The document outlines a portfolio by Mickey Liao, detailing UX research and design projects, including the redesign of a restaurant dining experience and the Reserve app's website. It emphasizes user-centered design processes, competitive analysis, and user testing to address common pain points such as bill splitting. Key findings reveal that users want a more intuitive payment system that accommodates different payment preferences in group dining settings.

1. M I C K E Y L I A O
U X P O R T F O L I O
2 0 1 5
M L

2. C O N T E N T S
0 3 / P r o c e s s
0 4 / S e a m l e s s
R e i n v e n t i n g t h e R e s t a u r a n t D i n i n g
E x p e r i e n c e
0 8 / R e s e r v e
R e d e s i g n i n g t h e D o t C o m S i t e
1 2 / T i m e h o p
D e s i g n i n g a N e w S h a r i n g F e a t u r e
1

3. Hello! I’m Mickey.
My mantra is to create happiness through research and design in
order to better serve both the business and user.
In Business School I learned all the various facets of research and
planning in order to produce sound strategies and launch plans.
During my time as Senior Account Production Coordinator, I’ve
gained real world experiences advising design decisions based on
client retail selling price, production level cost, style construction,
material lead-time and factory production capacity.
As a designer I want to combine my knowledge of business with
my passion for users to create clean, simple and intuitive designs.
When I’m not doing UX, I like to travel and learn about other
people’s cultures and customs as I go.
S K I L L S
U S E R R E S E A R C H
C O M P E T I T I V E A N A LY S I S
H E U R I S T I C A N A LY S I S
F O O T P R I N T L AYO U T A N A L AY S I S
J O U R N E Y M A P P I N G
W I R E F R A M I N G
P R O T O T Y P I N G
U S A B I L I T Y T E S T I N G
D E S I G N P R O G R A M S
POP PROTOTYPE
SKETCH
INVISION
OMNIGRAFFLE
AXURE
HYPE
ADOBE
ILLUSTRATOR
PHOTOSHOP
INDESIGN
2

4. U s e r - c e n t e re d
D E S I G N P R O C E S S
R E S E A R C H
D E S I G N
T E S T
I T E R AT E
3
P
R
O
C
E
S
S

5. We incorporated a new split check feature into Seamless’s current delivery app that
can be utilized in the restaurant setting. Seamless already has all the restaurant
connections, user network and the necessary tools in place. We can take advantage of
their current resources to expand their delivery model into the restaurant industry.
S O L U T I O N
There is usually some stress and inconveniences when it comes to dealing with a group
dinner check at the end of the night. We believe we can leverage the benefits of mobile
payments, implementing it into the restaurant experience to remove the stress and
friction out of the ordering and payment process.
O P P O R T U N I T Y
P R O J E C T
0 1
S E A M L E S S :
MY ROLE:
U X R e s e a r c h e r
DURATION
1 0 b u s i n e s s d a y s
R e i n v e n t i n g t h e R e s t a u r a n t
D i n i n g E x p e r i e n c e
4
S
E
A
M
L
E
S
S
Restaurants
Sketch 9:41 AM 100%
Dining In - Your Current Location
Open
Closed
Closed
Check-In to Begin Dining
http://invis.io/Y23OEI27A
PROTOTYPE LINK:

6. C O M P A R A T I V E
A N A L Y S I S01 F O O T P R I N T L A Y O U T
A N A L Y S I S02
C O M P E T I T I V E
R E S E A R C H
U S E r F L O W S03
S e a m l e s s : I t e m O rd e r
P a g e i s c o m p r i s e d
m o s t l y o f b l a n k s p a c e .
We c a n u t i l i z e t h i s s p a c e
t o i n c l u d e i n f o r m a t i o n
s u c h a s i n g re d i e n t s .
D ow n t ow n : E m p l oys a
c a ro u s e l w h i c h h e l p s i n
l o c a t i n g p a r t i c u l a r i t e m s
a n d re q u i re s l e s s
s c ro l l i n g . We wo u l d
a d o p t t h i s f e a t u re i n t o
o u r p ro t o t y p e t o t e s t .
D ow n t ow n : O n b o a rd i n g
p ro c e s s i s e a s y a n d
c l e a r, i t o n l y t a ke s 4
p a g e s a n d 8 a c t i o n s
O p e n Ta b l e : P ro c e s s f o r a d d i n g
p ay m e n t i s t o o l o n g , i t t a ke s 9
p a g e s a n d 1 0 a c t i o n s t o c o m p l e t e
3
M A I N
C O M P E T I T O R S
• W h a t wo r ke d ?
• W h a t d o e s n ’ t wo r k ?
• W h a t ’s m i s s i n g ?
H e u r i s t i c
A n a l ys i s
• O n b o a rd i n g
• Selecting Restaurant
• Payment
Avoid an
overly long
and cumbersome
onboarding
process
Bill splitting
is a missing
feature to
incorporate.
We looked at
at other competitors
to adopt features
that worked as well
as learn about
pitfalls to
avoid
M a p p e d c o m p e t i t o r
u s e r fl ow s f o r :
K E Y T A K E A W A Y S
5
S
E
A
M
L
E
S
S

