Pull Up

Updated Proposal

Mission and scope

pull up is a website that makes it easy to find a cafe, categorized by the activity, study, work with a group, meet friends, or try a new drink. Most review sites give a cafe one overall score. Our idea is to rate the details that decide whether a visit goes well, like outlets, Wi-Fi, table space, and parking, and we show the best thing to order.

Since our first proposal, we've changed three things. Search now starts with intent: you pick "I want to…" (Study, Work with a group, Meet friends, or Try a drink), then filter by amenities. Ratings are split into four averages out of 5 (overall, outlets, Wi-Fi, and table space) instead of one score. Each cafe also shows an "Order the…" pick, which is the menu item users rate highest.

The site covers cafes across LA, starting with the neighborhoods students use most, such as University Park, Downtown, Koreatown, Silver Lake, and the Arts District. Listings start from our own data, and users add the rest through reviews, ratings, menu picks, photos, and info updates.

Audiences

Our primary audience is college students who study off campus. They can find cafes easily, but they can't tell ahead of time whether a place has outlets, solid Wi-Fi, room to spread out, or parking.

Off-campus studier

Who they are: USC undergrad, studies outside the library 3 to 4 times a week
What they need: a quiet spot near campus with outlets and Wi-Fi that stays open late
Features they'll use most: "Study" search, the Outlets, Wi-Fi, and Open now filters, and outlet and Wi-Fi ratings

Group project organizer

Who they are: student running a class project or club meeting for 4 to 6 people
What they need: big tables, room to talk, and parking for everyone
Features they'll use most: "Work with a group" search, table-space rating, parking info, and neighborhood pages

Coffee/Matcha explorer

Who they are: tries new coffee and matcha shops on weekends
What they need: where to go next and what to order once there
Features they'll use most: "Order the…", photos, and menu recommendations

Standard features

Search: search by cafe name or neighborhood, then filter by Open now, Wi-Fi, Outlets, Parking, Outdoor seating, Restroom, or neighborhood
User accounts: sign up to write reviews, save cafes, and see your past reviews
Admin back-end: admins add, edit, and delete cafes, update hours and amenities, approve info updates from users, and remove reviews or photos that break the rules
User-entered content: reviews rated 1 to 5 on overall, outlets, Wi-Fi, and table space, plus "Order the…" menu picks and info updates like "Wi-Fi is down" or "new hours"
Image uploads: users add photos of the space or their drink to a review, and admins upload a main photo for each cafe

Unique features

"I want to…" search. You pick Study, Work with a group, Meet friends, or Try a drink, and results re-sort by the ratings that matter for that goal. Study, for example, ranks cafes by outlets and Wi-Fi.
Study-specific notes. Each cafe card shows details about the services, not just a rating
"Order the…" pick. The top-rated user recommendation shows on each cafe card and detail page.
Neighborhood pages. Each area has a page listing its cafes, with rows like "Good for studying."
Saved cafes. Signed-in users can bookmark cafes to a personal list.

Data to import

Cafe listings from the Google Places API, with name, address, hours, and neighborhood for cafes across LA
Neighborhood names and boundaries from the City of Los Angeles open data portal
Wi-Fi, outlets, parking, table space, and best drinks for certain cafes

Most public sources don't have, so we will list that information for cafes we have been to & consult online reviews (possibly process online reviews through an LLM to get some of this data)

A set of starter reviews from our own team, so cafe pages aren't empty at launch

Team Roles

Front-end and branding (HTML, CSS, and the look of the site): Sahil, Mari, Gladys
PHP, connecting the front end to the back end: Zavion, Sahil
Database: Sydney, Gladys, Mari
QA and user testing: Mari, Sahil
User research: Zavion leads

Initial Site Map

FigJam link

3 Logos & Mastheads

Concept One

Concept Two

Concept Three

User Research Summary (10 interviewees)

Key Takeaways

Study-ability is the top filter. Seating, outlets, Wi-Fi and laptop policy decide whether people go back. Parking matters for drivers (Amandine, Bella).
Crowding is the most common deal-breaker. Cafes that look spacious online but are packed, with no seats, have burned nearly everyone (Bella, Anya, Kyra, Youmei, Omarion, Hattie).
Solo and social visits differ. Alone, people want quiet, outlets and a table. With friends, they want vibe, photogenic spaces and energy, and they will travel farther or try new places.
Discovery runs on TikTok, Google Maps, Beli, Yelp and friends. Word of mouth is trusted most. Influencers are trusted least unless they have visited many cafes.
Reviews are rare. Almost no one writes them. Most would give a quick tap or rating, such as a crowd level, if it took seconds.
Drinks are habitual. Most order the same thing (matcha, iced latte, Americano) and judge a cafe on it. Price and size matter ($9 matcha is a complaint).
Most requested features: crowd and peak-hour info, seating capacity and photos of the interior, outlets and Wi-Fi, laptop policy, hours (including closures), parking, menu and drink prices, noise level, and distance from USC.

