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shif

Why we built it

A half-built prototype and a café that couldn't wait

The café had a dashboard prototype that broke on phones, mixed currencies and led to pages that didn't exist — plus a printed menu, a logo and a plan to start selling its own coffee by the bag. They needed something staff would actually use at a busy counter, and a way for customers to find them.

01

Speed at the counter

An order in a few taps, then straight to the kitchen or to payment.

02

How the café really works

Open tabs per table, mobile money next to cash, and an end-of-day cash count.

03

One source of truth

Change a price once — the counter, receipts and website all follow.

04

A brand that's clearly theirs

Built from the café's own logo, not a generic admin template.

How we worked

5 rounds of honest feedback — each one shipped.

  1. Round 1

    “I hate it”

    Rebuilt from scratch around the real menu and workflow.

  2. Round 2

    “Match the logo”

    A brand system drawn from the logo: forest green, line art, serif wordmark.

  3. Round 3

    “Too bland”

    Bolder: a green rail, a dark order ticket, a colour per menu section.

  4. Round 4

    “Too crowded”

    Calmer cards, wrapping tabs, more breathing room.

  5. Round 5

    “The order panel is too big”

    A slim order dock that expands only when needed.

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