Heard NYC
2022-2024
overview
Heard NYC is a platform where food service workers can access trustworthy information regarding the compensation, workplace culture, and benefits offered by establishments in New York City.
methods
brand development
I joined Heard NYC as the Lead Designer to develop the brand, logo, and lead the redesign of the website. I started of interviewing the team to discover the goals of the new brand:
01 AUTHENTIC BUT PROFESSIONAL
Ensure that the brand feels genuine and relatable to restaurant workers while maintaining enough credibility for users to trust the platform.
02 DUALITY OF THE INDUSTRY
Represent both the chaotic, high-pressure side of the culinary world and the community, camaraderie, and passion that bring people into it.
03 MEMORABLE AND ENGAGING
Make sure the site stands out in the minds of visitors and keeps them coming back.
moodboards
Loud, Modern, Radical
Bright colors
Mixed fonts
High contrast
Flash photos
Underground, Transparent, Futuristic
DIY vibe
Halftone images
Monochromatic
Mono fonts
Retro, Friendly, Familiar
Vintage diner feel
Bold, pared down color palette
Illustrations
Personification
designs
user research
I conducted exploratory research sessions with 11 NYC food service workers, each with 5-25+ years of experience. The goal was to understand more about the unique experiences and pain points of food service workers in NYC, in order to create a product roadmap that best serves our target user.
An example of how one insight became a design recommendation:
Users worry about the consequences of expressing opinions online.
In the review flow, instead of requesting one long form reviews, request several short answer questions.
Rather than showing individual reviews as is common with review sites such as Glassdoor or Yelp, show a culmination of all short answer review data in order to increase anonymity.
