My Roles
UIUX Designer and developer
Social Media Designer
Branding
Product Designer
Marketing
Timeline
First Version (Launched May 25, 2023):
The initial version was designed to eliminate middlemen and enhance the catering experience, enabling customers to place orders seamlessly without relying on third-party platforms like Uber Eats, Grubhub, or DoorDash.
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Second Version (Launched December 20, 2024):
This iteration optimized the original merchandise and homepage designs while introducing a dedicated holiday page.
The website evolved from a traditional platform into an e-commerce platfrom.
I utlzed several email marketing helped them increased 120% in catering orders during the holiday seasons compared to the previous year and sold 37,600 dumplings on Chinese New Year. (1.29.2025)
Problem
Cultural Integration
Vanessa’s Dumpling House, founded by Vanessa Weng in 1999 on Eldridge Street in Chinatown, has grown into a well-known chain across New York and New Jersey. While the founder wants to preserve traditional Chinese elements, partners aim to modernize the brand, taking inspiration from American fast food chains like McDonald's and Wendy's to appeal to a younger, vibrant audience.
Complex store menus & Various Locations
Vanessa Dumplings has more over eight locations in New York, but their different locations offer some special menus. Their old website did not provide a store menu preview feature. For example, upperwest and east side location serves wine and beer. But, Chinatown location do not.
Unfriendly to delivery & kitchen staff
Their different locations have their own delivery staff, and they have their own manufacturing facility and central kitchen in Long Island City. They also provide catering services, and they hope to promote their catering services, but the prices and services of pickup and food delivery are different. Typically, their central kitchen staff receives random calls from their customers requesting food orders and delivery. But the central kitchen does not provide this service.
Existing Status Analysis
T
S
O
W
SWOT
ANALYSIS
THREATS
WEAKNESSES
OPPORTUNITIES
STRENGTHS
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Vanessa's Dumpling House opened its first location in 1999 and has multiple physical locations.
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Well-established brand recognition in the New York City area.
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Gained 9,000 organic followers on social media.
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Despite having organic social media followers, engagement and online marketing efforts might not be as robust compared to larger competitors or equal to zero.
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Limited menu innovation may deter younger or adventurous diners seeking unique and modern options.
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E-commerce and delivery services
​Develop a robust online ordering system and partner with delivery platforms to capture the growing demand for convenient dining options.
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Catering and events
Expand into catering for corporate events, parties to increase revenue streams.
Research- Defined Target Audience
I conducted on-site visits to their stores and obtained first-hand data on their target customer groups, and conducted a second redesign based on my observations.
The restaurant's combination of affordable prices, quick service, and satisfying meals aligns well with the needs and preferences of students.
Students 37.5%
Tourists 12.5%
Teenages12.5%
Corporate Clients 12.5%
Local Residents
25%
Tourists 12.5%
Local Residents
25%
UI Graphic Branding
COLORS
TYPOGRAPHY
SITEMAP
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WIREFRAME
CARDS
Throughout the website design, I used a lot of geometric elements such as squares, circles, triangles and some irregular shapes. So I continued to use them to keep the brand consistent.
ICONOGRAPHY
Design Process
First Design Version
(Client wants more Americanized branding,
so they decliend it )
New
(According to the client's feedback and re-designed entire homepage and re-branding)
Anecdote:
At beginning, I designed two versions for website.
One was completely Western upscale elegant style and the aother retained traditional Chinese elements.
But the feedback I got from my clients was not satisfied with both!
Soon I had a meeting with my client and learned that they wanted to completely upgrade the brand of the traditional Chinese dumpling house because most of their customers are young Americans.
DESKTOP
Brand Story / About Page
Vanessa's Dumpling House, founded in 1999, has grown into a beloved spot where generations of families gather and friendships flourish. I worrked with client's together and converted his sketch.
Client's sketch
Considering their multiple locations and 25-year brand history, I designed a distinctive brand story page that uses a collage-style layout with landmarks to creatively showcase their journey and evolution.
14 Street Union Square Station
Chinatown
Financial District
Williamsburg
America Dream (NJ)
Forest Hill
Simplified Menus
Problem:
Complex store menus & Various Locations
During the meeting with clients, I suggested keeping the traditional offline menu while merging most of the similar items on the digital online menu.
For example, they offer wines and Teriyaki in the Upper Eastside and Upper Westside, but this service is not available at other locations. Therefore, I converted all the offline menus into online digital Excel, analyzed them, and merged them accordingly.
One Tap to Call
Nowadays, third-party delivery platforms have gradually become another traffic tool for restaurants and have a firm control over customer data.
Then, combined with the fees, tips and delivery fees charged by the platform, this often becomes the reason for them to reduce takeout orders.
So I designed a one-click call button on the mobile page of each location to help them eliminate middlemen and maximize profits.
Catering
The client also requested a functional requirement to include a catering service and it also needs to distinguish between pickup and delivery options because the food and price might be different.
To address this requirement, I created two distinct banners as navigators to separate these services.
To further promote both catering and in-store business, I designed two quick-action buttons on the mobile and which allow users to access these functions quickly and intuitively, enhancing the overall user experience
Inventory Issue
They had an excess of clothing in stock and needed to clear it out quickly.
To meet this demand, I designed a promotional poster and displayed it in their physical store while also sharing it on social media for Black Friday.
Within a day, 140 t-shirts were sold.
Iteration: E-Commerce
One year after the website launch, Vanessa’s began exploring opportunities in food marketing. They asked me to optimize their e-commerce website to boost online revenue. I transformed their site into a full-fledged e-commerce platform and implemented email marketing tools to run effective campaigns. With their own factory, Vanessa’s also had the capability to produce food items under their brand for direct sales, further enhancing their market presence.
Old
Customer need to manually full fill all informations
New
In the new iteration of the design, I added a quick preview feature, allowing users to select product sizes and styles directly.
After analyzing user browsing data and user behavior from the backend data, I found that the website’s steady organic traffic of 400 daily visits consistently contributed to company revenue. However, the user's hesitation after adding products to the cart significantly impacted the conversion rate.
To address this issue, I implemented an abandoned cart reminder feature that notifies users three hours after leaving their cart unattended, encouraging them to complete their purchase.
Holiday Special Page
After converting to e-commerce, I designed special holiday websites for the upcoming Christmas, New Year, and Lunar New Year.
By analyzing the time users stay on the homepage and each sub-page and base on the need of the marketing department for the product, I designed product packaging and product posters, and even made marketing emails for different customer groups.
Here also solved the problem of zero profit for online store before
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