The words are part of the interface.
I wanted English and German copy that helped restaurant staff act, not decode the software.
The build journal / 2025 to 2026
Inside the work.
From the first request to the detail that changed the product.
Follow a project, choose a date, or find your own starting point.
A reservation rule has to survive the final click.
A fast availability check is only one part of a dependable booking flow.
Zero problems should not need a dashboard section.
There were no duplicate guests to review. The interface still gave the restaurant owner a paragraph about it.
Could this actually run a hundred restaurants?
I asked a capacity question. The useful answer was a map of the order path’s weak points.
The design system had to reach the actual screens.
A blueprint and an implementation can both exist while still speaking different visual languages.
Let me order dinner before you ask me to pay.
The checkout integration was working its way into the wrong moment. I asked the AI assistant to follow the restaurant journey instead.
Saved. But which part of the website?
One editing session, several different saving rules. How I worked with an AI coding assistant on a restaurant website builder, and why the smallest status message needed a much closer look.
Five QR designs later, I rewrote the brief.
The AI produced five visual directions. I rejected the result because I needed something that belonged on a restaurant table.