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UI/UX Design | University Course Project
Discover Me: helping local businesses get found, without an ad budget.
A high-fidelity website prototype that helps small business owners (bakeries, salons, dessert shops) attract customers who are searching nearby, and gives customers an easy way to browse, review, and actually get there.
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Problem
Solution
Small business owners struggle to attract customers without a marketing budget
A discovery platform built around location, reviews, and direct contact, not ads
Method
Scope
Pre-design interviews with real business owners, then high-fidelity prototyping
Full customer-facing website, one of two platforms in the larger product
My Role
I designed the full UI system and every customer-facing screen shown on this page, from onboarding through business profiles, reviews, and messaging. A teammate designed the companion business-owner app, and the rest of the team ran the interviews that shaped both.
Research
We talked to the business owners first, not just the customers.
Before designing anything, our team interviewed 5–8 small business owners about how they currently attract customers and what tools they wished they had. Two findings shaped the entire structure of the site.
Finding #1
Directions matter more than we assumed
Finding #2
Owners wanted to talk to each other, not just customers
Many of the owners we spoke to don't offer delivery. For them, a customer successfully finding their way to the physical shop is the entire conversion, not a nice-to-have. That pushed location and directions from a buried detail into one of the most prominent elements on every business profile.
Several owners mentioned wanting a way to reach customers for feedback, but also to connect with other local business owners for potential collaborations. That's why messaging exists as a first-class contact option on every profile, not just a customer support afterthought.
Prototype
From welcome screen to booking a visit.
The customer flow: sign in, browse recommended and previously viewed shops, then land on a business profile built to answer the four things a first-time visitor actually wants to know.
Welcome & sign-in. Customers and business owners sign in separately from the same entry point, since they see very different experiences after login.
Login. Standard credential login plus Google/Apple sign-in, kept simple since this is a discovery tool, not a heavy transactional platform.
Business Profile
Four tabs, built around what an interview actually told us mattered.
Information tab. Bio, hours, menu, and an embedded map with directions sit together, directly reflecting the "no delivery, directions matter" finding.
Reviews tab. A star breakdown plus filters (by star count, photos included) so customers can scan trust signals fast.
Individual reviews. Real customer photos alongside written reviews, since food and beauty businesses live or die by visual proof.
Contact tab. Phone, email, social, reservation link, and a direct "Message Us" option, giving owners the collaboration and feedback channel they specifically asked for.
Customer profile. A simple record of shops a customer has reviewed, encouraging repeat engagement with businesses they already trust.
Messages. A dedicated inbox for the messaging feature owners specifically asked for, letting customers ask quick questions and business owners connect with each other for feedback or collaboration.
Recognition
This was a university course project completed with four teammates. I designed the customer-facing website shown here; a teammate designed the companion app, and the rest of the team led the owner interviews that informed both.
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