7. S U R V E Y S
& I N - D E P T H I N T E R V I E W S
The fact that people dislike doing math might shed
some light as to why these dinner checks end up
getting split rather than being paid by the item.
# 3 T O P V O T E D I n c o n v e n i e n c e :
D o i n g t h e m a t h ( 4 2 . 8 % )
“ Paying for the meal can be the
most important part of the evening.
You don’t want to sit there with your
friends and a calculator. ”
04 C R E A T I N G
U S E R P E R S O N A S05
F E A T U R E S
P R I O R I T I Z A T I O N06
U S E R
R E S E A R C H
With the data collected from our surveys and interviews,
we began to affinity map all the major points that stood
out to us. We categorized our findings by:• Dining habits
• Split payment habits
• Current pain points in the
restaurant experience
Split checkS
all the time
Split CHECKS
EVENLY
68.6%
SPLIT CHECKS
BASED ON
ITEMS ORDERED
60%
40%
PAINS · PLEASURES · BEHAVIORS · CONTEXT
Brad
“Hates math”
Nancy
“Pay for what’s fair”
Rosie
“Willing to pay more
to avoid conflict”
6
S
E
A
M
L
E
S
S
141
S U R V E Y
R E S P O N S E S
11
I N - D E P T H
I N T E R V I E W S
3 P E R S O N A S
More
people might
choose to pay by
itemized checks if we
can simplify the
payment process
K E Y T A K E A W A Y S
App needs
to serve people who:
• want to pay for the
entire check
• pay for certain diners
• just for their portion
• split evenly
• Must haves or nice to haves
• Hard or easy to develop
P l o t t e d f e a t u re s b a s e d o n
w h e t h e r t h ey we re :
We chose features that
overlapped with all 3 personas
M u s t H ave s f e a t u re s t o
p ro c e e d w i t h :
We f o r m u l a t e d o u r q u e s t i o n s
t o l e a r n a b o u t :

8. P R O T O T Y P E
&
T E S T I N G
D E S I G N
S T U D I O07
W I R E F R A M I N G
& P R O T O T Y P I N G08
We u s e d t h e ex i s t i n g S e a m l e s s a p p
a s a f o u n d a t i o n , m a k i n g a d j u s t m e n t s
t o e a c h s c re e n t o s e e h ow t h e n ew
f e a t u re s w i l l fi t i n t o t h e c u r re n t fl ow .
POP prototypes allow us to quickly test and validate our
design choices before moving on to higher fidelity prototype.
We created our high fidelity prototypes on Sketch and InVision.
The prototype went through multiple iterations based on feedback
from our user testings.
$4.30
$8.60
$4.30
My Table’s Order
Sketch 9:41 AM 100%
Luke
Mixed Berries Crepe
My Subtotal
1
+ Add More Items
Kristin (Me)
Ready!
Luke
Still Deciding…
Alex
Still Deciding…
Table # 9
Submitted - Waiting forYour Crew
Split cost with Luke ea $4.30
SPLIT
$8.60
$8.60
$8.60
My Table’s Order
Sketch 9:41 AM 100%
Kristin (Me)
LukeLuke
Alex
Mixed Berries Crepe
My Subtotal
1
+ Add More Items
Table # 9
SPLIT
Continue to Checkout
Cancel
Pay for Mine
Divide Bill Evenly
Some Diners
All Diners
Select whom you would like to pay for
$ 30.60Alex
$5.60Mint tea1
$8.60Mixed Berries Crepe1
Split cost with Krisitn (Me) ea $4.30
Choose Diners to Pay For
Pay for Some Diners
Sketch 9:41 AM 100%
Kristin (Me) $ 4.30
$ 9.90
$14.20Subtotal
Sales Tax
Luke
$1.70
Process My Bill - $ 18.57
(20%) $3.09Update Tip
Table # 9
10%
$1.50
15%
$2.30
20%
$3.09
Custom
$
U S E R
T E S T I N G09
7
S
E
A
M
L
E
S
S
6
I T E R AT I O N S
P O P
P A P E R
P R O T O T Y P E
M E D I U M
F I D E L I T Y
P R O T O T Y P E
H I G H
F I D E L I T Y
P R O T O T Y P E
1 3
U S A B I L I T Y
T E S T S
2 - 5 m i n s
S k e t c h i n g
s p r i n t s
P O P P R OTOT Y P E
H I G H F I D E L I T Y
B e n e fi t s o f m e d i u m fi d e l i t y i s i t ’s s t i l l re l a t i ve l y q u i c k t o
p ro d u c e b u t h a s a l l t h e c o l o r a n d s p a c i n g s o t e s t e r s c a n
g e t a b e t t e r s e n s e o f h ow t o re a d a n d wo r k t h e a p p .
It is
important to
keep language
consistent
and clear
Use colors
as indicators of
who has/hasn’t
placed their
orders
K E Y T A K E A W A Y S

