
The homepage now features a minimal number of products, organized by strategic content hierarchy. Prioritizing customer favorites and visually engaging items, it guides the user to explore more options in separate, easily navigable category pages, ensuring both variety and clarity.
FINAL SOLUTION
A Guided Customization Form Selection
The final design features a single-page form with clearly defined sections, suggestive text boxes, and dynamic pricing updates. This made customization intuitive, while visual cues ensured no detail was missed.
FINAL SOLUTION
Understanding the Nature of Bespoke Orders
Before designing the flow,
I analyzed how customers typically placed highly customized orders—what details they shared, how they communicated preferences, and the pain points they faced.
I understood the flow of apps that allowed photo sharing and texting, which customers were using currently to share their preferences.
Process
Mapping a Digital Flow
To balance variety and ease of navigation, I mapped out a strategic content hierarchy. I prioritized customer-favorite products, brand highlights, and visually appealing selections—showing just enough to spark interest while encouraging further exploration through categorized pages.
PROCESS
Gap in Pricing Logic for Custom Orders
Assumption
I initially designed the flow assuming that custom cake prices could be set or automated based on general factors like size and ingredients.
Learning
Pricing depended on complexity, ingredients, and effort—something users previously discussed directly with the baker. This gap meant they’d still need to switch to WhatsApp or a call, disrupting the seamless in-app experience.
I needed a way to integrate pricing discussions without breaking the flow.
Pricing for custom products had to be determined personally by the baker based on complexity, effort, and ingredients—but this flow assumed that prices would be set like others.
PROBLEM SOLVING
LEARNINGS
Don’t assume,
ask and learn 🤔
I realized that its better to ask rather than assume—whether it's about the user's needs or the client's expectations.
Iterate, Iterate, Iterate 🔄
“Don’t get precious with your design”- this was advice I heard from a mentor when I worked on this project. I had to make a lot of changes as I gathered new information from my research. Getting used to this process of constant iteration was unfamiliar and took a lot of effort.
If you didn’t document it,
it didn’t happen 📝
While I learned the importance of iteration, I realized I hadn’t been documenting all the changes and design decisions I made. My documentation was limited to the processes I carried out, which I learned wasn’t enough, especially when I needed to defend my decisions.
Trust yourself in the process 💪
As my first project, I started off confident and enthusiastic, but working mostly on my own meant I often questioned my decisions. I learned the importance of validating my choices through research, but I'm still working on trusting my instincts throughout the design process.
6
Task-Focused User Flow
The entire user flow was simple, straightforward, and task-focused, allowing users to complete their orders quickly—often within a minute or two.
4
User Motivation Throughout Journey
Bright animations and clear feedback during each step, motivated users, ensuring they felt engaged and encouraged to complete their tasks.
5
Engaging Content and User Interactions
Written content and interactive elements created an enjoyable and relatable experience, helping form a deeper connection with users.
🌱Quality and Health Assurance
Since all products were homebaked with trusted ingredients, we could use this authenticity as a selling point, reassuring customers about the quality and health-consciousness of their orders.
🎨 Personalized Products
The ability for users to request custom products outside of the standard menu would allow the brand to shine. By enabling users to share personal inspirations, the app could make ordering even more personal and unique.
