Peacemaker Pizza

Peacemaker Pizza started out as a simple quarantine project that has grown into a small home operated pizza bakery focusing on Neapolitan style pizza. Instead of taking any profits, Vinh Le, the owner and amateur pizzaiolo of Peacemaker Pizza, decided to have all the funds raised for the pizzas donated to a charity/non profit organization. He tasked me with creating an app that simplified the process of ordering pizza to help encourage customers to order and donate to the selected organizations.

Final Prototype

This is a video of the final prototype in action, showing the uses of the app.

Brainstorming

Before anything I wanted to have an interview with Vinh to get an understanding of what his goals were for this particular app. After sitting down and talking with him we came up with the goal of making ordering pizzas easier therefore driving donations. Once this was established I went ahead and created the user flow as well as drawing some simple sketches to help me gain a better picture of what the app could look like.

*User Flow to help get a sense of how the app will function.*

*Sketches to guide the visual design of the app.*

Low Fidelity Frames

After creating the User Story, Flow and Sketches I went ahead and started to create the Low Fidelity Wireframes in Figma.

After the initial User Flow, Sketching and Wireframing was completed I created a Mood Board to get the Visual Design locked down. One of the benefits to working with an already established entity was that there wasn’t too much that I had to re-think on my own. The Peacemaker Pizza brand had its logo, colors and typography already decided on. For me, it was a matter of taking all those and implementing them in a tasteful way on this new platform.

High Fidelity Frames

Once the Low Fidelity Wireframes and Mood Board were created I started to refine the Wireframes into a High Fidelity Version with images, text, colors and animations included.

Revisions

I knew going into the design of the app that there were only going to be three main sections to the app. The Ordering, Pizza Tracking and Donation Tracking. The challenge I faced with this was, how do I create this in a way that is easily understandable and useable for the user but at the same time maintain the simple and minimal feel of the brand itself. My original design, while they were a good showing of how an app can have many features and interactivity, were not as intuitive as I had thought.

Main Concerns

Confusing User Flow
More inputs than necessary
Visual indicators for adding to cart not prominent enough

The original design of the scrolling overlay was just too confusing even after rounds of user testing. I eventually decided to go with the tried and true arrows. Even though the solution is simple I believe that it was the right choice. Arrows are easy to understand and you don’t get lost in all of the inputs that the scrolling overlay had. In order to meet the goal of making ordering easier thus driving up donations, I believe that this change was the right one to make.

Video Comparison of the two ordering user flows

The biggest challenge I faced while working on this project was the Home Page. I question that I had to answer was “How do I create a home page that contains all the relevant information needed while maintaining a clean and clear aesthetic. My first few drafts had the overall feel that I had wanted but lacked in the relevant information. As I continued to work on the designs I feel that I was able to find the balance that was needed.

Final Iteration before Finished Home Page

Final Thoughts

Overall I was very pleased with the outcome of this project. I believe that I was able to find the balance of visual design and usability. The final app hit all the markers that were required while still maintaining the feel of the brand. I believe that a user who utilizes this app will find that it is easy to use but still pleasing in a visual manner.