Client
Dice Academy
Service Provided
UI/UX Design, App design, UX Research
About Salon
A full UX case study for a dark-theme salon booking app from competitor analysis and user research to a complete design system and hi-fi prototype. Designed to make discovery, stylist selection, and appointment booking feel effortless and friction-free.
1
Design Process
A structured 5-stage design process from empathy research and user personas to ideation, prototyping, and testing ensuring every design decision is grounded in real user needs.
2
Competitor Analysis
Studied three leading salon apps and found a pattern: they all prioritize bookings over experience. Fresha buries stylist portfolios behind time slots, Booksy poaches your clients with competitor ads, and Vagaro hides fees until checkout. Each flaw became a design opportunity stylist-first discovery flows, a distraction-free brand environment, and full pricing transparency from the very first tap.
3
Empathy mapping
Users want to trust who's touching their hair but they're anxious about hidden charges, frustrated by confusing calendars, and ready to abandon the moment checkout drags past three steps. This empathy map captured those real tensions and shaped every design decision that followed.
4
User Persona
Ananya is a time-pressed Delhi professional who won't book blind she needs to verify her stylist's work, lock a slot in under 60 seconds, and see the full bill before she taps confirm. Her frustrations drove the three core design pillars: talent visibility, booking speed, and price transparency.
5
Problem
Salon booking is still broken. Clients scroll through Instagram, call to check availability, and hope for the best. This creates missed appointments, last-minute cancellations, and a frustrating experience that turns loyal customers away.
6
Solution
No more Googling reviews, DMing for availability, or getting hit with surprise fees at checkout. Just open the app, find a stylist whose work you trust, pick a slot, see exactly what you'll pay and you're done.
User Journey Map
Mapped the full booking journey from hopeful discovery to frustrated checkout and designed a targeted fix for every emotional low point along the way.
7
Storyboard
Ananya needs a last-minute appointment before a big Friday event in four steps she finds a verified specialist, books a transparently priced slot, and walks into the salon Friday morning with zero stress and a calendar reminder already set.
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Recent Designs
