A redesign of the restaurant's website was required so that it incorporated the brand and represented the overall experience of dining there. It was probably updated in the 90s, so every aspect of their website needed a fresh coat of paint.

Furthermore, they wanted a stronger representation of their wholesale business, since it currently only includes a few pages.

Seeing the competitors we are dealing with was really important for me before moving on to anything else. By knowing our competitors better, we can attract more customers. As a shock, I discovered that so many restaurants either have an outdated website or a website that does not properly represent their restaurant.

After I mapped out the plan, I went and learned more about Hellas Bakery/Restaurant because I wanted the website to reflect the story and vibe of the restaurant accurately, rather than just make it look pretty.

In designing this website, I wanted to avoid anything that looked cheesy, because the restaurant's story offers so much more. It's particularly important for me that restaurant websites have big images that show customers what they can expect and make them want to see the food or the place for themselves.

To reinforce the visiting experience, I came up with a combination of images that represent the restaurant/bakery and illustrations that gives everything a greek vibe.

I decided to break the old design pattern and have blue as the primary color, as well as pink as a secondary color that matches the restaurant's sign. I added details to the website that I believe will sell that amazing dining experience at the restaurant.

The time had finally come to take everything I had prepared and create something awesome. I started designing sections one by one, and I wasn't very pleased at first because it looked too neat and cold. The outcome is exactly the opposite of what I planned, but I found a texture that was perfect to add to some sections to simulate the white stone look of their restaurant. As part of that process, I also went on a hunt to find some watercolor illustrations I had in mind, and I was lucky to come across some that were perfect for that homepage.

It gave me exactly the vibe I was looking for and made me super happy and gave me some extra inspiration, which allowed me to work much faster.

My next step was to show the idea to the owner, who was extremely pleased and also noticed a few details that made him feel this page was specifically designed for his family business.

The direction I was going in had been approved by everyone, so it was time to move forward with more tasks.

First of all, I needed more illustrations to complete my vision for all the subpages, so I took a little bit longer than I thought because I was looking for a specific style, but after some time I found what I needed and I could get back into Figma.

After Figma was opened and all the assets imported, creating those subpages and sections felt completely natural and at the end I was completely satisfied with the results.

The experience of working on that website was fantastic, especially since I was able to use some illustrations and layouts for sections that I had in my head for a long time. Also, helping a family business expand their dining experience and make people realize what an incredible time they can have there is really rewarding.

However, I am really shocked at the general quality gap when it comes to restaurant websites, especially since covid has made those even more important.