9. We redesigned the landing page to tell a story of the Reserve experience rather than
showing the users a feature tour. We also restructured the top navigation and footer so
users will have better access to information that is prudent to their decision whether to
download the app or not.
S O L U T I O N
The Reserve app is a product that serves a real market need, assisting users with restaurant
search, making reservations and finally splitting and paying the bill at the end of the night.
Now we need find a way to effectively translate this onto their website in order to tell an
effective story that will encourage people to download the app.
O P P O R T U N I T Y
P R O J E C T
0 2
R E S E R V E :
MY ROLE:
L e a d D e s i g n e r &
U X R e s e a r c h e r
DURATION
1 4 b u s i n e s s d a y s
R e d e s i g n i n g t h e D o t C o m S i t e
8
R
E
S
E
R
V
E
http://2fbeub.axshare.com/home.html
PROTOTYPE LINK:

10. C O M P A R A T I V E
A N A L Y S I S01 F O O T P R I N T L A Y O U T
A N A L Y S I S02
C O M P E T I T I V E
R E S E A R C H
03
• H ow a re u s e r s
n av i g a t i n g t h e s i t e?
• H ow d o t h ey t e l l
t h e i r s t o r i e s?
A n a l y z e S i t e L ayo u t
R e s e r ve
L a n d i n g P a g e
M u n c h e r y
L a n d i n g P a g e
M u n c h e r y
A b o u t P a g e
5
M A I N
C O M P E T I T O R S
Cover
7 Main Pages
4 Sub Pages
Reserve
11 Main Pages
Reserve: There is a lot of
confusion on who the “For
Restaurant” page is for.
The site is elegant but cold
We wa n t t o g e t a b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f h ow
R e s e r ve a n d o t h e r c o m p e t i t o r ’s i n f o r m a t i o n
a rc h i t e c t u re c o m p a re . W h a t a re t h e u s u a l p a g e s
t h a t g e t u t i l i z e d a n d h ow a re t h ey o rg a n i z e d ?
Munchery: Showcases
how they contribute
to sustainability and
help nourish the
community.
9
R
E
S
E
R
V
E
U S E r F L O W S
Avoid
feature tours
on landing
page Top
Navigation need
to include:
K E Y T A K E A W A Y S
H e u r i s t i c A n a l ys i s
• Our Story
• How It Works
• Download App

11. S U R V E Y S
& I N - D E P T H I N T E R V I E W S
“ I feel like I’m missing
information so I rather
trust someone who had
already experienced it. My
peers have more credibility
than the reviews. ”
04 C R E A T I N G
U S E R P E R S O N A S05
F E A T U R E S
P R I O R I T I Z A T I O N06
U S E R
R E S E A R C H
10
I N - D E P T H
I N T E R V I E W S
• W h a t d o yo u t h i n k R e s e r ve
i s a b o u t ?
• H ow d o yo u fi n d o u t a b o u t
a p p s?
• W h y d o yo u d ow n l o a d a p p s?
PAINS
PLEASURES
BEHAVIORS
CONTEXT
• Top Navigation
• Human Touch (Storytelling)
• Transparency
• Highlighted Content
• Explanation of Advantages of the App
Must Haves:
10
36
S U R V E Y
R E S P O N S E S
R
E
S
E
R
V
E
Benjamin
“Word of Mouth”
Dora
“Takes advice and
does some research”
Dennis
“Tech Blog Follower”
3 P E R S O N A S
K E Y T A K E A W A Y S
Need to
address users
who just want
to download the app
as well those who
want to do deeper
dives
M O S COW
M E T H O D :
M U S T / S H O U L D
CO U L D /
WO U L D N OT
56.7%
Friends / Family
20%
Ads
13.3%
Search
10%
Other
How are people
finding apps?

