Elena Aseeva

Two months ago, I started a project that would teach me as much about collaboration and design thinking as it did about code. Today, I'm excited to share the story of building Leleo – a SaaS platform transforming how restaurants connect with their customers.

It Started with a Conversation

When the Leleo founders approached me, they had a clear vision: create a solution that makes restaurant guests so happy they keep coming back. Not through gimmicks, but through genuinely great experiences. The platform would help restaurants manage QR menus, handle customer requests, process orders, and provide owners with valuable analytics. But before writing a single line of code, I needed to understand the brand.

Discovering the Brand Identity

I sat down with the team and asked simple questions: What are your favorite colors? How do you want people to feel when they land on the site? Do you want flashy animations or elegant simplicity? The answer was clear: simplicity first. The product should speak for itself without distracting effects or complexity. Then came the breakthrough moment – someone mentioned Tiffany blue. The entire team's eyes lit up. That color wasn't just beautiful; it conveyed exactly what Leleo represents: premium, approachable, memorable. It was one of those perfect accidents where everyone immediately knows "this is it." The design philosophy crystallized: create a landing page that's user-friendly, descriptive, and puts the product story front and center. Restaurant owners needed to understand the value proposition instantly.

Building with Purpose

I chose React and Tailwind CSS for the frontend – a combination that lets me move quickly while maintaining clean, maintainable code. But the real learning came before I wrote any components. The Power of Design Systems I started with wireframes in Figma, collaborating with the team to nail down the landing page structure. This was when I discovered something that changed my approach to development: design systems. Creating a basic design system in Figma before coding wasn't just useful – it was transformative. Having consistent components, spacing rules, and color tokens defined upfront meant:

Faster development (no guessing about margins or button styles)
Visual consistency across every section
Easier iterations when feedback came in
A foundation I could build upon as the project grew

This is a skill I'm continuing to develop, and it's already proving invaluable.

Making It Personal for Every User

One feature I'm particularly proud of is internationalization. Leleo speaks three languages, and here's the elegant part: when someone visits the site, they automatically see it in their browser's preferred language. No dropdowns to hunt for. No confusion. Just a seamless experience that respects users wherever they are. It's these small touches that align with Leleo's core philosophy – making technology feel invisible and intuitive.

Focusing on What Matters

During development, we made a strategic decision: focus the website messaging primarily on restaurant owners. They're Leleo's initial customers, the ones who need to understand how the platform solves their specific pain points. This clarity helped tremendously. Instead of trying to speak to everyone, we could craft messaging that resonates with busy restaurant owners looking for: cost savings through digital menus, better customer communication, streamlined order management, and actionable analytics to grow their business.

The Two-Month Sprint

From initial conversations to launch took about two months. The process was remarkably smooth – not because there weren't challenges, but because we had:

Clear communication with the founding team
A well-defined design direction
The right technical tools for the job
Focus on simplicity over complexity

What I Learned

This project reinforced something crucial: great frontend development isn't just about code. It's about:

Understanding the business vision deeply
Creating design systems that scale
Making intentional decisions about who you're building for
Crafting experiences that feel effortless to users

Building Leleo taught me that sometimes the best technical decision is the one that gets out of users' way. The Tiffany blue they see, the automatic language detection, the clean layout – these aren't accidents. They're the result of thoughtful conversations and deliberate choices.

See It Live

I'm proud of what we built, and I'd love for you to experience it yourself. Visit

Leleo.co

to see how we're helping restaurants create better customer experiences while growing their business. If you're working on similar projects, building design systems, or exploring internationalization, I'd love to connect and exchange ideas. Every project teaches us something new.