Affinity Map

Using affinity mapping, I surfaced the most common user needs and pain points by analyzing comments across all interviews. These insights helped me understand what matters most to users and how to guide design decisions.

A Centralized Place for Bookings, Payments, and Promotions

Many participants wanted to manage everything in one place — from appointments to payment and deals.

• "I think apps should centralize everything so we don't have to jump between platforms."
• "It's easier when you can see your booking, plan, and perks all in one app."

This showed a strong desire for a streamlined experience that doesn't feel scattered or disconnected.

Digital Payments with Access to Receipts

Payment flexibility and proof of transaction were essential to users.

• "I always pay through the app — I like getting the receipt right away."
• "The app should let me choose my payment method and save it."

This insight highlights the importance of secure and visible digital transactions.

Simple, Stress-Free Scheduling

Booking appointments should be quick and flexible.

• "I like apps that make booking super easy — no back-and-forth."
• "Rescheduling should be simple; life happens!"

These comments emphasize the need for a smooth, mobile-first calendar and clear scheduling logic.

Strong Communication, Reminders, and Plan Management

Users want timely reminders, updates, and control over their subscriptions.

• "The app should send a message the day before so I don't forget."
• "You should be able to pause or adjust your plan without calling anyone."

This highlights a strong expectation for automation, personalization, and independence.

A Desire for Friendly, Eco-Conscious Salon Environments

Several users shared how important atmosphere and values are.

• "I love when the salon feels clean and welcoming."
• "If they offer eco-friendly options, I'm more likely to book again."

While not core functionality, this insight helps shape the brand tone and values reflected in the UI

User Persona

Project Goal

I created this goal alignment map to ensure the Beauty Salon App addressed both user needs and business objectives. Users want an easy, personalized booking experience with flexible payments and reminders. The business needs to boost bookings, reduce no-shows, and improve efficiency through automation and subscriptions. By focusing on their shared goals—like seamless booking, transparent pricing, and personalized experiences—I selected features that create value for both sides. Technical considerations like real-time calendar sync, push notifications, and secure payments support these goals.

Problem Statement

Busy users find it frustrating to schedule beauty appointments through manual channels like WhatsApp or phone calls, as these require waiting for responses, involve back-and-forth communication, and lack real-time availability.

Users often forget their scheduled appointments or promotions due to the absence of automated reminders and centralized updates, leading to missed opportunities for both users and salons.

There is no streamlined way for users to manage recurring beauty routines, preferences, and payments in one place, which limits personalization, loyalty, and consistency in self-care habits..

Booking Made Easy

POV: A tech-savvy and time-constrained user who values eciency and trust in their beauty routine needs a reliable and streamlined way to book appointments with their preferred stylist, without relying on manual coordination over WhatsApp or phone calls.

HMW: How might we streamline the booking process to give tech-savvy, time-constrained users instant access to available time slots and preferred stylists?

Full User Autonomy

POV: A self-reliant and digitally fluent user wants to manage their entire beauty experience—scheduling, payment, and personalization—independently, without relying on back-and-forth messaging or repeated instructions.

HMW: How might we design an entirely self-service platform that empowers users to control their beauty experience end-to-end?

Consistency Through Subscriptions

POV: Users who want to maintain a consistent self-care routine need an easy way to subscribe to regular services, receive perks, and stay on schedule—without needing to manually remember or rebook every month.

HMW: How might we support recurring users with subscription options, personalized reminders, and reward incentives to build long-term habits?

User Flow

With these insights in mind, I mapped out the user flow covering three key journeys:

• Account creation and login
• Booking an appointment
• Managing a subscription plan

From entry to confirmation, I designed every step to feel intuitive, clean, and trustworthy.


View User Flow

Wireframe Low Fidelity

After conducting usability testing with the low-fidelity wireframes, I analyzed the feedback and identified key patterns in what users found helpful, frustrating, or expected from the app. To make sense of all this input and guide my design decisions, I created a MoSCoW prioritization table.

This method helps organize features into four levels of priority:



Must Haves reflect consistent user expectations.

