Mount Purrnon Cat Café
UX Design
2021
At-A-Glance
Mount Purrnon Cat Café + Wine Bar is a place where you can visit adoptable cats, learn about the history of Old Town, Alexandria, and grab food or drinks. Their goal is to provide an environment for cats to learn how to socialize and meet their new families.
Solo project
My Role
UI/UX Designer – user research, interaction, visual design, prototyping
Timeline
Alexandria, VA
Jan – Feb 2021
The Challenge
To take an existing cat cafe and create an app concept for cat lovers, anyone who’s interested in adopting a cat, and want to support a new local business. I reached out to the local business owner and proposed this idea, as well as suggested improvements for the navigating experience of adopting and booking ahead of time for their customers.
Disclaimer: All of the branding and photos of cats used in this case study belongs to Mount Purrnon Cat Cafe.
Design Process
Discover
RESEARCH
First, I looked at the cat café’s community reviews through Google Reviews and Yelp to get an idea of how the place is. Since the place is fairly new and just opened in August 2020, there isn't that much information yet. I also stopped by to meet the purresident of the cat cafe in order to get a better understanding on how the local business is doing during these times and what to focus on for my research.
Affinity Mapping
Define
To understand the target users, the goal for this process is to figure out what motivates the users, their goals and frustration. Once its determined, we can understand what to fix and iterate to help the user with and prepare for the final design.
Key Insights
Competitive Analysis
Information Architecture
Design
I started to generate ideas from the feedback I received and my research on other cat cafes. From there, I was able to figure out what they were lacking on their platform for cat adoption and focused on enhancing the user experience in that area.
Wireframes
I created some sketches, but had to skip the low fidelity wireframes due to time constraint, so I jumped straight to Figma to design the screens since I already obtained sufficient information from my sketches and research.
Color and typography
Mount Purrnon already has an established look, so I focused on worked on with what they have on their website and used two typefaces for the app design: Caudex and Gotham. I wanted to keep Old Town’s vintage feel to it, while making the look of the app modern. It’s a balance of both.
Adoption
Under the current adoption page, when you click on the adoption application button, it leads you to the Fancy Cats & Dogs website. Some users complain that it is too long and hard to follow. There’s no hierarchy, and there are way too many steps that are separated in filled boxes.
I empathize with the user on how this can be overwhelming. To solve this, I made the call to action stand out and merge the application within the cat cafe’s solely for this app concept.
Sorting / Filter
Included a filter and sort out functionality for better discoverability for your cat preferences.
Booking your visit
Schedule ahead of time to visit the cats! Reservations are not required, but are encouraged if you want a guaranteed time slot. Walk-ins are welcome as well especially during days when the cafe is not busy.
Prototype
View Prototype
Reflection
Usability Testing and User Feedback
I asked some locals that fit the target market to test the prototype and ask them to book a visit, view the menu, as well as go through the adoption application process. They got through the adoption process much easier than what was on the adoption website. Some users don’t mind doing the application process through the desktop if only it was more concise and less confusing. After testing the interactive prototype, users have commented that the flow looks much better and going through the application is less time consuming because the questions were less repetitive and more concise.
What I Learned
Since it’s a new local business and due to COVID-19, they don’t have the budget to develop an app, nor need one at this stage. Initially, what I had in mind is that an app concept would be convenient because you can view the selections easier and it would be user friendly as well. But after conducting my user interviews, most of the locals don’t mind booking their visit on the website or viewing the menu once in the café. It’s a matter of preference. Most of the concern is mainly on the adopting process. Nonetheless, from the findings I’ve come across, I have been able to support the cat café and provide ideas in finding ways to improve their usability and user experience.
