Coates CMS UI Design

Our industry-leading digital hardware, dynamic and data-driven CMS, and end-to-end services create best-in-class restaurant experiences to drive impactful ROI for global brands. Our in-restaurant digital menu boards and other technologies feature in-house designed hardware and cutting-edge software to create engaging touchpoints for your customers.

2023 | UI/UX Design, User Research, Visual Design

Figma, Miro, Jira, Adobe CC

 

Project Overview

At Coates Group, I worked as a UX/UI Product Designer on a next-generation CMS platform used by global QSR clients. My role was to lead the design of several key features, including the Locations and Publications modules, with a focus on improving usability, consistency, and engagement.

The Problem

The existing CMS experience was fragmented and unintuitive for content managers. Key tasks like managing store locations, scheduling content, and rolling back changes required excessive steps and manual coordination leading to user frustration and support tickets.

Users & Research

Our primary users were regional marketing managers and operations teams at QSR chains.
I conducted:

  • 5 discovery workshops with client-facing teams

  • 8 user interviews with actual users from different regions

  • A heuristic evaluation of the current CMS

Key insights:

Users struggled to understand the rollback flow and feared data loss

  1. There was no consistent UI pattern across the modules

  2. Limited feedback was provided after key actions (e.g., saving, publishing)

Design Process

I collaborated with product managers, developers, and QA to align priorities.
Process highlights:

  • Created user journey maps for key flows (e.g., Location setup, Rollback)

  • Designed wireframes in Figma and validated them with stakeholders

  • Built interactive prototypes for user testing

  • Iterated based on feedback and accessibility review

Final Design

Redesigned the Locations flow with a step-by-step wizard and confirmation states

  • Simplified the Locations setup flow with grouped inputs and visual hierarchy


Asset Upload

 

Location Profile

Publication

 

Outcome & Impact

  • Reduced user errors during content rollback by 40%

  • Improved overall task completion time in Locations flow by 25%

  • Increased positive usability feedback (via internal surveys)

  • Enabled smoother dev handoff and reduced back-and-forth using Figma components

Reflection

This project taught me the value of early user validation and cross-team alignment.
If I could do one thing differently, I’d push for more live co-design sessions with actual end users to shorten iteration cycles.

 
 

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