Transforming Restaurant Experiences with

Adding a Gamification layer

Honei.app is an existing application on which I crafted a gamification layer

Project Type​

  • B2B2C
  • Food service industry

Challenges

  • Unexpected Pivoting
  • Integration with existing product
  • Gamification Experience
  • Customer Experience

My Role

  • User Research
  • Product Design
  • Service Design
  • UX/UI
  • Gamification

Tools

  • FigJam (Planning)
  • Figma (Design system)
  • Maze (User Testing)
  • Adobe Suite (support design)

This project was born as a personal business idea,
but it evolved into something else...
  1. How did it start
  2. Research process
  3. Gamification Design
  4. UI/UX Design iterations
  5. Functioning Prototype
  6. Metrics and KPIs
1. How did it start

As a frequent restaurant-goer in Barcelona, I observed consistent customer frustrations for slow ordering, delays in payments, and overwhelmed staff.

We summon taxis with a tap, split bills on apps, scan QR codes all day, so why are we still stranded when it’s time to order a beer?

I’m a Product Designer
so I started to think as a designer

2. Research Process

Ink on the Napkin

Planning
We had an idea with no validation from the market. We need to understand if a product like this could solve real user problems and if it has a degree of desirability

User Research Objectives

  1. Identify Users Behaviors and Pain Points
  2. Assess Needs and Expectations
  3. Evaluate Product Viability
  4. Uncover Operational Challenges
  5. Explore the existing market

Research methodology choice

NO

Surveys and Questionnaires: Don’t have enough time and resources for this, besides quantitative data give their best when measuring parameters of an existing system rather than when understanding a new problem.

YES

In-Depth Interviews: Qualitative data in this case seems to be the most time/money- effective way to get to understand the problem and the users

YES

Observational Studies: This methodology also provide qualitative data that result quite effective in the discovery phase for this problem.

NO

Focus Groups: Not enough resources

YES

Competitive Analysis: There are already similar product on the market and we need to understand their best practice and their flaws

NO

Ethnographic Research: Not enough resources

NO

Expert Interviews: Not enough resources

Voices from the Bar

User Interviews
User interviews with bar owners, customers, and staff helped us gather key insights by exploring their needs in context. From their responses, we identified three main findings to guide our product development.
Final Statements
1
Efficiency: All users want faster service, whether it's quicker ordering, bill splitting, or paying, without losing quality.
2
Technology Balance: While users appreciate the convenience that an app could provide, there are concerns about losing personal interaction, especially from bar staff and some customers.
3
Usability and Integration: The success of the app depends on how well it integrates into the current workflow and systems. The app needs to be intuitive, easy to adopt, and not disrupt existing service dynamics.
See real data

Eyes in the Field

Observational Studies
An open air restaurant in Barcelona is a good place to observe people interacting so we made a few sessions of observation of people ordering processes, we timed their actions and gathered insights from on-site interactions with the staff.

Insight 1:

Extended Wait Times and Difficulty Catching Staff Attention Lead to Customer Frustration

Observational studies in restaurants revealed that customers frequently faced long wait times to place orders or request the bill, especially during peak hours. With staff busy managing multiple tables, customers often resorted to waving or calling out for attention, leading to visible frustration and impatience. This indicates that the current ordering and payment processes are inefficient and negatively impact the overall dining experience.

Insight 2:

High Comfort Level with Mobile Devices

Observations showed that many customers frequently used their smartphones while dining, whether waiting for food or between courses. Patrons engaged in activities like browsing social media or checking messages. In venues with QR codes for digital menus, customers easily scanned and interacted with them, indicating a high level of comfort with mobile devices. This suggests that customers would likely be receptive to a mobile app for ordering and payment.

A Day in Their Shoes

User Journey
We have observed how Bar Customers and Bar Owners behaves during their experience. These information formalized in a User Journey are precious data to understand the problem.

Naming the Problem

Problem Statement
The research surfaced unmet needs; here we formalise what’s missing and why fixing it matters.

Current ordering and payment processes in bars and restaurants are inefficient, leading to long wait times for customers and increased pressure on staff, particularly during peak hours. Customers experience frustration waiting to place orders and split their bills, while bar owners struggle with outdated manual systems that slow down operations and reduce overall efficiency.

The need for a streamlined, digital solution that allows customers to:
  • view menus
  • place orders
  • make payments
directly from their smartphones, than exists as we though.

During the Competitive Analysis we had a bad surprise.
Someone else was already developing the exact same idea!

Honei is a startup based in Barcelona is already two years of development ahead of us!!

So we’ve tried not to panic and find a solution that could have make us continue to work to the project.
But drawing question marks and random diagrams on the whiteboard didn’t help much.

Riccardo left the venture, but was not mad at all

I tried to understand how to pivot the idea to make it competitive and not overlapping with Honei

I run a game company 10 years, so GAMIFICATION could be a good pivoting strategy.

3. Gamification design

Inside Honei

Company Analysis
AI tools like Notebook LM, ChatGPT and Perplexity allowed me to collect, synthesize and make sense of information about the product, the company and their short and long term goals. This will allow me to craft a gamification system aligned with the company goals.

