Cake Walk App
Cake Walk is an all-in-one birthday party planning app designed to simplify organizing celebrations. It offers features like budgeting, checklist, customizable invites, guest list management, RSVP tracking, and vendor coordination, making party planning stress-free and enjoyable.
Research • UX/UI • Branding • Prototyping • Usability Testing
Overview
The Challenge
Birthday party planning is often a DIY endeavor, yet no dedicated tools exist to simplify the process. From managing guest lists and choosing themes to coordinating activities and staying within budget, it often feels like there’s no easy way to keep everything organized. Cakewalk aims to fill this gap by offering an intuitive, all-in-one app designed to streamline planning while enhancing creativity and organization. The app will provide tools for managing guest lists, themes, invites, activities, and budgets, all in a user-friendly interface.
With tools to streamline every step, Cakewalk will help make planning stress-free and enjoyable, so anyone can create memorable celebrations with ease. Planning a birthday party can be overwhelming for many reasons. People often struggle with coordinating all the details, from selecting themes and activities to managing guest lists and budgets, while balancing their already busy lives. The DIY nature of birthday planning adds to the challenge, as most individuals lack access to dedicated tools that streamline the process.
The absence of a centralized platform makes it harder to stay organized, leading to unnecessary stress and missed opportunities to create memorable experiences.
There is an opportunity to support DIY party planners with a tool that simplifies organization, enhances creativity, and provides a seamless way to manage all aspects of a birthday celebration in one place.
01. Empathize
Research revealed the missing pieces in party planning,
guiding Cakewalk's creation.
Market and the Competition
PartySlate, Pro Party Planner, punchbowl, and Zola are key players in the event planning space, each catering to specific needs. PartySlate primarily focuses on connecting users with professional event planners and caters to large-scale events like weddings and corporate gatherings. Similarly, Zola an indirect competitor specializes only in weddings related events, offering comprehensive planning tools such as registries, guest list management, and vendor recommendations.
Pro Party Planner is an app designed for event organization, featuring tools like task management, budget tracking, and timeline creation. However, its complexity can be daunting for casual users or those planning smaller events. Punchbowl, in contrast, is a straightforward tool offering basic invitation and RSVP management, but lacking the comprehensive features required for end-to-end planning.
While these platforms excel in their niches, they often fall short for users seeking an all-in-one solution tailored specifically for personal celebrations like birthday parties.User Interviews
I conducted interviews with six individuals ranging in age from their 20s to their 60s, each with varying levels of experience in planning birthday parties. Three participants were from suburban areas, while the others lived in urban settings. Four interviews were conducted via video calls, and two were in person.
During these interviews, I explored users’ experiences with planning birthday parties and their thoughts on tools or methods they currently use. Neither participants had ever used a specialized birthday party planning app, so my questions focused on their typical planning process, challenges they face, how they organize and manage vendors or budgets, and what they value most in creating a memorable experience for their children..
Key Insights from affinity mapping
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Time Constraints - Time was a significant factor for participants, especially those in their 30s with young children or full-time jobs. Many said they struggled to dedicate sufficient time to planning and wished for tools that could streamline tasks.
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Challenges in Party Planning - Common struggles included managing multiple aspects of the event, such as tracking RSVPs, coordinating with vendors, and staying within budget. Participants frequently mentioned how stressful it can be to juggle all these responsibilities with different tools.
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Vendor Selection - Finding reliable and affordable vendors for these kind of events was a recurring pain point. Many participants expressed frustration with the lack of trustworthy recommendations and the time it took to vet options.
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Party Organization - Participants emphasized the importance of staying organized, with some using spreadsheets or physical planners to manage their tasks. Others said they struggled to keep track of details, such as RSVPs or vendor communications, especially when planning larger events.
User Personas
Based on user research, I developed two core personas for Cake Walk.
Bella, a busy parent, juggles work and family and wants a quick, reliable way to plan her child’s birthday without the usual stress. She values convenience and trusted recommendations.
Omkar, an organized and detail-driven parent, enjoys planning themed celebrations but needs a streamlined tool to keep track of vendors, budgets, RSVPs, and timelines—all in one plac
02. Define
How might we develop a cohesive and integrated platform for birthday party planning that alleviates the need for using multiple apps, saving users time and reducing unnecessary stress?
Site Map
I started materializing ideas by creating an initial site map outlining the structure of the app. Here I defined key pages and features for the product.
User Flow
With a clear vision of the app’s structure, I mapped key user flows to define how users would navigate the product. This helped identify potential pain points and bottlenecks, allowing for targeted design improvements.
03. Ideate
Sketching Ideas
After finalizing the site architecture and prioritizing key user flows, I began designing the main screens—focusing on the essential tasks: adding an event, designing the invite and sending them, managing RSVP, and budget planning.
Mid-Fi Wireframes
After sketching the main screens, I moved onto digitalizing them, refining them and making any additional needed screens.
Branding
Name and Logo
The name Cake Walk captures the essence of what the app aims to do—make party planning so simple and stress-free, it feels like a walk in the park. Traditionally, a "cakewalk" refers to something that’s easy to do, and I wanted the experience of organizing birthdays and celebrations to feel exactly that—effortless, enjoyable, and even fun.
Color Palette, Typeface & UI library
I chose a bright, cheerful color palette to reflect the joy of party planning while keeping it balanced so it doesn't overpower the content. The typeface is clean and minimal to support readability, with a friendly, approachable feel that aligns with the app’s tone.
04 Prototype
High-Fidelity Wireframes and Prototype
With the branding in place, I refined the wireframes and applied the complete UI library—integrating color, typography, and icons for a cohesive, polished look. Once the core screens were designed, I built a high-fidelity prototype featuring three key task flows to test usability and align the user experience with the brand’s joyful, intuitive feel.
