Olive Garden
When the website for an iconic brand in the restaurant industry needs a face lift, you call in the big guns.
Project: OliveGarden.com
The Darden group was interested in reinvigorating the old and outdated website for one of their flagship brands, The Olive Garden, but they weren’t sure how far they wanted to push the design out of their own comfort zone.
Challenges
- Modernize the design, simplify the user experience
- Present a warm, inviting tone that focuses on friends and family
- Offer core functionality faster and more intuitively
- Provide a better mobile experience
- Better align with their ever-evolving brand and marketing standards
My Role
UX Architect and UX Designer, defining the user experience and creating the UI/Design
New Design
My team created a variety of aspirational designs to show the client options, taking the opportunity to offer recommendations for improving the user experience. My design represented the most straight-forward approach, using their current brand standards and assets to create a more modern and elegant solution with a cleaner feel that focuses on usability and user engagement, with the goal of directing consumers to the most important points of conversion.
Tools
Adobe XD
Features & Solutions
- Custom promotions carousel that reduces clutter and focuses on their branded word-marks
- Prominent feature for the main calls-to-action: making a reservation, ordering take out, arranging catering, or downloading the app
- Opportunities for portraying a desired sense of community and family through ancillary callouts and inviting imagery
- Simplified header and navigation
- GeoIP integration for relevant location information and functionality
- Integrated interactive menu with implied ecommerce ordering functionality
- Designed to be fully responsive for any device or resolution
The Results
As you can see, the original website was cluttered and poorly conceived, with an unfocused navigation, content embedded within imagery, and too few highlights for helping users make a reservation, join a wait list, or order take out. The new design provides focus and clarity to Olive Garden’s offerings, as well as a calm and soothing browsing experience that mimics their in-restaurant atmosphere.