Translating a physical vibe into a digital experience

Kantina is a restaurant that breaks the mold. Industrial in style, eclectic in crowd. You might share a table with an ambassador, a student, or the mayor. Its slogan, "We embrace diversity," isn't marketing copy. It describes what actually happens inside. They needed a website that could make someone feel the place before stepping foot inside.

Kantina had no online presence that matched who they actually were. The gap between the physical experience and what someone could find on their phone was significant. People couldn't tell what kind of place it was. The menu was cluttered. Desktop users had almost nothing.

We started with the brief, then went further. We scraped reviews, ran targeted questions with the client, and went down to the restaurant to talk with staff directly. We mapped user personas and journeys across two core groups: the people who dine there, and the team running it.

The clearest insight: Kantina's magic was entirely experiential. It couldn't be explained with a list of features. It had to be shown. Every design decision that followed served that one finding.

We also learned that dietary inclusivity was a real gap. Vegetarian guests were underserved in the physical menu and online. That became a concrete design requirement.

The research pointed to one clear direction: the design had to carry feeling, not just information. Everything we built came from that.

The site launched with a complete redesign of how Kantina presented itself online. The client reported that first-time visitors arrived more oriented. Staff fielded fewer basic questions at the door.