More Than a Haircut

I remember going to the barbershop growing up—the conversations with my barber, my dad waiting for me to finish, and the confidence of walking out with a fresh look. Over the years, I noticed a few consistent questions that always came up: What style would you like? Can you show me a picture? Can you describe it? How would you like to pay? These same interactions still shape my experience with my barber downtown today. This got me thinking—what if the entire process could be streamlined beforehand? By designing an experience that answers these questions in advance, barbers could serve more customers efficiently, and conversations could flow more naturally—moving beyond the usual “So, what will it be this time?”

A Day in the Shop

To validate my hypothesis, I revisited Streets, my longtime barbershop of 18 years—that's 216 haircuts, approximately $5,400 spent, and a staggering 59.4 ounces of hair trimmed over the years. I noticed how little had changed: the same equipment, cash-only transactions, and handwritten records. The owner, continued manually logging each visit in a binder to track appointments and details.

In contrast, my current downtown barber faced a different set of challenges: reliance on external cash transfer apps, inconsistent payment processing times, and delays that disrupted workflow. At one point, a transaction took so long that the barber had to start another client’s haircut while waiting for payment to process, leaving the previous customer awkwardly standing by until the payment finally went through. These inefficiencies not only slowed operations but also created an inconvenient experience for both barbers and customers, as illustrated in the image below.

The Uber of Barbers

The vision for the app began with addressing the biggest pain point I experienced firsthand—the payment system (or lack thereof). Through research, I found that while existing apps allowed debit and credit card payments, most barbers weren’t utilizing these features. When testing these platforms, I also noticed that their approach was primarily focused on the barber-client relationship, overlooking how most barbershops actually operate. In reality, many shops function on a three-way model, where a shop owner assembles a team of barbers who rent chairs and then serve clients. Recognizing this gap, I set out to design a more comprehensive solution—one that not only supported barbers and clients but also integrated shop owners into the experience, creating a seamless ecosystem for all three parties.

From Booking to Barber Chair

I began with what I called the "Appointment Flow"—mapping out the entire process from booking an appointment to its completion. Once this core experience was defined, I worked backward, designing the rest of the app to ensure a seamless and intuitive user journey.

buy, earn, redeem

I designed a catalog that allowed customers to browse and purchase products while booking their appointments. This feature enabled barbershops to showcase grooming products and styling tools, letting customers add items to their order and pick them up at checkout. This not only streamlined the shopping experience but also provided barbershops with an additional revenue stream.

The Money Trail

To ensure the financial viability of the platform, I mapped out how money would be distributed across transactions. This included defining how much barbershops would collect, the platform’s fee structure, and the flow of funds from customers’ banks to barbers, shop owners, and any third parties involved.

A Smooth Entrance

To ensure a seamless onboarding experience, I designed high-fidelity mockups that focused on key user interaction points, refining the flow to be intuitive, engaging, and efficient.

A Vision Realized

I’d love to bring this app to life someday if the opportunity arises. To explore its feasibility, I consulted with several engineers and provided them with four key documents: one detailing the smart receipt system, two outlining the barber-side and client-side UI, and a final design document summarizing the entire vision. Through these discussions, I realized that additional funding would be necessary to move forward with development. That said, I have no regrets—the process of identifying a real-world problem, designing a solution, and creating something meaningful to share was incredibly rewarding. Maybe one day, I’ll have the chance to bring this idea to life—thanks for checking it out!