Overview
Meet SeatFoodie
SeatFoodie is an all in one movie theatre app that makes your experience more convenient by letting you book tickets and order snacks without waiting in long lines.
My role
I worked as the sole UX designer, handling everything from understanding user needs to creating wireframes, prototypes, and testing the final design.
Timeline
The project took place from April 12 to May 28, 2023.
The Problem
Ordering snacks in a movie theatre usually involves standing in long queues, which causes delays and frustration.
The Goal
To make the ordering process more user friendly, convenient and accessible.
Design Process
Research
Ideation
Prototyping
Testing
Research
Understanding the Frustrations
Before jumping into design, I reflected on my own movie-going experiences and chatted informally with friends and family. A few common pain points kept coming up...
Long Queues
Waiting in line to order snacks is one of the biggest annoyances. It’s not just time-consuming, it can also mean missing part of the movie, which leads to frustrations
Limited Snack Options
The usual popcorn and soda combo doesn’t work for everyone. People with dietary restrictions or different taste preferences are left with limited options.
Accessibility Barriers
For older adults and users with disabilities, ordering snacks can be difficult due to physical barriers, hard-to-read menus, or unclear signage. The experience isn’t always designed with everyone in mind.
Time Constraints
Busy schedules can make it challenging for users to find time to go to the theatre and purchase snacks, especially if they have other obligations or interests competing for their time.
The Moviegoers
Based on the research, I created user personas to better understand the goals, motivations, and frustrations of typical moviegoers.
A Day at the Movies
To better understand the personas’ movie going experience, I created a user journey to capture the frustrations and opportunities at each step.
Finding the Gaps
Before jumping into design, I conducted a competitive analysis to see how movie theatres handle movie booking and snack ordering and how SeatFoodie could steal the spotlight.
You can view the full competitive analysis table here↗
Areas for Improvement
Customization and Dietary Choices
Most snack counters offer limited options. So there’s an opportunity to provide customizable snacks with healthier options which theatres rarely emphasize.
Simplified Ordering Experience
The ordering process at the counter feels chaotic and rushed. A simple step-by-step flow can make the entire process smoother.
Delivery to Reserved Seat (Our USP)
One standout feature SeatFoodie could offer is direct delivery to your seat, which will remove the need to queue altogether.
Ideation
Mapping the Experience
After completing the research, I started the ideation process by creating a user flow to understand how users would move through the app.
The User's Movie
To visually understand the user's experience, I created both a big picture and close up storyboard to see how SeatFoodie could fit into their journey
Drawing the Blueprint
After storyboarding, I created paper wireframes to explore layout ideas. Sketching on paper helped me focus on the structure and navigation without worrying about visuals. I tried out different versions of the home screen to see what felt most intuitive.
From Sketch to Screen
With the basic layout in place, I created digital wireframes in Figma for the first time. I used my paper wireframes as a guide and added additional screens to complete the user flow.
The Early Screening
After designing all the screens, I created a lo-fi prototype to test the user journey and also prepare for usability testing.
You can view the prototype here↗
Testing
Before jumping to the high fidelity phase of the design, I ran a usability study to get feedback on my designs and use the insights to improve the wireframes further.
The Setup
Parameters
Methodology: Unmoderated usability study
Location: Remote (India)
Participants: 5 total – 4 males and 1 female
Length: 30 minutes per session
KPIs
Time on task
User error rates
Conversion rates
System Usability Scale
Organizing the Insights
After the usability study, I organized the feedback into an affinity diagram to identify patterns and group similar observations. This helped me identify themes and focus on areas for improvement.
Areas for Improvement
Home Navigation
Users wanted a way to return to the home screen after booking, so I added a “Back to Home” button after booking a ticket.
Back Button
Previously, the logo acted as the back button which confused the users. So I made the back button more obvious by replacing the logo with a back icon.
Add to Cart Option
I added an “Add to Cart” feature in the seat selection, which would give users option to continue browsing and adding more tickets to their cart, or head to checkout.
Prototyping
Visual Foundations
I started the high fidelity phase by creating a style guide to set the visual foundations of the app.
The Final Look
Based on the style guide, I created mockups that completed the look and feel of the app.
Now Playing: SeatFoodie
After designing all the screens, I created the hi-fi prototype to test the overall experience and also prepare for the second usability testing.
You can view the prototype here↗
Testing 2
After creating the hi-fi prototype, I ran a second round of usability testing to see how users interacted with the full design. This helped me validate and make final tweaks.
The Setup
Parameters
Methodology: Unmoderated usability study
Location: Remote (India)
Participants: 5 total – 4 males and 1 female
Length: 45 minutes per session
KPIs
Time on task
User error rates
Conversion rates
System Usability Scale
Organizing the Insights
After the second usability test, I organized the feedback into an affinity diagram to identify patterns and group similar observations.
Areas for Improvement
Home Button
Users wanted a way to return to the home screen after ordering snacks, so I added a “Go Back to Home” button at the end of the snack ordering flow.
Cart Edits
Participants were frustrated that they couldn’t update their cart, so I added options to add or remove items directly from both the cart and checkout screens.
Movie Info
Users wanted more details before booking, so I included genre, duration, rating, and price on the movie selection screen. Earlier, the price only appeared at checkout.
Outcomes and lessons
The Result
SeatFoodie’s final prototype received positive feedback from users, with 4 out of 5 preferring it over traditional counter ordering. People found the direct seat delivery feature especially convenient, and appreciated having more snack options to choose from.
What I learned
This project was my first real step into UX design. It taught me how to think like a designer by staying curious, asking the right questions, and focusing on solving real problems for real people.
I also came to understand how research, testing, and the insights and iterations they bring can make a huge impact on our designs.
Improvement Opportunities
Looking back, I think I could’ve spent more time understanding the problem before jumping into solutions. Slowing down in the research and ideation stages might have led to better ideas.
Still, each step taught me something new, and that’s what matters most.
Thank you!
And cut! That’s a wrap for SeatFoodie :)
Thank you so much for taking the time to review my first case study! You can check out more case studies below.
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