Consumer Services

UX Design

Bookable

A concept mobile application that simplifies how clients discover, schedule, and pay cosmetologists

Role

UX Designer

Domain

Consumer Services

Duration

8 weeks

Team

Solo

Problem

Fragmented discovery and booking

Discovering cosmetologists happens across scattered digital and physical channels, and booking is just as inconsistent, with providers relying on their own apps, DMs, or walk-ins

Business impact of fragmentation

Conversion

Conversion: Every extra step between discovery and booking loses customers along the way

Every extra step between discovery and booking loses customers along the way

Conversion: Every extra step between discovery and booking loses customers along the way

Retention

Retention: Rebooking gets harder when customers can't remember which channel they used last time

Rebooking gets harder when customers can't remember which channel they used last time

Retention: Rebooking gets harder when customers can't remember which channel they used last time

Diagram showing four discovery channels (word of mouth, social media, directories, online search) and four booking methods (own app, direct message, walk in, text only) converging to a booked appointment.

Research

I benchmarked 4 consumer services platforms, informing my design strategy centered around trust

Business photos

Ensure business profiles contain photos uploaded by the provider and the user

User reviews

Enable user rating and reviews for user trust and transparency

Messaging

Provide a persistent way for users to contact the business to streamline the client service

Four competitor apps: ClassPass, Instagram, Booksy, and Google Maps.

Strengths

3/4 platforms contain a plethora of business and user-generated photos

4/4 platforms use user rating and reviews for social proof

Gaps

2/4 have direct messaging for customizable requests

2/4 platforms lead users to different platform

Design goals

Based on research, I defined these 3 feature areas focused on streamlining discovery, booking, and payment in one platform

Booking system

Integrate an in-app booking system to streamline booking and payment

Discovery

Enable users to browse service providers near them and in surrounding cities

Appointment management

Increase visual consistency

Enable users to manage past and upcoming appointments

Final Design

Unifying discovery, booking, and management with Bookable

Key Decision #1

Visual emphasis on photos & reviews for social proof

Insight: Photos and reviews were some of the strongest drivers of trust in my secondary research

Action: I gave both strong visual emphasis in the interface, using them as social proof, to help users decide where to do business with more confidence

Key Decision #2

In-app booking system

Insight: Competitive analysis revealed industry platforms required users to switch apps just to book an appointment right at the moment they're most motivated to commit

Action: To close that gap, I designed a native booking flow so users can go from discovery to confirmed appointment without leaving the app

Key Decision #3

Manage upcoming & previous appointments

Insight: Competitive analysis showed that booking platforms let users view, modify, and rate their appointments in one place

Action: I applied the same pattern in Bookable, letting users modify upcoming appointments and rate completed ones to streamline the entire appointment experience

Explore the design file

The complete design file below includes the user flow, components, and prototype across light and dark mode

Delivery file

Takeaways

Working on this project taught me how to apply common mobile interface design patterns. The timeline was the biggest parameter of this project. If I were to continue the design, I would like to develop the appointment management flow even further to demonstrate how users may chat with the professional or request to edit their appointment, one of the product requirements I defined during my research