Galactic Pizza

Overview

Galactic Pizza is an interstellar pizza delivery service, created for an academic project in the Michigan State University UX program. The project focuses on outlining a website and creating a prototype in Figma through the lens of a space-age client. It was a fun exercise for practicing various design and prototyping skills, and I had a great time working on it for the semester!

Challenge

Create a website for Galactic Pizza that includes an interactive pizza ordering system and a company story page, that utilizes a new logo and brand elements. The client wanted a funky, retro vibe with lots of neon!

Goals

  • Create a custom logo and brand guide for company consistency and visual appeal.
  • Bring a pizza ordering feature to life in a dynamic and accessible way.
  • Go beyond the assignment by utilizing the brand guide and creating a hi-fidelity prototype.

Role

Graphic Designer,
UX Designer

Duration

1 month

project image

Research and Requirements

This project was assigned as a way to practice Figma prototyping, and in addition, I wanted to use it as a way to practice graphic design and branding as well. The requirements of the assignment were simple, but there were a few additional metrics that I added for myself to ensure I was able to get as much feedback as possible during this exercise.

Create a space-themed business

Build a low-fi prototype
(minimum 4 pages)

Design a hi-fi mockup
(minimum 2 pages)

Design a custom logo using Figma's vector editing tools

Create a
brand guide

Design a hi-fi prototype

Logo Design

I sketched a couple logo ideas in Procreate before attempting to create anything using Figma's vector tools. I really wanted to combine a rocket ship, which would be the delivery transportation mode, and a slice of pizza. I made small adjustments to my original idea (and tried a couple wildcards) before making a final decision on which logo to proceed with (hint: the top right one!).

project image

Prototype Features

Once I had gathered the brand elements I wanted to use, I focused on how best to design the website to meet user needs. I wasn't able to do user interviews prior to the design stage, but I wanted to still focus on visual appeal and accessibility. I also wanted to be creative with my content, since this was an outside-the-box prompt!

Retro & High-Energy Tone

I tried to capture the retro feel in the font choice, color choices, and in the language. The bright colors are reminiscent of an 80s style and the advertising on the site matches the tone of ads from the 80s as well. Bringing in elements from the past and applying them to more novel systems can bridge the gap between the familiar and unfamiliar, and help with user flow and calrity.

"Now Delivering Anywhere in the Milky Way!"

Dynamic Delivery Status System

After placing an order, an updating delivery visual will be available for users to view and check on the status of their pizza. It is especially important to have clear UI when designing real-time updates to ensure users are staying informed and have a good sense of where they are in the flow of the experience.

"Pizza en route, now at 97% the speed of light!"

Out-of-this-World Topping Choices

To complete the pizza ordering system, I came up with a number of "normal" pizza topping options, and then threw in some additional specialty toppings that I figured would make sense for Galactic Pizza to serve. I'm very happy with the results and would love to know what comet crumbles taste like!

i.e. Dark Matter, Crumbled Comet, and Moon Cheese

Deliverables

Given the short timeline for this assignment, the deadlines were coming up quick. In the end, I submitted a brand guide for Galactic Pizza, as well as the high-fidelity prototype that went a step beyond the assignment's original tasks. My professor had very positive feedback and I am really proud of how everything turned out.

Brand Guide

This brand guide represents a bold, fun pizza place that combines retro and modern elements together! The look of the brand should make the user excited and confident in the company's professionalism and ability to deliver service, so ensuring consistent and focused branding helps achieve that goal.

project image

Final Prototype

Finally, the main goal of this project was the final prototype, that combined the low-fidelity prototype, brand guide, and mockups. I'm really happy with how it turned out and I would love to see users explore the website and help to expand the ordering system and pages further for future iterations.

project image

Reflection

As you can tell, this project might be a little silly, but the lessons it provided me and my fellow students were very important. The design process is not easy, and combining "client" requirements with your own creativity and goals can be tough, just like any other client-directed product. I had a lot of practice with the Figma vector tools, as well as Figma components and prototyping, all skills I have since honed even further since this project. There are a couple things I wish had been able to happen in addition to the process, but overall I'm really happy with this project and what I was able to take away from it.

Reflection Takeaways

I wish this project could have come to life in a physical way, because it would be pretty amazing to be able to actually order interstellar pizza. In the meantime, I'm going to have to stick to car-delivered pizza, but maybe someday I'll be able to show this to a potential client and make it happen up in the stars!