Project Background

Authenticity is what people crave. Tacos are also what people crave. When a business that has a rich history of authenticity and community decides to do something daring, amazing opportunities start to reveal themselves.

The Client

From humble beginnings as a traditional taqueria in the back of a grocery store, La Plaza made a decision to flip their business model on it’s head. With the intention of bringing their food to their audience, they purchased a fleet of food trucks and rebranded into a traveling taqueria.

The Problem

The core of the challenge was “to streamline the ordering process” which not only includes making selections and paying for them, but also being able to know where the food trucks are at any given moment, understanding wait times, order statuses, and coordinating pick-ups.

The Approach

Once I understood the challenge and what the client’s goals were, I mapped out a process of how I thought I could best achieve the outcome La Plaza was looking for.

Initial Discovery

Before diving into design, I did some initial discovery by interviewing a handful of potential users. I wanted to better understand the target audience and the ways in which they currently engage with mobile ordering. My goal was to get a better picture of an ideal mobile ordering experience by understanding the best and worst parts of ordering food from these people’s point of view.

Research Goals:

1. Understand frequency and motivation for mobile ordering.
2. Identify what makes an ideal mobile ordering experience.
3. Understand challenges or pain points within the mobile ordering experience.

Key Findings

After synthesizing my research results, 4 key finding surfaced as focus areas for the solution.

Persona Development

When looking across my research findings, two key personas took shape. The established professional, and the hopeful intern.

Reframing the Problem

User Journey Map

Mapping Jade’s current user journey for food truck order and pick-up helped me to identify some key pain points in the process and also improvement opportunities for a future solution, including some potential key features.

Potential Key Features

Sketches

I sketched at least 5 versions of each screen before I chose final layouts, ensuring I explored a range of possibilities before deciding on that I would bring to digital. The majority of the screens address at least 1 pain point from user research.

Initial Design Ideas

As I brought the designs into Figma, I worked to further flesh out screens based on all feedback and findings from the user research.

Truck Location

Users need to quickly and easily locate a truck.

Nutrition Info

Users want to see what they are ordering and know the health value of a menu item.

Review Screen

Users need flexible payment options and an accessible review screen.

Low Fidelity Mock-Ups & Prototype – Iteration #1

Usability Study

At this point the prototype felt ready to get into the hands of some users to be tested. I conducted moderated 1-on-1 usability studies with 5 participants where they were asked to complete a series of tasks and I observed their behavior. I wanted to understand the level of ease of navigating the app from start to finish and see if there were any points of confusion or places where people got stuck.

Research Goals:

1. Understand how quickly and easily users are able to locate a truck nearby browse the menu and order food.
2. See if users view the nutrition information for an item. 
3. Find out if they find the order tracker/countdown useful.

KPI’s:

• Time on Task
• Conversion Rates
• User Error Rates

View Plan Here.

Key Findings

After synthesizing and analyzing all of the user feedback, a few key findings surfaced.

Iterations Made Based on Feedback

Based on the key findings of the usability study, I updated specific areas of the app.

Map

The map icons weren’t obvious to users so I made them more literal to represent a person and a truck. I also added pull-up functionality to the truck list, giving the map more screen real estate due to it’s popularity with users.

Nutrition

Users experienced difficulty finding the nutrition information of a menu item so  I switched the toggle to an inline “see more” button.

Payment

Not everyone wants to save a card or use digital payment so adding a pay at pick-up option was necessary.

Route

To users, the route function is valuable and needs to be a primary function that is easily accessible and obvious to find.

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Low Fidelity Mock-Ups & Prototype – Iteration #2

Defining a Visual Style

Before fully bringing the screens into high-fidelity I needed to define a visual style that felt rooted in the brand and connected to it’s Mexican roots. I did some research into classic and also contemporary Spanish/Mexican graphic design. I also spent some time collecting interior shots from restaurants that felt authentic but modern.

Brand Translation

Armed with a vibe, it was time to start applying the look and feel to the screens.

Splash Screen

Opening with a graphic animation adds a moment of delight and further reinforces the brand.

Truck Colors

Aligning the color of the icon to the actual color of the truck maps helps reinforce which truck a user has selected IRL.

Taco Images

Free floating taco images keep the emphasis on the food and allow a user to visually see what they’re ordering.

Order Countdown

Countdown informs the user of food status while the graphic reinforces the brand and adds delight.

Final Mock-Ups & Prototype

Reflection

Designing for La Plaza was both exciting and challenging because there weren’t strong competitors doing this well—we had something of an open canvas to create a fresh, valuable experience. To shape the solution, I drew inspiration from ordering and discovery patterns in apps like Uber, Lyft, and Airbnb, blending familiarity with new ideas that fit La Plaza’s unique context. What stood out most was the importance of translating the emotional and practical parts of exploring local food into a digital space. By engaging users throughout the process, we were able to refine the designs and sharpen the ordering journey with each iteration, ensuring the digital experience felt as authentic and approachable as the real-world one.

Key Takeaway

The La Plaza project highlighted that designing digital experiences isn’t just about usability—it’s about capturing the heart of what makes the physical experience special. By blending proven interaction patterns with deep user context, I learned that the most successful solutions feel both intuitive and true to the brand’s authentic story.