OpenTable:

Teaching an old design system new tricks

Featured at Apple keynote with a reinvented app experience

Apple invited OpenTable for a sneak peak at the upcoming iPhone. I was selected as the creative lead to work at the Apple campus prior to the big announcement. We redesigned the app to take advantage of the gorgeous new iPhone display and were prominently featured in the Apple iPhone 5 keynote by Phil Schiller.
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A new reservation widget that solves for easy configuration + unlimited flexibility

OpenTables original reservation widget allowed for a confusing array of options during configuration that was difficult for restaurateurs to implement and was often unusable (and ugly) for diners. By drastically reducing the available options and focusing on a few key choices, we were able to create a better reservation experience for both restaurateurs and diners.
Configuration options were overwhelming for restaurateurs and often confusing for diners
Simplifying configuration options saved development effort and resulted in a better diner experience.

Empowering restaurant managers

OpenTable makes it's money from happy restaurateurs. We created a suite of tools to help them manage reservations and customer relationships. OpenTable Remote Manager was developed for the restaurant manager to quickly see how busy any particular night would be as well as who would be arriving and if any special treatment should be noted.

Evolving a legacy design for better performance

My team at Small Pond Studios designed the first OpenTable Web experience in the early 2000s. The site served them so well that they were reluctant to make any significant changes. I continued to work with the product and engineering teams for many years giving new life to the old design system and optimizing performance without requiring a major overhaul.
The search results page redesign increased standard reservation conversion by 12% and "1,000 point" reservations (which generated 3X revenue) by 18%.

"… It's like finding a couple of million dollars in the sofa cushions…"
- OpenTable Product Manager

Creating a better browsing experience

OpenTable wanted to create a more inspiring browsing experience for diners to get excited about new restaurants. We developed a promotional system where an endless number of dining categories could be created based on a simple but flexible design system.

Prototyping the future

After years of remaining mostly unchanged, the design was becoming outdated. We developed a responsive web prototype to show what a modern restaurant browsing experience could be. The prototype lead the way for the mobile app redesign that was featured by Apple and later inspired OpenTable to pursue a full brand redesign.

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