Harrison Holt

Donut Ordering System (AWS Serverless)

Description:
Dough & Behold is a fully serverless web application that lets customers place donut orders online and receive confirmation and pickup updates via email. Built with AWS services and React, this project demonstrates a real-time, event-driven ordering workflow that simulates a modern digital storefront.

My Design Process

I planned the system architecture with AWS Step Functions at the core, coordinating services like Lambda, SES, and DynamoDB. I also created mockups in Figma and wireframes to guide UI development using Material UI.

Color Palette

The palette was designed to match the warm, welcoming vibe of a neighborhood donut shop, while still being accessible:

#FDF3E7 (Cream – Background/Base Color)

#F7C59F (Frosted Peach – Accent/Highlight)

#8D5524 (Chocolate Brown – Text/Primary Buttons)

#FADADD (Strawberry Cream – Subtle Highlights, Borders, Secondary Elements)

Technology Stack

• AWS Lambda: Business logic for processing orders, calculating wait times, generating receipts, and verifying email identities.
• Amazon API Gateway: Exposes a REST API to receive order submissions from the frontend.
• AWS Step Functions: Coordinates the full order flow with branching logic, retries, and wait states.
• Amazon SES: Sends confirmation and "order ready" emails with pre-signed receipt URLs.
• DynamoDB: Stores orders, order history, and inventory.
• S3: Hosts downloadable PDF receipts with lifecycle policies for cleanup.
• EventBridge: Triggers order processing automatically on form submission.
• React + Material UI: Accessible, responsive frontend styled to match the shop’s theme.

My Coding Process

I designed the backend to be modular and secure, using scoped IAM permissions and CloudWatch Logs for visibility. All frontend components are responsive and built with accessibility in mind. I used Postman to test my APIs and integrated AWS SDK v3 for serverless backend communication.