🐾 PAWSITIVE CAFÉ : REDESIGNING A WEBSITE WITH HEART, BOOKING POWER, AND BRAND WARMTH
A refresh of a dog café’s homepage and booking experience, balancing branding, usability, and emotional connection to create a warm, functional space for dog lovers.
Year :
2025
Industry :
Hospitality
Client :
Alicia - Owner
Project Duration :
3 weeks
🐶 About the Project
Pawsitive Café is a dog-friendly café in London, known for its community vibe and Insta-worthy aesthetic. The original website was built by a marketing agency with strong branding roots; but over time, it began to feel static, outdated, and lacked modern interactivity.
As a freelancer, I was hired to refresh the homepage and fix issues within the booking process, while preserving the brand’s identity and respecting the agency-built structure.
Heuristic Evaluation
Why I used it:
Before redesigning, I conducted a Heuristic Evaluation to identify usability issues using Jakob Nielsen’s principles. This helped me approach the existing homepage and booking page critically — not just as a designer, but as a user experience auditor. I wanted to spot friction points that could lead to confusion, drop-off, or misaligned expectations, especially for new visitors discovering the café for the first time.
| Even a well-built site needs emotional UX. I wanted it to feel like walking into a friendly, tail-wagging space - not just a booking system."
| Even a well-built site needs emotional UX. I wanted it to feel like walking into a friendly, tail-wagging space - not just a booking system."
🔧 Service Blueprint Snapshot
Why I used it:
To better understand both the front-stage (user-facing) and back-stage (behind-the-scenes) experience, I mapped out a Service Blueprint. This was essential for a café, where smooth online booking directly affects in-person traffic and customer satisfaction. I also wanted to capture the invisible barriers, like delayed developer support or third-party plugin issues that impacted both the user and the business owner.
👁️ Visual Design Audit
Before
After
Before
After
Even though the site was created by professionals, the business goals had shifted—and the branding was evolving visually on social platforms.
Before:
Static layouts
No animations
Limited warmth
Black & white colour palette
After (My Touch):
Pink + light blue palette (inspired by social content and customer tone)
Modern animations and hover effects
Subtle wave background elements
Layout tweaks for mobile responsiveness and better content hierarchy
“The original branding was clean and polished—but the website didn’t reflect the joy or movement of the café’s daily life.”
💡 Outcome
A warmer, more emotionally engaging homepage
Fully functioning booking calendar with improved UX
Aligned web visuals with evolving brand tone on Instagram
Maintained core branding while updating modern interaction layers
🔁 What I’d Improve Further
Given more ownership or time, I’d:
Revisit the menu page with clearer categorisation
Integrate user-generated content (e.g., pet owner photo wall)
Add clear CTAs for newsletter signups or events
Push for mobile-first refinements
📌 Why It Matters
This case study isn’t about reinventing a brand from scratch, it’s about the real work of evolving a product inside real-world constraints. I worked inside existing frameworks, solved business-critical UX issues, and delivered a more delightful experience, all while staying faithful to a brand’s unique personality.
Designed with Passion
© Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved by Nahom Studio.
🐾 PAWSITIVE CAFÉ : REDESIGNING A WEBSITE WITH HEART, BOOKING POWER, AND BRAND WARMTH
A refresh of a dog café’s homepage and booking experience, balancing branding, usability, and emotional connection to create a warm, functional space for dog lovers.
Year :
2025
Industry :
Hospitality
Client :
Alicia - Owner
Project Duration :
3 weeks
🐶 About the Project
Pawsitive Café is a dog-friendly café in London, known for its community vibe and Insta-worthy aesthetic. The original website was built by a marketing agency with strong branding roots; but over time, it began to feel static, outdated, and lacked modern interactivity.
As a freelancer, I was hired to refresh the homepage and fix issues within the booking process, while preserving the brand’s identity and respecting the agency-built structure.
Heuristic Evaluation
Why I used it:
Before redesigning, I conducted a Heuristic Evaluation to identify usability issues using Jakob Nielsen’s principles. This helped me approach the existing homepage and booking page critically — not just as a designer, but as a user experience auditor. I wanted to spot friction points that could lead to confusion, drop-off, or misaligned expectations, especially for new visitors discovering the café for the first time.
| Even a well-built site needs emotional UX. I wanted it to feel like walking into a friendly, tail-wagging space - not just a booking system."
| Even a well-built site needs emotional UX. I wanted it to feel like walking into a friendly, tail-wagging space - not just a booking system."
