Served as Lead Designer on the hedgehog lab team, developing Deliveroo’s food procurement platform to streamline direct connections between restaurants and suppliers.
While adhering to Deliveroo’s brand guidelines, I designed the entire platform, creating a cohesive component system and a complementary logo that aligns with the existing Deliveroo brand family.
Available on both iOS and Android, the platform enables restaurants to easily search for nearby suppliers and place orders using the same intuitive interface that diners use to order meals.
An integrated messaging system allows restaurants to communicate directly with suppliers and track order statuses, streamlining the entire ordering process within the app.
THE CHALLENGE
A key requirement for Deliveroo in this project was to validate the concept of a digital sourcing platform for restaurants, as opposed to the traditional method of placing orders via telephone or pen and paper. To explore this concept thoroughly, we conducted in-depth, hands-on research with actual restaurants and suppliers.
Our in-house user research team led comprehensive field studies and conducted interviews with both restaurants and suppliers throughout the duration of the project. This extensive research allowed us to gather valuable insights, ensuring the platform would address real-world needs and provide a seamless digital alternative to the traditional ordering process.
Approach
As a team, we adopted an iterative approach, continuously testing our assumptions early and often through a series of prototypes. This process allowed us to gain valuable insights and make adjustments in real-time. By regularly refining and validating our designs, we ensured that we were addressing the real needs of both restaurants and suppliers.
In addition to the digital testing, we made the decision to visit restaurants and suppliers in London for first-hand research. These visits provided an invaluable opportunity to observe their workflows, understand the challenges they faced with traditional ordering methods, and gather direct feedback about their experiences. Through in-person interviews and observations, we were able to delve deeper into the pain points and inefficiencies they encountered in their daily operations.
This combination of iterative prototyping and real-world visits allowed us to identify key areas for improvement, ensuring the platform was not only functional but also highly relevant to its users. By engaging directly with the people who would use the platform, we were able to fine-tune the design and features to better align with their needs, ultimately creating a solution that was both intuitive and practical for restaurants and suppliers alike.
After a year of testing their concept via WhatsApp to establish communication between suppliers and restaurants, Deliveroo approached us once they were confident in the concept’s viability. They asked us to help expand and refine the idea. Our approach was fast-paced and iterative, allowing us to quickly validate our ideas and make adjustments along the way.
The project kicked off with Deliveroo’s General Manager of Special Projects joining our team. We collaborated closely to further develop the concept, brainstorming and identifying additional challenges that needed to be addressed.
To test our assumptions early in the process, we began with low-fidelity digital wireframing using standard iOS components. This approach allowed us to validate key ideas before moving on to final UI design and development.
Throughout the process we found the need to pivot and react to research findings.
When we launched the first version and the app was in the hands of real users, we learned more about their behaviors and expectations. The main challenges we encountered were as follows:
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Users mistakenly downloaded Sourced, assuming it was the consumer facing app.
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Restaurants found adding their own suppliers and items tiresome and laborious.
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Introducing the concept of adding new suppliers for restaurants as they only wanted to deal with existing relationships.
To remove that burden we decided a potential solution was to develop a concierge web service (seen above) whereby users could request an account and a member of the deliveroo team would onboard them.
This meant restaurants would have their app tailored to them with their suppliers and products already loaded to their account, whilst weeding out customers looking for a takeaway and point them in the right direction towards the consumer app.
We iterated and tested a number of onboarding experiences, from left to right: self onboarding, the concierge service and more recently a combination of the two.
We eventually found that a combination of the concierge service and self onboarding covered both bases for users. Those who were happy to register themselves and those who preferred to have their content preloaded for them to use.
Each of these concepts were designed and tested using Marvel before they moved in to the full build cycle.
After wrapping up the planning and prototyping, I got to work on building a design system that would tie the whole product together. I wanted it to feel consistent, easy to use, and flexible enough to grow with the platform over time.
To keep it feeling like part of the Deliveroo family, I leaned on familiar UI elements and patterns from the consumer app. That way, it would feel natural and intuitive for users who were already comfortable with Deliveroo’s interface. The goal was to make the experience feel familiar yet tailored to the specific needs of restaurants and suppliers and like it had always been part of the ecosystem.
To keep things consistent and make the handoff to the large development team as smooth as possible, we used tools like Abstract to manage design files and libraries. This helped keep everything organized, ensured high quality, and made communication with the dev team clear and straightforward.
As part of the project deliverables, Sourced required the creation of a new identity that would align with the broader Deliveroo brand while maintaining its own distinct presence. The logo design drew inspiration from the existing Deliveroo logotype to ensure consistency and familiarity within the larger Deliveroo ecosystem. This approach allowed the new identity to feel like a natural extension of the Deliveroo family, reinforcing the connection between Sourced and the other Deliveroo offerings.
The logo specifically leveraged the double “O” in the Deliveroo wordmark as a central design element. These two “O”s were creatively adapted to symbolize the relationship between the restaurant and supplier, highlighting the core purpose of the platform: connecting these two parties and facilitating direct communication. The subtle design choice of linking the “O”s visually emphasized the communication and connection aspect of the product, making it clear that Sourced is a tool built to bridge the gap between restaurants and suppliers.
The video I produced for the initial launch of Sourced Deliveroo shown at their annual restaurant awards.
THE SOLUTION
The final solution was carefully crafted to seamlessly integrate into the Deliveroo ecosystem, both in terms of its visual design and functionality. We were committed to creating a product that felt like a natural extension of Deliveroo’s existing offerings, rather than an isolated, stand-alone solution. Our approach was to ensure that the new platform would complement the overall brand identity, maintaining consistency with Deliveroo’s established design principles and user experience standards.
By leveraging and building upon the existing design system, we were able to create a unified, cohesive experience. This included adopting familiar design patterns, color schemes, and user interface elements already present across Deliveroo’s other products. The result was a platform that felt both familiar and intuitive to users, as if it were an integrated part of the broader Deliveroo ecosystem rather than a new, foreign tool. This approach not only ensured visual consistency but also contributed to a smoother and more intuitive user experience, making the transition from traditional methods to the new digital platform feel seamless and natural for restaurants and suppliers alike.
What did we achieve?
Connected restaurants directly to their supplier via instant messaging.
