About
The Lazy Cat Lounge was struggling with its online presence, specifically with retaining bookings. A lot of customers would drop off the website after arriving on the home page. That's where our group comes in! It was our goal to improve the navigation on the website while updating the branding, keeping it consistent, while still keeping the recognition of the original brand. The group consisted of 5 UX Designers. I was one of two lead UX Designers, while others were assigned as UX researchers and group coordinators.
Duration: Aug. 2024 - May 2025
Collaborators: Justin Lee, Ria Rajan, Caroline Risewick, Brooke Miller
Project Type: UX/ Web Design
Softwares: Figma, Canva, Wix
Role: Co-Lead UX Designer
Client: Lazy Cat Lounge LLC.
Overview
The Lazy Cat Lounge is a small business located in downtown Lafayette, IN. They have been in business since 2019 and were looking for a team to update their website. The business owner designed the original website herself with no experience wan thought it was time to update the website to keep up with the growth in her business.
Problem Statement
Lazy Cat Lounge customers need a simpler way to book visits online because the existing navigation felt confusing and caused high drop-off rates. The site needed a refreshed, consistent brand and a more intuitive booking flow within Wix so customers could reserve with confidence and the business could capture more completed reservations.
Solution
We developed clear branding guidelines, redesigned the booking flow to be intuitive, and refreshed the website within Wix to create a consistent, user-friendly experience. This solution reduced booking drop-offs and aligned the online presence with the lounge’s identity, making reservations easier and more engaging for customers.
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Lazy Cat Lounge
Design Process
Discover
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Competitive Analysis
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Current Site Map Audit
Define
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Competitive Analysis
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Current Site Map Audit
Ideate
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Competitive Analysis
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Current Site Map Audit
Design
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Wireframes
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Mockups
Discovery Phase
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My first step in the discovery phase was to conduct a comparable analysis of similar businesses. This helped us figure out the client's priorities in the redesign.
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Use a playful, cartoon-like style to maintain the site’s original character.
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Incorporate the color purple.
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standardize the branding
The discovery phase provided clarity on both the client’s vision and the website’s shortcomings. Through comparable analysis, we identified where the current site fell short and uncovered opportunities to better align the brand with the café’s personality. These insights became the foundation for guiding design choices in the next phase.
Website Audit
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Original Home Page
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1. Logo
The lack of a distinct logo violates Jakob’s Law of consistency and familiarity. Users expect a recognizable logo in the top-left corner that anchors the brand identity and links back to the homepage. Without it, navigation feels incomplete and inconsistent with common web patterns.
2. Navigation
The Navigation bar has a few items we recomended some alterations to. Firstly, the use of buttons instead of a traditional nav bar creates visual clutter, violating the Law of Prägnanz of simplicity and Hick’s Law of decision complexity.
3. Login
The login provided no use to the customer with the original site. It added another unnecessary level of complexity to the site. which could confuse the user. Our team agreed the login should either have a specific function or be removed entirely.
4. Spacing
The lack of space under the donate button violates Fitts’s Law. The button in its current location doesn't give the button enough space to feel important to the user.
5. Photos
The carousell photos don't have a consistent story or aesthetic. When taking new photos and adjusting the carousel, we can take advantage of the Aesthetic-Usability Effect to increase trust with users.
6. Broken Plugin
A broken plugin violates users' trust by not having current content or interconnectivity. This can cause users to leave the site.
7. Header Consistency
Having no clear hierarchy violates the Visual Hierarchy Principle. This gives users a clear path to follow when navigating a site. The lack of consistency in headers can create visual clutter and confusion.
8. Lack of Color Scheme
Introducing a new bold color contrast with no specific function can cause unfamiliarity and confusion in the users, according to Jakob’s Law. We recomended creating a consistent color scheme to create brand trust and recognition.
9. Inconsistent Margin
Users expect order and alignment. The sudden change in margins can be jarring and seem unintentional instead of structured.
10. Crowded Text
The text lacks hierarchy, causes choice overload, and increases the cognitive load needed to look for the information the user finds relevant.
11. Improper White Space
Too much white space breaks that grouping, making elements feel disconnected or unfinished.
12. Outdated Footer
The lack of a functional footer interrupts the Visibility of System Status. By not indicating the end of the page, it can feel like an abrupt ending.
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Priorties for the Redeisgn
In the redesign, we prioritized creating a clear and recognizable brand presence by introducing consistent branding guidelines, a distinct logo, and a cohesive color scheme. We restructured the site’s information architecture to reduce clutter and confusion, simplifying navigation and removing unnecessary elements like the unused login. Spacing, margins, and headers were standardized to improve readability and hierarchy, while updated photos and a functional footer built trust and continuity.
Define Phase
User Persona
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What we learned
One of the biggest issues we found when coming up with a user persona is the contradiction between the current website and the ideal user persona. The original site was not mobile-friendly, and the business was missing out ona lot of returns on that front, considering a large portion of their business is college students.
Another aspect of the user personas that helped guid our later design phase was the importance of a consisten brand to build trust with the customers. Some users expressed concern over the inconsistent branding and colors on the website.
Empathy Map
Ideate Phase
New Site Map
Priorities
Our main priority with the new site map was to address confusion caused by how navigation worked on the original site. Key sections like FAQ, Contact, and About were only anchors to the home page rather than standalone pages. This broke user expectations, since most websites use navigation bars to move between distinct pages rather than jumping to sections. The lack of separation made it harder for users to quickly find information and added unnecessary friction to the booking process.