🔧 Service Blueprint Snapshot
Why I used it:
To better understand both the front-stage (user-facing) and back-stage (behind-the-scenes) experience, I mapped out a Service Blueprint. This was essential for a café, where smooth online booking directly affects in-person traffic and customer satisfaction. I also wanted to capture the invisible barriers, like delayed developer support or third-party plugin issues that impacted both the user and the business owner.
👁️ Visual Design Audit
Before
After
Before
After
Even though the site was created by professionals, the business goals had shifted—and the branding was evolving visually on social platforms.
Before:
Static layouts
No animations
Limited warmth
Black & white colour palette
After (My Touch):
Pink + light blue palette (inspired by social content and customer tone)
Modern animations and hover effects
Subtle wave background elements
Layout tweaks for mobile responsiveness and better content hierarchy
“The original branding was clean and polished—but the website didn’t reflect the joy or movement of the café’s daily life.”
💡 Outcome
A warmer, more emotionally engaging homepage
Fully functioning booking calendar with improved UX
Aligned web visuals with evolving brand tone on Instagram
Maintained core branding while updating modern interaction layers
🔁 What I’d Improve Further
Given more ownership or time, I’d:
Revisit the menu page with clearer categorisation
Integrate user-generated content (e.g., pet owner photo wall)
Add clear CTAs for newsletter signups or events
Push for mobile-first refinements
📌 Why It Matters
This case study isn’t about reinventing a brand from scratch, it’s about the real work of evolving a product inside real-world constraints. I worked inside existing frameworks, solved business-critical UX issues, and delivered a more delightful experience, all while staying faithful to a brand’s unique personality.
Designed with Passion
© Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved by Nahom Studio.
🐾 PAWSITIVE CAFÉ : REDESIGNING A WEBSITE WITH HEART, BOOKING POWER, AND BRAND WARMTH
A refresh of a dog café’s homepage and booking experience, balancing branding, usability, and emotional connection to create a warm, functional space for dog lovers.
Year :
2025
Industry :
Hospitality
Client :
Alicia - Owner
Project Duration :
3 weeks
🐶 About the Project
Pawsitive Café is a dog-friendly café in London, known for its community vibe and Insta-worthy aesthetic. The original website was built by a marketing agency with strong branding roots; but over time, it began to feel static, outdated, and lacked modern interactivity.
As a freelancer, I was hired to refresh the homepage and fix issues within the booking process, while preserving the brand’s identity and respecting the agency-built structure.
Heuristic Evaluation
Why I used it:
Before redesigning, I conducted a Heuristic Evaluation to identify usability issues using Jakob Nielsen’s principles. This helped me approach the existing homepage and booking page critically — not just as a designer, but as a user experience auditor. I wanted to spot friction points that could lead to confusion, drop-off, or misaligned expectations, especially for new visitors discovering the café for the first time.
| Even a well-built site needs emotional UX. I wanted it to feel like walking into a friendly, tail-wagging space - not just a booking system."
| Even a well-built site needs emotional UX. I wanted it to feel like walking into a friendly, tail-wagging space - not just a booking system."
🔧 Service Blueprint Snapshot
Why I used it:
To better understand both the front-stage (user-facing) and back-stage (behind-the-scenes) experience, I mapped out a Service Blueprint. This was essential for a café, where smooth online booking directly affects in-person traffic and customer satisfaction. I also wanted to capture the invisible barriers, like delayed developer support or third-party plugin issues that impacted both the user and the business owner.
👁️ Visual Design Audit
Before
After
Before
After
Even though the site was created by professionals, the business goals had shifted—and the branding was evolving visually on social platforms.
Before:
Static layouts
No animations
Limited warmth
Black & white colour palette
After (My Touch):
Pink + light blue palette (inspired by social content and customer tone)
Modern animations and hover effects
Subtle wave background elements
Layout tweaks for mobile responsiveness and better content hierarchy
“The original branding was clean and polished—but the website didn’t reflect the joy or movement of the café’s daily life.”
💡 Outcome
A warmer, more emotionally engaging homepage
Fully functioning booking calendar with improved UX
Aligned web visuals with evolving brand tone on Instagram
Maintained core branding while updating modern interaction layers
🔁 What I’d Improve Further
Given more ownership or time, I’d:
Revisit the menu page with clearer categorisation
Integrate user-generated content (e.g., pet owner photo wall)
Add clear CTAs for newsletter signups or events
Push for mobile-first refinements
📌 Why It Matters
This case study isn’t about reinventing a brand from scratch, it’s about the real work of evolving a product inside real-world constraints. I worked inside existing frameworks, solved business-critical UX issues, and delivered a more delightful experience, all while staying faithful to a brand’s unique personality.
Designed with Passion
© Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved by Nahom Studio.