Bolt Food
Unsolicited heuristic evaluation & redesign
Summary
I explored the sign up and discovery stages of the Bolt Food user journey.
After identifying usability issues, I evaluated the impact of each issue and then offered redesign solutions.
Why Bolt?
Despite over 1M downloads and an abundance of user feedback, this food ordering app is just not delivering, service-wise.
Sister company to the highly successful Bolt Rides, the product potential is there. Unfortunately, Bolt Food is not quite honoring the family name…yet
Quantifying Usability
To identify and describe the issues with the Bold Food ‘sign up and discover’ user journey I referred to Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics for user interface design.
I then rated the severity of each issue using a scale of 0-4. This would aid in prioritising redesign tasks.
Visibility of System Status
There is no indication that the app is loading. Users do not know how long to wait if it is taking longer than expected.
Severity Rating: 3
Solution:
- Introduce a simple loading animation
BEFORE
AFTER
Error Prevention/ Help & Documentation
A user can enter any combination or length of number into the phone number input field with no feedback concerning validity. Furthermore, there are no links to help resources or contact information should the user face difficulties with this authentication process. Reviews show a lot of people gave up at this early stage!
Severity Rating: 3
Solution:
- Text instructions to aid in user comprehension
- Stroke colour indicates status e.g red for error/incomplete
- Link to help section via familiar question mark icon
- Implement auto-discovery of device number, offered to user via pop-up modal
BEFORE
AFTER
Flexibility and Efficiency of Use
In order to select GDPR communication preferences the user is required to click through to a separate screen in order to access the checkbox.
Severity Rating: 2
Solution:
- Change the location of the checkbox so that it is on the primary screen
- Immediately describe the purpose of the communication i.e. news and offers
BEFORE
AFTER
Aesthetics & Minimalist Design
There are no filter options for the takeaway listings. Additionally, not only is there a lot of information presented on the screen but it responds to both vertical and horizontal scroll in different sections. A bit of a chaotic experience overall!
Severity Rating: 3
Solution:
- Filter via icon as well as via ‘quick filter’ category suggestions
- Vertical scroll for takeaway listings in line with Bolt’s initial marketing mock-ups
- Use of emojis in line with Bolt style guide
- More lovely white space
BEFORE
AFTER
Flexibility and Efficiency of Use
Within the bottom nav, the ‘Home’ section includes restaurants, groceries and stores. However there is also a separate ‘Groceries’ section that only contains groceries.
So if you’re just looking for a burger and fries you’ll also have to scroll through offers from cosmetics or grocery stores.
Severity Rating: 3
Solution:
- Concise navigation (aided by the previously added filter options) with fewer options
- Distinct sections for ‘Groceries’ and ‘Takeaway’ within ‘Home’
BEFORE
AFTER
Delivery
Along with the redesigns, I also compiled a small style guide. This began with extracting the typeface and colour palette from Bolt’s current design as well referring to their other branding choices such as use of the Unicode Emojis.
Added to this are the design constraints I set in order to create consistent, communicable redesigns. Together this is documented through a UI Library.
Key Learnings
#1 Reviews are a goldmine
Before putting any of my own design knowledge to use, I was already in possession of many great insights and suggestions thanks to user reviews. I will always look out for this feedback.
#2 Spend time on the UI Library
Creating reusable complex components is fiddly at first but saves time and ensures greater accuracy in the long run.
#3 Meaningful animation is a tricky skill
I really enjoyed playing with animation ideas for the loading screen. However, this is an area that I’d like to continue developing.
So, what do you think?
I’d love to hear whether you feel this project hit the mark, or perhaps just made you a bit hungry 🍔
Drop me a message
kittux.com 