Users wanted a clear 'Book Appointment' button, a monthly calendar view, and a way to organize stylists by the services they offer. These features were repeatedly mentioned as essential for making the app intuitive and easy to use.

Should Haves are features that add flexibility and polish.

Suggestions like letting users skip or change their subscription, or combining homepage actions with special offers, were appreciated but not critical to core functionality.

Could Haves are enhancements based on individual comments.

Some users mentioned features like favoriting a stylist or having a help button for extra support. These ideas are helpful, but less urgent.

Won’t Have (for now) includes features that didn’t meet user expectations.

For example, a week-only calendar view was less useful, as users preferred seeing the full month to plan ahead more effectively.

This MoSCoW table ensures the design evolves with clear priorities based on actual user needs — not assumptions. It helped me focus on improving the features that matter most while leaving room for future enhancements.

Branding

High Fidelity and Prototype

I brought the GlowOn experience to life through high-fidelity wireframes that visualize every key moment of the user journey. From the welcoming onboarding screens that set a friendly, polished tone, to the service booking flow where users can effortlessly explore and select their preferred treatments, each step was carefully crafted for simplicity and clarity.

Pain Points

• Some users thought the subscription was complete before payment
• A few didn't notice the subscription tab
• Users wanted clearer comparisons between similar service plans

Iterations

After testing the GlowOn prototype with 5 users through remote moderated sessions, I reviewed key feedback to identify what worked, where users felt unsure, and how I could improve the design. The final high-fidelity updates focused on refining clarity and reinforcing trust — without disrupting what users already liked.

What Worked

Clean and modern layout: Users loved the clean design and said it made the app feel “trustworthy” and “easy to use.” I maintained this visual language throughout the final version.

Smooth booking flow: The calendar and stylist selection were intuitive for users. One person even described it as feeling like “online shopping.” I kept this experience, just adding a few visual polish touches.

Subscription idea: The concept of a recurring beauty plan with bundled savings was popular, so I continued to highlight this benefit clearly on the plan selection screens.

What I Changed Based on Pain Points

Clearer Subscription Confirmation Messaging

• Why: Users were confused after seeing a “Plan Confirmed” message but not going through payment yet.
• Design Update: I revised the copy to make it clear that payment is still needed — replacing “Plan Confirmed” with “Almost Done: Complete Payment to Activate.”

Better Visibility for Subscription Tab

• Why: Some users didn’t notice the subscription option in the bottom navigation.
• Design Update: I updated the icon and added a label to say “My Plan,” making it easier to recognize.

Confirmation and Reassurance Messages

• Why: Users expected a confirmation after booking or subscribing.
• Design Update: I added both in-app confirmation screens and optional email confirmations to reassure the user and reinforce the completed action.

Final Thoughts

The usability test helped validate that the foundation of the app was strong — intuitive, clean, and aligned with user expectations. But it also surfaced small points of friction that, once addressed, made the experience even more trustworthy and polished.

Each design decision in the high-fidelity version of GlowOn is based directly on real user input — not assumptions. That’s what helped make this version more user-friendly, clear, and ready to support real-world use.



Promotes subscription plans with clear value messaging.



Updated the message to better align with the actual booking flow.



Added an icon to improve clarity and help users understand the process more easily.



Reassures users with a clear email confirmation.



Builds trust by aligning with their need for documentation, and includes icons to enhance clarity and visual guidance.

Final Project and protoype

GlowOn successfully meets user needs for easy salon bookings and flexible subscription plans. Usability tests confirmed the app is intuitive, visually appealing, and functionally smooth with minor areas for improvement.


View Final Prototype

Challenge Faced:

• Balancing simplicity with detailed service information

Lessons Learned:

• Users seek confirmation and transparency.
• A simple email or status icon goes a long way in building trust.
• Balance is key.
• Simplicity shouldn't come at the cost of information—especially when users are comparing services or plans.

What I'd Do Differently:

• I would add more service detail and plan comparison tools upfront.

What I'm Most Proud Of:

I'm proud of creating an app that's both functional and delightful. GlowOn delivers beauty and convenience in just a few taps—exactly what users were asking for. Hearing testers say things like “It's so clean and easy!” confirmed that I was on the right path.