Japanese Rooftop Restaurant App A sleek dining app for a modern rooftop restaurant in the heart of the city. From reservations to pre-ordering your meal, Kūyō makes fine dining simple, stylish, and stress-free.
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This idea started as a fictional restaurant concept for a UX certification project. I created detailed app wireframes focused on making the reservation experience feel smooth, modern, and luxurious. But I didn’t want to stop at UX. I saw the potential to turn this into a full brand. One that could capture everything I loved about the atmosphere of rooftop dining, Japanese food culture, and visual storytelling.
With so many restaurants relying on third-party delivery and reservation apps, there’s a gap for venues wanting a seamless, branded experience. Kūyō was created to solve that—offering guests a way to book a table, pre-order their meal, and step into a dining experience that’s already been thoughtfully prepared. The goal was to merge high-end hospitality with modern convenience while staying true to the restaurant’s Japanese rooftop ambiance.
Develop a custom mobile app that reflects Kūyō’s elegant, modern Japanese brand
Streamline the reservation process while introducing pre-order functionality
Position Kūyō as a luxury yet accessible dining experience for both locals and travelers
I conducted usability testing with early prototypes to ensure the app felt intuitive.
Key findings:
⦿ Users loved the pre-order feature for special events
⦿ Table availability needed clear visual indicators
⦿ Mobile-first design was essential, as most bookings came from phones
When searching for the right name, I wanted something that captured the feeling of dining under a glowing sky. It needed to be atmospheric, a little mysterious, and quietly radiant.
I discovered the kanji combination 空陽, read as Kūyō. The first character, 空 (kū), means sky or emptiness. The second, 陽 (yō), means sunlight or warmth. Together, they suggest a poetic idea of sky radiance. Subtle light drifting through the evening sky. The name felt like the perfect match for a rooftop dining experience. It evokes the warm glow of city lights, the calm energy of twilight, and the elevated tone of the brand. Kūyō became more than just a name. It defined the feeling I wanted people to have the moment they arrived.
Starting with basic wireframes, I mapped out the user journey from opening the app to confirming a reservation and pre-ordering a meal. Iterating on feedback, I streamlined navigation and enhanced visual hierarchy for a smooth experience.
With the visual design locked in, I brought the concept to life through an interactive prototype in Adobe XD. This stage focused on simulating the complete user journey. From opening the app and browsing the menu to making a reservation and confirming a pre-order.
To extend the Kūyō experience beyond the rooftop, I designed a cohesive set of social media assets tailored for Instagram. The goal was to capture the restaurant’s refined yet inviting atmosphere while promoting the app’s key features.