12. D o w n l o a d b u t t o n c a n b e f o u n d o n t h e h o m e p a g e i m a g e c a r o u s e l , t h e t o p
n a v i g a t i o n , a s w e l l a s a b o v e t h e b o t t o m f o o t e r o n e v e r y p a g e .
P R O T O T Y P E
&
T E S T I N G
D E S I G N
S T U D I O07
W I R E F R A M I N G
& P R O T O T Y P I N G08
B a s e d o n t h e f e a t u re s we f o u n d we m u s t
p r i o r i t i z e d f ro m t h e M o S C o W m e t h o d , we
s ke t c h e d p o t e n t i a l d e s i g n l ayo u t s w h i l e
ke e p i n g i n m i n d t h e p e r s o n a l i t y o f t h e R e s e r ve
b ra n d .
O t h e r t h a n t e l l i n g a n e ff e c t i ve s t o r y, o u r m a i n
g o a l wa s t o g e t p e o p l e t o t h e A p p S t o re s o
t h ey c a n h o p e f u l l y d ow n l o a d t h e a p p .
U S E R
T E S T I N G09
4
I T E R AT I O N S
1 3
U S A B I L I T Y
T E S T S
2 - 5 m i n s
S k e t c h i n g
s p r i n t s
Included
images of iphones
to let users know
this is an app
based product
People need
to have easy
access to the
App Store on
all pages
K E Y T A K E A W A Y S
H I G H F I D E L I T Y
Home Page:
Added locations with
restaurant line-up
since users stress this
is a deciding factor
to download app or
not.
About Us:
Humanized the brand by
including the backstory
of how it all started.
We created a sub
navigation for users to
click through so there is
less scrolling and it’s
easier to locate stories.
How It Works:
Created for those who
wish to do a deeper dive
on the product.
Incorporated a looping
animation to create a
more visual and dynamic
learning experience.
We i n c o r p o ra t e d s eve ra l p o i n t s o f d ow n l o a d s o
u s e r s c a n a c c e s s t h e A p p S t o re re g a r d l e s s o f w h e re
t h ey a re o n t h e s i t e .
11
R
E
S
E
R
V
E

13. We incorporate a new “Build Story” option into the existing app that allow users
to add more content on top of a specific moment. Users also have the option to
add other contributors who shared that moment to add and view the content.
S O L U T I O N
Timehop has found success in the unique space of reconnecting users with
nostaglic content. However, they can take their product farther and make it more
dynamic and offer new value to users by adding a new collaborative element to
encourage sharing and collaborating among friends.
O P P O R T U N I T Y
P R O J E C T
0 3
T I M E H O P :
MY ROLE:
L e a d D e s i g n e r &
U X R e s e a r c h e r
DURATION
9 b u s i n e s s d a y s
D e s i g n i n g a N e w S h a r i n g
F e a t u r e
1 YEAR AGO SUN
ANNA’S DAY IN HISTORY: JULY 13
2 7
Share
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,
consectetur adipiscing elit.
Build
Swipe to see more
S
12
T
IM
E
H
O
P
https://invis.io/HZ3JCB6TJ
PROTOTYPE LINK:

14. C O M P A R A T I V E
A N A L Y S I S01
C O M P E T I T I V E
R E S E A R C H
U S E R F L O W03
T h e a m o u n t o f e ff o r t a
u s e r i s w i l l i n g t o ex t e n d
i n t o t h e c o n t e n t c re a t i o n
p ro c e s s d e p e n d s o n t h e
c o n t e n t l i f e s p a n .
10
C O M P E T I T O R S
13
T
IM
E
H
O
P
GEOLOCATIONTAGS HASHTAGS
B e l ow a re t h e c u r re n t m e t h o d s ava i l a b l e f o r
o rg a n i z i n g c o n t e n t :
As
customizability
options increase,
so does the
length of
user flows
K E Y T A K E A W A Y S
Content
lifespan is directly
correlated with
content creation
effort
Facebook: It takes 6 screens
and 12 actions to post a photo
Tumblr: It takes 4 screens and
7 actions to post a photo
We s t u d i e d a p p s t h a t h a n d l e s
c o n t e n t :
• M a r ke t i n g P o s i t i o n i n g
• L ayo u t F e a t u re
⁃ G l o b a l E l e m e n t s
⁃ C o m m o n E l e m e n t s
⁃ L o c a l E l e m e n t s
• F e a t u re O ff e r i n g s
• H e u r i s t i c A n a l ys i s

