UX/UI Case Study: Guini Event Planning Platform

Guini

Project Overview and Business Challenge

In May 2020, amid the COVID-19 crisis, the need for smaller-scale events became increasingly urgent. Couples, event planners, and service providers had to adapt quickly to new restrictions, shifting the demand for personalized, budget-friendly event planning solutions. Guini emerged as an innovative platform to simplify event organization and vendor matchmaking. The platform not only connects event planners with service providers like chefs, photographers, and mixologists but also eliminates the complexity of managing pricing, invoices, and customer relationships. By offering a solution that saves time and minimizes costs, Guini allows users to focus on creating memorable experiences while addressing both customer and service provider challenges.

Business Challenge

Problem Definition and User Pain Points

For Event Providers:

Limited Exposure: Smaller event service providers, like independent photographers or chefs, are often overshadowed by larger, more established companies with bigger marketing budgets.
Manual Management: Providers spend considerable time handling customer inquiries, quotes, and invoices manually, leading to inefficiencies.

For Event Customers:

Difficulty in Supplier Discovery: Customers struggle to find vendors who are available on the desired date and offer the right services for their events.
Time-Consuming Price Comparisons: The process of reaching out to multiple suppliers for quotes can take days, making it frustrating for customers looking for quick and efficient solutions.

The Goal: Guini aims to provide an intuitive platform where both service providers and customers can save time, gain visibility, and make informed decisions quickly. The goal is to create a seamless, automated solution that connects users with the right service providers while offering a transparent, efficient system.

User Research and Key Insights

Research Methodology:

Surveys: Gathering insights from event providers and customers to understand their pain points.
Interviews: Conducted in-depth discussions with event planners, service providers, and customers to assess specific needs.
Usability Testing: To observe real-time user interactions with the platform and identify usability issues.

Key Insights:

Event Providers: Smaller vendors need a way to increase their visibility and simplify client management. They require a centralized platform to automate repetitive tasks like quoting, invoicing, and customer communication.
Event Customers: Customers want an easy way to find available suppliers, compare prices, and manage event logistics without multiple communication channels.

Through direct user feedback, we found that Airbnb hosts needed an integrated system to manage multiple properties seamlessly. Customer support teams sought tools for faster case resolution and improved prioritization. These insights helped shape the CRM dashboard into a solution that combines real-time data, automation, and smart features.

Market and Timing

Market Opportunity:

The event planning industry, especially in Israel, is poised for digital transformation, with a market generating approximately 15 billion NIS in annual revenue. The rise of smaller, budget-friendly events creates an opportunity for platforms like Guini to disrupt traditional event planning models.

Timing and Trends:

Digital Shift: The event industry is moving online, making it easier to connect service providers and customers.
Shift Towards Small-Scale Events: The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the demand for smaller, intimate events, making platforms like Guini essential.
Globalization: As the platform gains traction in Israel, there is an increasing interest in expanding globally, tapping into international markets driven by digital platforms and services.

Typography and colors

Typography:

The platform uses modern, sans-serif fonts for a clean, minimalistic look. Typography was selected for readability across both desktop and mobile interfaces. #RUBIK

RUBIK

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Colors:

A muted color palette with soft blues and whites reflects professionalism, calm, and trustworthiness, while contrasting colors (like accents of gold) are used to highlight important elements like pricing and calls to action.

PRIMERY: 23AAF1

Project Timeline

Research and Discovery

2 months

Conducted user research through surveys and interviews.

Analyzed competitive platforms and gathered insights.

Wireframing and Prototyping

3 months

Created low-fidelity wireframes for the platform’s user flows.

Developed interactive prototypes for testing.

UI Design

4 months

Created high-fidelity mockups, focusing on clean and user-friendly design.

Incorporated branding, color schemes, and typography.

User Testing and Refinement

2 months

Conducted usability tests with real users.

Refined the platform based on feedback, focusing on ease of use, accessibility, and efficiency.

Design Process and Iterations

Wireframing: The first step was to map out user journeys, creating wireframes for the key tasks users would perform, such as browsing suppliers, making bookings, and managing invoices.
High-Fidelity Design: After testing wireframes, we created high-fidelity mockups incorporating the platform's color scheme, typography, and branding. This version focused on delivering an intuitive interface for both service providers and customers.
User Flow Testing: The user journey was carefully tested to ensure the process of finding suppliers, sending inquiries, and booking services was simple, with as few steps as possible.
Iterative Refinement: Based on feedback from initial user testing, the design was refined to make navigation smoother, data clearer, and the overall experience more streamlined.

User Testing Results and Metrics

Key Metrics:

User Satisfaction: 90% of event planners and providers reported higher satisfaction with managing bookings and quotes.
Efficiency Improvement: 40% of service providers saw a reduction in time spent handling customer inquiries and quotes.
Time Saved: Event planners reported saving up to 25% of the time spent on supplier discovery and comparison by using Guini.
Error Reduction: The automated invoicing and pricing tools helped reduce errors by 15%.