Experience Design
Yelp's Meet & Eat
Environments Studio III: Design for Systems
7 Weeks | Fall 2020
Brief
Your client, Yelp, has decided to pursue the pop-up shop model that will be located in urban centers for short periods of time (3–4 weeks) and then moved to other cities around the country. How can you design this environment to translate Yelp’s brand into a physical space?
Tools:
-
Figma
-
SketchUp
-
VRay
-
Adobe Illustrator
Skills:
-
UI/UX Design
-
3D Modeling
-
Physical Prototyping
-
Visual Design & Branding
-
Interaction Design
Team:
-
Individual
The Outcome
I started with the question: Since Yelp has established itself as a digital service based on word of mouth and connection through reviews, how can I use this physical space to bring back the inherent physicality of the connection?
With this physical pop-up shop experience, I designed a space centered on the joy of sending and receiving reviews, called Meet & Eat! My full process for the project is documented here.
The Physical Space
The physical popup is located in Schenley Plaza in Pittsburgh, PA. It is comprised of 4 individual stations, in which the review delivery system occurs. The back larger tank contains tiny takeout boxes that will be distributed to each of the individual stations through the spiral mechanism that can be seen in the center.
The Physical Model
Additionally to digital mockups of the space, here is a physical model to show all of the elements in context with one another, and to gain a sense of the scale of the space. This model is made at the scale 1/2 inch = 1 foot.
Space Messaging
Each of the outward facing walls of the station allows for space messaging. Here are the 4 posters that line the outside walls. The visitors will see the posters in this order. They also work to demonstrate the purpose of the experience in a concise manner and create a conversational tone between Yelp and the experience users.
Visitor Journey
Output: Buzzes & Lights up
Students High-Fiving
Input: Students squeezing Buddi
Parti Diagram
The visitor begins at the bottom right, where an attendant will tell them when they can go to a specific station. They walk along the outside of the path, entering their given station, then following the same path out for the exit.
Experience Introduction
At the entrance, each person will be greeted by an attendant who is monitoring the space. The attendant will indicate which station is empty and when they can enter.
Entering a Station
Then the user will walk through the space until they get to their station. Once they enter the station they will see a screen with the main interaction to the left.
Customizing a Review
Through this screen interaction, the visitor will have the opportunity determine their customized review through minimal parameters.
Receiving your Review
Then the user will watch their takeout box come down the spiral to them. The box itself does not contain the review, to avoid any sort of physical separation process of the reviews. Within the station itself, there is a printing mechanism that drops the review into the box before it reaches the visitor.
_gif.gif)
The Physical Model
The takeout box is branded with the yelp logo. Within it will be the main takeaway for the visitor. The review card contains 3 elements:
-
The name of the restaurant
-
A review written by a local yelp reviewer.
-
A QR code that the guest can scan which will take them to an interaction within the yelp app.
Integrating the Yelp App
Leaving a Review
At the back of the large tank in the space, the user can input one of their own reviews into the space. The large screen prompts the user to scan a QR code which takes them to the Yelp app.
Experience Takeaway Interaction
The QR code on the visitor's customized review card will take them to an interaction in the Yelp app. If the visitor is not already a Yelp user, then they will be taken through an onboarding process. They are prompted to write a review for the restaurant they were recommended and connect with the original reviewer.
The Process
Initial Research
I began this project by researching Yelp and developing key insights about the company that would inform my design process for the experience and thinking about the type of person my experience would target.
User Personas
Ideating, Sketching, & Prototyping
