I was able to address some of the key problem areas with the current app.

New Homescreen

1. Search is now front and center in the homepage, allowing users to quickly find what they need…if they know what that is.

2. Suggestions of popular subcategories now appear in card format just below the search bar in the event that the user is looking for suggestions.

Results/Search

3. The results section now shows “glanceable” information, such as an image, $’s, rating, and distance. This style not only allows the user to get quick information, but also is more aesthetically pleasing.

Deep results

4. The restaurant details screen now cuts down on the amount of elements on the screen, which I found distracting when trying to find, say, the restaurant’s menu.

5. Fun animations make it fun to use.

Color

I wanted to stay true to the Yelp Red, #AF0606, but also introduce a new way of thinking about the color scheme. First, I used the Yelp Red for the accent/stroke colors of the back arrows, and the menu items located at the top of the results section. Second, I took inspiration from the color sampling effect in the Apple Music app. Basically, it analyzes an image and determines what the color palette should be based on the color most used in the image. I really like this idea, so I tried to apply the concept to the deep results section of my concept app. While it would be interesting to see how this color sampling would work on a larger scale, I really like the results with the two images chosen here.

Typography

In order to make the app look unified with iOS9, I chose to use the system font San Francisco.

Logo

When I started putting together the visual designs for this project, I couldn’t help but want to update the logo as well. I didn’t want to change the logo entirely, just give it a 2015 refresh to match the aesthetic of the new design. First, I removed the white stroke and used RokoFLF to closely resemble the current typography. Second, I decided to switch to a sentence case logo. I’ve noticed a whole slew of companies switching to lowercase logos to portray casualness, approachability, and playfulness. Capitalizing the Yelp logo not only establishes confidence for the app, but exudes it for company itself.

Current(Left), Lowercase concept (Middle), Uppercase Concept (Right)

That’s a wrap

This week-long sprint was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. I think the most interesting part is actually interviewing people and seeing how they use the app in their everyday lives. Creating the information hierarchy was a first for me, but I now understand the way it helps form design decisions later down the line. Being a visual designer at heart, it was hard for me to not just jump right into a full-scale redesign. Instead, I allowed myself to visualize the entire process from start to finish, and I can say that I really really enjoyed it. Of course, there are things that I will continue to work on and iterate in this project and others in future, but I think that’s the coolest part about design: it’s never really finished.