About
Hot Pot Spot is a locally-owned all you can eat Chinese restaurant specializing in hot pot soup. The restaurant opened in March of 2023 and I was involved in its grand opening and launch as a brand new business, serving a unique cuisine to the local community.
I spearheaded the redesign of the restaurant’s menu with a user-centric approach, prioritizing clarity and visual appeal to create an enhanced dining experience for customers. As many customers are new to an all-you-can-eat hot pot dining experience, my goal was to improve customer experience and comprehension and streamline workflow between customers and wait staff. To complete this project, I utilized Adobe Illustrator and Procreate.
Process
Original Menu - Side A
Original Menu - Side B
Original Menu
In the original menu, there was a lack of visual hierarchy, flow and organization. At first glance, customers could not easily understand what the dining experience was like or how to order. For every new customer, wait staff had to take time to explain verbally how the menu works and how to order. The biggest goal was to make the menu visually comprehensive.
The font only varies in size and is difficult to read. Since the font is a wide sans serif with thin lines, the text becomes muddled and hard to read at first-glance.
There are inconsistencies in white space, shape and form. Lack of balance in white space decreases legibility. Differences between curved edges and hard corners make the design unorganized and messy.
Rough Sketches
Rough Sketch - Side A
Rough Sketch - Side B
Pattern Creation
A large part of the dining experience involves picking fresh ingredients to cook in the hot pot broths. Hot Pot Spot offers a variety of seafood and fresh produce.
As customers order only broths and meat off the menu, I created a custom background pattern incorporating illustrations of various ingredients the restaurant has to offer.
I illustrated each ingredient using Procreate.
Illustrated Ingredients
Bean Sprouts Illustration
Bok Choy Illustration
Broccoli Illustration
Clams Illustration
Corn Ilustration
Dumpling Illustration
Ginger Illustration
Mushroom Illustration 1
Mussel Illustration
Cabbage Illustration
Mushroom Illustration 2
Shrimp Illustration 1
Shrimp Illustration 2
Final Background Design
Final Menu Design
Final Menu Design - Side A