Solutions
To resolve this, we restructured the site map to give each activity its own dedicated page. We created a new FAQ page, separated Contact into its own page, and removed the About section entirely to reduce redundancy. These changes aligned the navigation with common web patterns, provided users with clearer pathways to information, and supported a more intuitive experience that better encouraged booking.
Low Fidelity Prototypes
Navigation Bar
The low-fidelity prototypes show the new site map and website structure. Starting with the home page, the new nav bar features a more traditional structure with 5 main pages and a new donate link featured as a button.
Landing Page
The main landing image features a book now button front and center, making it an immediate call to action.
Image Gallery
The image gallery was a large priority for the client. She wanted it featured on the front page, highlighting the cats. We pushed the gallery down from the main landing image.
Testimonials
Testimonials build trust and credibility with the users and reduce the need for extensive research. Adding the testimonials was important to estabilsh trust between the client and the user.
Socials
Another priority for the client was to highlight the business's social media, and they requested we add a specific callout. We tailored it towards the bottom as an action item when the user is nearing the end of the page
Footer
The footer was changed to have more information and feature a site map and a summary of links for the user to have as a resource, making navigation more convenient.
Home
FAQ
First Iteration
Booking
Contact Us
Design Phase
Brand Color Scheme
Client Favorite
Font Combinations
Client Favorite
Design Iterations
Home - Wireframe
Home - Iteration 1
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Home - Iteration 2
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Home - Iteration 3
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Design Decisions and Process
Landing Page
The new landing page features a large into text to immediatley grab the attention of the user, followed by the location and the call to action button. This creates a visual hierarchy and creates a clear path for a user to follow to book a visit with the site.
Navigation Bar
The navigation bar redesign was one of the most important changes we made. By following Jakob’s Law, we used a familiar structure that built trust and gave users a sense of consistency. The logo and branded text supported the Von Restorff Effect, making the café’s identity more recognizable and memorable. Each item in the nav bar was clearly linked to its own page, following Hick’s Law to reduce decision complexity. Finally, we placed the most commonly asked information at the top, applying the Serial Position Effect so users could find it quickly without extra effort.
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About
The About section is a new from the previous site. It was needed to build repor with the user and answer any quick questions.
Another call to action button was added, applying Fitts’s Law, keeping the time to complete the action low.
About - Non-Profit
My New Cat Rescue is a non-profit ran alongside the Lazy Cat Lounge. It was important to the client to bring attention to it. This was a new feature on the site.
Image Gallery
Visuals are very important to build trust with a cat café. Customers want to know what their experience will be like before they book it. The image slider shows the user what to expect and gets them excited to book a visit. These new images are more consistent and professional than the original sliders, creating more of a story for the user to follow.
Testimonials
Customer reviews were added to the site to establish trust and expectations for the user. Instead of researching extensively, users can rely on quick, relatable stories from others.
Social Links
It was important to the client to feature the socials on the main page. This can increase visability long term.
Footer
Footers are an important part of a website because they give users a sense of completion and provide a reliable summary at the end of their journey. The original footer failed to do this, leaving users without important information or closure. In the new design, the footer includes a site map, hours, contact information, and location details. This follows Jakob’s Law, which highlights the importance of consistency and familiarity, since users expect to find this type of information in footers across most sites. It also supports the Visibility of System Status heuristic, signaling clearly that the page has ended and ensuring users don’t feel lost. By organizing key details in a predictable way, the new footer builds trust and helps users quickly find the information they need.
New Booking Page
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Original Booking page
Booking Page
The new booking page features a fully branded UI, bringing consistency to both visuals and interaction patterns. By applying the Aesthetic-Usability Effect, the upgraded design looks more polished and professional, which increases user trust and makes the page feel easier to use. A consistent brand identity and color scheme also align with Jakob’s Law, since users expect familiar patterns across all parts of a website. When branding and layout feel cohesive, users don’t need to pause and question if they’re still in the right place. This sense of continuity makes the booking process feel seamless, reducing hesitation and encouraging users to complete their reservations.
Site Pages
Contact Us
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Booking Information - General
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FAQ
Booking Information - Specific
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Gift Card
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Photography
Development
The site was developed as a fully custom build in Wix. I took the third design iteration and refined it into the final product, making detailed adjustments to spacing, visuals, and layout to ensure the build matched the design vision.
Handoff
We made all of the content blocks editable and trained the owner on how to update the site. This way, they don’t need design experience or outside help to make changes. The owner can update hours, photos, events, and other details on their own, keeping the website accurate and up to date. This ensures the site can grow with the business and stay useful long after the redesign was finished.
Softwares
Valuable Metrics
Session Duration
↑ 10%
Users spent more time exploring the site after the redesign.
Book-Now Visits
↑ 23%
Clearer navigation drove more traffic to the booking page.
Pages Per Session
↑ 2%
Each visit included slightly more page views
Booking Calendar
↑ 15%
Users progressed deeper into the booking flow more consistently.
Bounce Rate
↓ 10 %
Fewer users left after viewing only one page
Drop-Off Reduction
↓ 20%
Fewer users exited the site after the homepage
Takeaways
This project was an amazing opportunity that grew my skills in UX research, problem framing, branding, and development. I learned how to identify broken UX principles and turn them into design priorities, like simplifying navigation, building trust with consistent branding, and improving the booking flow. I practiced every stage of the process, from comparable analysis and empathy mapping to creating personas and restructuring the sitemap. I also expanded my development experience by building a fully custom site in Wix and refining the final design into a polished product while making it easy for the owner to manage.
I came away with a deeper understanding of how details such as spacing, hierarchy, and navigation structure can impact usability and trust. Moving forward, I want to continue sharpening my development skills and focus on building more complex interactions while keeping user centered design at the core of my process.