Overview
Type
Solo Project
Timeline
2 weeks
Skills
Interface Design, Interaction Design, Prototyping, Vibe Coding, Usability Testing
Context
In the summer of '25, I worked part-time at a café. Between morning rushes and taking 400-600 orders a shift, I noticed how our Square Point of Sale added friction to the one thing we cared about the most, delivering great customer experiences. The system slowed orders, stressed out new hires and caused avoidable mistakes. This case-study outlines how I set out to improve it and the results my redesign had.
The Challenge
While working at the café, I saw how the inefficient POS system led to avoidable mistakes, time-consuming workflows, and frustrated baristas. New hires struggled even more, lacking the workarounds experienced staff had developed, adding stress during already busy shifts.
The current system requires baristas to navigate five menus just to add an item. Once added, only size and add-ons can be changed. Any other edits, like switching to “To Go” or making a hot drink iced, meant deleting the item and starting over.
The Solution
Improved Information Architecture: 5 Submenus to 3
I removed the separate “To Go vs For Here” step and merged it with size selection and extras into a single customization page. This new flow matched the way customers naturally order by starting with the drink, then adding details like “to go” or extras such as syrups.
Autoselections for a Smoother Order
Before a drink is added to an order, it defaults to 12oz and To Go (based on analytics from the Square system). This auto-selection streamlines the process and removes the need for an extra step.
Power Features for Power Users
During peak hours, baristas can serve 60–70 customers an hour. A long press activates a quick-select size menu for instant drink addition, reducing steps for standard orders and keeping service fast and uninterrupted.
Initial Observations
Existing User Behaviour - Workarounds
Since the current system forced a To Go vs For Here selection even before the drink choice, experienced baristas clicked To Go by default and then made changes (deleting the order and starting again) if the customer wanted it to stay (For Here). This sometimes led to missed details as the barista had to select the drink from scratch.
Customers' Natural Order Sequence
Customers generally ordered in the size -> drink type -> customizations order as opposed to the current system that forced a To Go vs For Here to be selected before the drink itself.
High redundancy + Low Flexibility -> High Error Chances
Large orders were common, and some drinks had 6+ customizations (decaf, milk type, syrups, etc.). If a customer changed their mind, staff had to delete the drink and rebuild it from scratch. This often caused missed details and costly mistakes.
Visual Appeal
Conversations showed that baristas generally found the interface visually appealing. With the redesign, I aimed to enhance this experience while maintaining the same look and feel, keeping it consistent with the familiar system already in place.
Feature Exploration
Quick Access Menus
To speed up the flow, drinks were first designed to be added with default values. Changes could be made by long pressing on the cards to open a change menu.
I discarded this idea over concerns that it could increase errors and conflict with existing card gestures like swipe left to repeat and swipe right to delete.
Vibe Prototyping - Insights
Figma Frames First
Providing a Figma frame with my interface concept sped up the process of achieving the visual design I wanted. Prompting Bolt.new without a frame using only natural language gave generic results that missed the vision I had for the redesign.
Need for Design Judgement
AI supercharged the build speed, but missed important design details such as padding, interaction nuances, component sizing, color choices, and contrast. This process showed me how AI can accelerate early-stage prototyping, but human design judgment remains essential to deliver a polished final experience.
Testing & Results
I brought the prototype to the café, pitched it to six coworkers and the manager, then ran speed and usability tests.
Redesign -> Reality
JJ Bean runs 24 locations in Metro Vancouver. My redesign could boost the experience for hundreds of baristas and thousands of customers. After positive feedback from my manager and coworkers, I’m now collaborating with the tech team to roll it out across all locations while considering business needs.
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