15. S U R V E Y S
& I N - D E P T H I N T E R V I E W S
“ I don’t like huge photo blast. I
personally don’t like seeing too
much content. ”
04 C R E A T I N G
U S E R P E R S O N A S05
F E A T U R E S
P R I O R I T I Z A T I O N06
U S E R
R E S E A R C H
Olivia
“The Organizer”
Anna
“The Creator”
Frank
“The Curator”
We f o u n d t h a t w h e n i t c o m e s t o s t o r i e s a n d
m e m o r i e s o n s o c i a l m e d i a , t h e re a re o f t e n t h e m e s
t o s t o r i e s b e i n g s h a re d , m o t i va t i o n s b e h i n d t h i s
s h a r i n g , a n d t h e f o r m o f c o n t e n t i s i m p o r t a n t .
• W h a t we re t h e m e m o r i e s a b o u t ?
• W h a t d i d t h ey d o w i t h t h e s e
m e m o r i e s?
• H ow d i d t h ey d o c u m e n t t h e s e
m e m o r i e s?
14
T
IM
E
H
O
P
65
S U R V E Y
R E S P O N S E S
8
I N - D E P T H
I N T E R V I E W S
3 P E R S O N A S
AFFINITY
MAPPING
Group by:
Frequency
& Similiarity
Users don’t
mass dump photos
onto social media,
they post specially
curated content
for each memory.
K E Y T A K E A W A Y S
There are
concerns about
privacy and people
believe the content
they put out is a
reflection of their
reputation and
personal brand.
• Connectivity to other users
• Access to content on various platforms
• Address privacy concerns
We p r i o r t i z e d f e a t u re s b a s e d o n e a s e
o f d e p l oy m e n t a n d h ow i t fi t s i n
c u r re n t u s e r fl ow :

16. P R O T O T Y P E
&
T E S T I N G
D E S I G N
S T U D I O07
W I R E F R A M I N G
& P R O T O T Y P I N G08
U S E R
T E S T I N G09
15
T
IM
E
H
O
P
1 YEAR AGO SUN
ANNA’S DAY IN HISTORY: JULY 13
2 7
Share
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,
consectetur adipiscing elit.
Build
Swipe to see more
S
11
U S A B I L I T Y
T E S T S
5
I T E R AT I O N S
Trigger point
is the
content itself
Eliminate need
for users to name
and select dates
for album to concise
onboarding
process
K E Y T A K E A W A Y S
P O P P R OTOT Y P E
H I G H F I D E L I T Y
We s ke t c h e d b a s e d o n u s e r t a s k . We s t a r t e d
by s ke t c h i n g o u t h ow u s e r s wo u l d g o a b o u t
b u i l d i n g c o n t e n t . We t h e n a d d re s s e d
a n y t h i n g we m i g h t h ave m i s s e d .
We d e c i d e d t o u t i l i z e t h e Ti m e h o p m a s c o t
A b e d u r i n g t h e o n b o a rd i n g p ro c e s s t o ke e p
t h e a p p i n l i n e w i t h t h e p l ay f u l n a t u re o f t h e
b ra n d .
We i n i t i a l l y d e s i g n e d a n a l b u m f e a t u re w h e re u s e r s
g o t h ro u g h a w h o l e o n b o a rd i n g p ro c e s s t o c re a t e a
s t o r y w i t h t h e i r f r i e n d s .
H oweve r we f o u n d t h a t t h e a c t u a l t r i g g e r t o b u i l d
a s t o r y i s s e e i n g t h e c o n t e n t i t s e l f. S o we
re d e s i g n e d i t w h e re u s e r s c a n c re a t e a s t o r y
d i re c t l y f ro m t h e c o n t e n t a s we l l a s c o n c i s e d t h e
o n b o a r d i n g p ro c e s s s i g n i fi c a n t l y.
2 - 5 m i n s
S k e t c h i n g
s p r i n t s

17. C O N T A C T
T H A N K Y O U
w e b s i t e : m i c k e y l i a o . c o m
e m a i l : m i c k e y. l i a o @ n y u . e d u
l i n k e d i n : l i n k e d i n . c o m / i n /m i c k e y l i a o