Songyi Han - NAVER Order

NAVER Order

Creating V1 of an online ordering platform for diners and restaurants

Role

— Lead designer, NAVER

My responsibilities

— User experience and visual design, User research, Usability testing
— Cross-functional communication across teams

Collaboration

— 4 Product managers
— 2 Product designers
— 3 Brand designers
— 3 Front-end developers
— 6 Back-end developers
— 3 Marketers
— 2 Researchers

Duration

— 04.2019 ~ 09.2019
— Beta launch on 05.2019
— Public release on 09.2019

Overview

Context

NAVER Corporation

NAVER is a global tech company based in South Korea, providing various online services including search engine, AI, email, map, e-commerce, cloud services, and LINE messenger.

As the No.1 search engine in Korea, its market shares comprise of over 70% of the country’s search engine market.

NAVER Place

I was in the NAVER Place team when we prepared to launch the new online order service.

NAVER Place is a service that enables users to search and access detailed information about restaurants, cafes, clinics, parks, and more. Users can also see reviews, find recommendations, and make reservations.

Business Background

Before 2019

In 2019

Previously, NAVER Pay (payment system) was only available through online shopping platforms like NAVER's Smart Store, which is South Korea’s top shopping mall. In 2019, we were preparing to expand the business to offline payment, and NAVER Order was one of the main projects aimed at catalyzing this business goal.

Problem Space

Do you ever go out to eat, but find yourself twiddling your thumbs for the waiter to come by? There are often two sides of the story.

😋 😊
What if there were a way to seamlessly handle everything from order to payment, so that both the diners and the restaurant owners can be happy?

Project Goal

With NAVER Order...

Diners

They can do everything from their mobile app. They can view the menus that's been personalized through big data and even see how long an order will take.

Restaurant owners

They no longer have to take orders one by one. They can run the business more efficiently through easy menu management, glanceable store status, coupon services, and data analytics.

User Research

Early design and user testing

I spearheaded the entire user experience design for this service. To understand deeper about what users experience while ordering, I made a high-fidelity prototype and conducted a user study.

The main research questions are below.

Research Findings

Research revealed that younger user group (80%) prefer an image-centered UX (type A), while the older user group favored a simpler UX. For the paying experience, both design approaches showed benefits. Considering these findings and the demographics of our target audience, we strategically integrated the strengths of each design to create a better optimized final product.

Interaction design details

Even though NAVER Order was a web-based product, I tried to include detailed interactions to improve the users' experience. Here are a few examples. I designed every motion myself, in ways that would work and scale well in web environments. Without the support of the engineering partners, this would have not been possible to implement at scale.

Launching the Beta and preparing for the Public Release

Product Photography

I also was in charge of directing the photography for various marketing materials, news articles, and product visuals. I collaborated with a photographer and the marketing team. We created compelling scenes to illustrate the use cases and effectively engage with our target audience.

Website where restaurant owners can apply to join the service

I designed a dedicated website to reach out to new restaurant owners, effectively communicating the service’s benefits and features to potential partners. Through this website, they can fill out the application form to join the platform.

Final Design

NAVER Order in Action

Interviews with Restaurant Owners

“I was busy every day because I had to take orders, cook, and serve. But now I can only focus on cooking, because customers order and pay for it themselves.”

Sawi Restaurant Owner, South Korea

"I run a small coffee shop. There was a long line during rush hour, and customers often left when they saw it. After using NAVER order, this problem has been solved significantly and sales have increased."

Coffee Bouquet Owner, South Korea

Reviews from Users

“It's convenient to order with QR without waiting for the server.”

“Even if there are many dishes, I can see the review of the menu. That makes it easier to choose.”

“I didn't need to send money to my friend later, because we can order ourselves directly.”

“It's nice to be able to see many orders accurately without missing them or making mistakes.”

“I ordered the takeout in advance before I arrived, so I saved time because I could take it out right away.”

“This is good, because it’s paid through NAVER Pay points. And I can accumulate reward points."

Articles

Selected set of press coverage

- [Aju Daily] Naver upgrades digital wallet service targeting offline stores
- [IT Daily] 네이버, 모바일 비대면 원스톱 주문 툴 ‘테이블주문’ 출시
- [스포츠서울] 3000만 네이버 앱 사용자를 위한 쉬운 QR결제 '테이블주문' 출시
- [Financial Today] 네이버, 지역 소상공인에 유용한 차세대 스마트플랫폼 공개
- [세계일보] 네이버, '테이블주문' 정식 출시… "모바일 주문과 결제 한 번에"
- [연합뉴스] 네이버, 지역 소상공인 지원 기술 'AI 콜·테이블 주문' 소개
- [ET News] 메뉴판.지갑 사라진 매장...'테이블오더+간편결제' 확산

My article in the NAVER Design Blog

I wrote an article in the <NAVER Design Official Blog> to share the design development history of NAVER Order and the thinking behind it.