X-Ray on the App

Honei App Design Analysis
I’ve spent some time analyzing the current system. The app is well done, but to integrate the gamification mechanisms I will need to do some redesign

Taking a look at the app I can tell it reflects the company strategy to improve 4 basic OKRs:
  1. Customers loyalty
  2. Average ticket
  3. Table turnover
  4. Market penetration
So the gamification will be designed to improve these points even further.

Game in the Making

Gamification Design
I started to iterate on a few possible gamification mechanism that would fit with the current app

The Four Winning Moves

Core Gamification Mechanisms
Then I’ve finally isolated the 4 pillars of the gamification system that will help the Honei's to achieve customer loyalty, faster table turnover, higher market penetration and higher average tickets.
1. Group Leader
OKR: Table Turnover
The core concept is the Group Ambassador. They are typically the key person in a group of friends when it comes to selecting dining spots. They have the ability to influence decisions within the group and attract customers to restaurants.
2. HONEI Ambassadors
OKR: Market penetration
Honei will thrive through this gamification system, as customers will promote the app to restaurants, encouraging them to adopt the Honei system to benefit for points and discounts.
3. Strategic Rankings
OKR: Table Turnover
This multi-tiered system ensures that users engage with Honei on different levels—exploring new places, building neighborhood loyalty, and deepening relationships with favorite restaurants.
4. Upselling F.O.M.O.
OKR: Table Turnover
The upselling section, regardless of its placement in the process, will benefit from an additional incentive for customers to add items to their ticket by earning extra points.
Now that the basic functions are defined for an MVP,
let’s see how to integrate them into the design
4. UI/UX Design

Sketching the Adventure

Designing the User Experience
Now that the main gamification principles are ready, let’s redesign the app UX to accommodate the game elements

Basic Home screen design

Design Iteration 1

Testing iteration 1

Users found this menu structure too conventional and hard to navigate for big menu

Design Iteration 2

Testing iteration 2

Users got confused on what is a filter and what a a menu item

Design Iteration 3

Testing iteration 3

Bar owners with large menu couldn’t adapt the 2 levels menu to their needs

Design Iteration 4

Testing iteration 4

This version was the most intuitive and flexible

Level-Up Makeover

Design Improvements
Now that the main gamification principles are ready, let’s redesign the app UX to accommodate the game elements

1. Menu Architecture

→ Improvements

UX Elements

1. Menu Navigation system      2. Filters

Gamification Elements

Restaurant discounts and perks

2. Richer Dish Detail Screen

→ Improvements

UX Elements

1. Richer Dish detail      2. Database Population with AI      3. Notes for the chef

Gamification Elements

F.O.M.O. Upselling incentives
Discount dispaly

3. Gamified Cart Screen

→ Improvements

UX Elements

1. Distinguishable purchased Items      2. Tip encouraging design

Gamification Elements

Upselling F.O.M.O.Upselling F.O.M.O.
Upselling AI
RankingsRankings

4. Design principles

Everything I've designed was made using the latest principles, best practices and techniques of modern UX Design
Variables Tokenization
Like any white label platform, Honei needs to offer brand customization. Figma Variables provides an excellent way to customize designs, allowing for adjustments to color palettes, typefaces, and other parameters. By using tokenization techniques, we can create a flexible and easily maintainable design system.
Accessibility
The UI design complies with WCAG 2.1 standards, ensuring inclusivity for users with visual impairments and other needs, to deliver a seamless and accessible experience
Design System
The design system has been meticulously crafted utilizing the latest advancements in design principles. This approach yields a robust design framework that is adaptable, scalable, highly maintainable, and effortlessly customizable.
Handoff to developers
A well crafted Design System significantly enhances the handoff process to developers by offering reusable components, clear guidelines, and standardized design principles. This job was made using exclusively Figma techniques such as Auto Layout, which standardizes components and simplifies responsiveness.

Such an approach ensures a smooth handoff, allowing developers to implement designs accurately and efficiently, reducing errors, saving time, and delivering consistent, high-quality user experiences.
5. Functioning Prototype
6. Metrix and KPIs
Here are 4 groups of metrics we could use to measure the effectiveness of our improvement to the previous system
1. Customer Loyalty
Increase return visits and long-term engagement through gamification, and loyalty features.
  • Average visits per customer per month
  • Repeat customer rate (e.g. % of users who return at least twice within 30 days)
  • Loyalty reward redemption rate (how many users redeem points or perks)
2. Average Ticket
Boost average customer spend through upselling, AI suggestions, and add-ons.
  • Average ticket size per order (before and after implementation)
  • % of orders with add-ons or extras
  • % of users who accept AI-generated upsell suggestions (e.g. suggested desserts, drinks)
3. Table Turnover
Improve operational efficiency by speeding up table cycles
  • Average covers per table per day
  • Average time from QR scan to order completion
  • Average number of table turns per service (e.g. lunch shift from 1 to 2 turns)
4. Market Penetration
Expand Honei’s footprint among restaurants and diners in key locations.
  • New active restaurants onboarded per month/quarter​
  • % of total restaurant orders placed via Honei
  • % of users who bring Honei to new restaurants (via the Leader gamification incentive)​
7. End game