A ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Redesign for Yelp Reservations

What We did
  • Full Service Site Redesign
  • Illustration
What We delivered
  • Visual Design
  • Content Strategy
  • Copywriting
  • Development Support
Overview

The Yelp brand is working well (5 stars!) for the 90 million unique visitors who come to Yelp every month to find great local businesses. As a subset of Yelp, Yelp Reservations provides restaurants with a modern approach to online restaurant reservations and table management. We partnered with Yelp Reservations to reintroduce their offering in an elegant and approachable marketing site that speaks confidently to a new audience—restaurant owners and managers.

Helping Yelp 86 the Competition

With Yelp’s incredible reach and the best software to manage guest flow and reservations, the benefits of switching to Yelp Reservations stack up quickly. Yelp offers a flat rate, no cover fees, free hardware, modern software, and easy in-page booking. For big restuarants, switching to Yelp means saving tens of thousands dollars every year. It’s a no brainer.

Yelp Helping yelp 86 the competition

The First Course: Guiding Principles

Before diving into design, our team built alignment around a set of principles to serve as a foundation for creative thinking. These principles ground our divergent ideation in actionable business and user goals.

Turn the tables
Turn the tables

Reinvent Yelp Reservations to be more attractive to restaurant owners and operators.

Emphasize that size matters
Emphasize that Size Matters

Capitalize on Yelp’s remarkable reach.

Serve two audiences
Serve Two Audiences

Deliver the right message to restaurant owners and redirect diners to make a reservation.

Win on Plating
Win on Plating

Create a look and feel that celebrates restaurant culture.

See the proof in the pudding
See the proof in the pudding

Highlight the diner’s “make a reservation” experience to support claims.

Expedite Demos
Expedite Demos

Reduce barriers and make getting in touch easy.

Showcase happy customers
Showcase happy customers

Illustrate value and address switching fears head on with case studies and testimonials.

Look & Feel Fit for a Culinary Community

Yelp’s brand is quirky, playful, and represents their grassroots, community-driven approach to crowdsourced content. However, to make an impact with restaurant professionals, Yelp Reservations needed a new, more sophisticated expression of the brand. We crafted three distinct departures that celebrate restaurant culture and communicate professionalism, while maintaining the integrity of the brand.

Divergent Style Tile 1

Yelp Style tile concept 01

Divergent Style Tile 2

Yelp Style tile concept 02

Divergent Style Tile 3

Yelp Style tile concept 03

Expressing Divergent Concepts

We crafted three divergent messaging and conceptual directions for the homepage, each one telling a unique story and creating opportunity for differentiation.

Yelp Drawing
Yelp Drawing
Yelp Drawing
Yelp Drawing
Yelp Wireframe one

A. No More Open Tables

Playing off the main competitor’s name, we highlight a primary value prop—with Yelp, you’ll fill your restaurant’s tables.

B. At Your Service

By showcasing the booking and browsing experience for Yelp’s customers, we highlight the opportunity that Yelp’s reach creates for restaurant owners.

Yelp Wireframe Two
Yelp Wireframe one

C. We’re On Your Side

Relatable, clear messaging illustrates that Yelp understands restaurant owner’s pain points and speaks their language.

Bringing it All to Life

We’re working closely with Yelp’s development team to finesse transitions, animations, and designs as we move toward launch. Stay tuned for its debut (and in the meantime, make a reservation on Yelp)!

Yelp Visual Design One
Yelp Visual Design One
visit the live site:

YelpReservations.com

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