Interview Log

Interviewee	Notes
Amandine Kataoka (21, Themed Ent. & Systems Eng.)	Studies at Starbucks, Loft or Cafe Mak, with parking, outlets, free Wi-Fi and soft music. Drives, so parking and tables are non-negotiable. Researches on TikTok, then Beli, then Yelp. Trusts word of mouth over influencers. Quit exploring after a bad Three Sisters visit (rude staff, loud, no parking). Wants photos, parking details, peak hours, a study/social rating, and linked Beli/Yelp reviews.
Meilynn Poma (21, Themed Ent.)	Almost always goes with friends, rarely alone, and rarely studies there. Picks places by aesthetic, Instagram and marketing, and whether the matcha is good. Likes light ambient noise. Found her favorite (Picnic Coffee) by bus. Wants cost, busyness, noise, Wi-Fi/outlets, parking and seating. Doesn’t post reviews but tells friends.
Bella Chien (20, Business)	Visits 3–4x/week, mostly matcha (no coffee). Finds cafes on TikTok, then checks Instagram or Google Maps. Hates crowds with no seats, outlets missing or laptop bans, and $9 matcha. Has driven 20–30 minutes and found no seat. Wants a crowd or seat-availability indicator and outlet info.
Anya Gupta (19, Business)	Defaults to Leavey Library. Goes to cafes only every week or two, for 2–3 hours. Uses Google Maps and friend recommendations. A packed Downtown cafe with slow Wi-Fi and no outlets made her leave. Wants to know she’ll find a seat. Would tap a quick crowd rating but not write a review.
Rae Jhun (20, Design)	Visits 3–4x/week, about 2 hours, often late at night. Uses TikTok and Google Maps. Was burned by a hard-to-find cafe that closed for lunch with no notice. Wants accurate hours and closures, charging, Wi-Fi, crowd and lighting, and filters by purpose (study, relax, eat, socialize). Doesn’t post.
Youmei Li (20, Business)	Studies in cafes with friends, especially during finals. Orders an iced Americano, so food and atmosphere drive her choice. Avoids small, crowded places with long lines. Wants crowd level, space and seating capacity, and interior photos. Doesn’t post.
Omarion (22, PR & Advertising)	Notes appear to be written in third person. Cafe visits are part of a larger outing. Wants cute, photogenic spaces, patios and greenery. Judges shops by matcha. Was burned by packed lines, tiny $11 drinks and “like 3 chairs.” Wants menu and drink ratings, prices, line length, noise and seating. Posts stories only.
Kyra (21, Finance)	Visits 1–3x/week for 2–4 hours, to focus. Wants quiet, Wi-Fi, outlets and a big table. Dealbreakers are laptop bans, wrong hours, crowds, bright lights and pressure to keep buying. Wants seating capacity, outlets, Wi-Fi quality, laptop policy and hours. Almost never reviews.
Hattie Ugoretz (20, Theater & Applied Math)	Mostly grabs drinks on the way to work (matcha). Loves patios and greenery. Calls Starbucks overpriced but a guaranteed Wi-Fi and outlet fallback. Wants the menu, drink ratings and crowd or line info by time of day. Occasional Instagram story only.
Sam Gold (21, Env. Engineering)	Goes alone, about weekly for 3–4 hours (Verve). Likes background chatter, Wi-Fi, charging and natural light. Disappointed by an overhyped TikTok spot (small drinks, long line). Wants drink prices, seasonal drinks and laptop policy, after being asked to put his laptop away once. Doesn’t review.

Initial Database Structure

Sample View and Data

Mission and scope

Audiences

Standard features

Search: search by cafe name or neighborhood, then filter by Open now, Wi-Fi, Outlets, Parking, Outdoor seating, Restroom, or neighborhood

User accounts: sign up to write reviews, save cafes, and see your past reviews

Admin back-end: admins add, edit, and delete cafes, update hours and amenities, approve info updates from users, and remove reviews or photos that break the rules

User-entered content: reviews rated 1 to 5 on overall, outlets, Wi-Fi, and table space, plus "Order the…" menu picks and info updates like "Wi-Fi is down" or "new hours"