UI/UX Design
Project
Foodize
What is Foodize
Foodize is an app that helps you manage your food by organizing your purchases in your fridge and letting you know when an item is expiring. Items are tracked based on purchase dates and you are alerted when the items are going to expire along with suggested recipes that can be used so food isn’t wasted.
Role
UI/UX Designer
Software
Figma
InVision
Photoshop
Illustrator
Details
2021
Problem Space
1/3 of food goes to waste globally each year.
35.5 million tonnes is lost or wasted in Canada.
$49 billion loss in Canada.
User Behavior
Buying more food than needed often led to food waste.
Consumers are not yet fully aware of the environmental impacts.
Food waste is usually a result of storing food for too long.
My Role
Foodize was an app design with a 3 person team about food waste management. My primary role for this project was designing the look and feel for the UI/UX as well as wireframing and additional user research over the course of several days.
Goals
Goal 1
To reduce food waste at the consumer level through education and use of technology.
Goal 2
To focus on food waste reduction solutions at the household level, after the point of purchase.
Goal 1
To discover ways to remind households that their food produce are expiring in a timely manner.
Assumptions
Assumption 1
Food produce near or past expiry dates will always have reduced value or no value to the household.
Assumption 2
Households make grocery purchases at the store without concrete grocery plans in mind.
Assumption 3
Regular weekly meal preparations are often intended but likely skipped.
Primary Research
Primary research consists of user research questions based around food waste and eating habits for individuals and how food storage affects their purchasing and meal preparation.
Finding 1
Interviewees experienced negative emotions (guilt and self-blame) when they generate food waste.
Finding 2
Interviewees would rather dispose of food items that were close to or past expiry so they don’t get food poisoning.
Finding 3
It takes months or years for interviewees to learn how to plan for their grocery purchases and learn best storing practices.
How Might We Question
How might we help households become more aware of the freshness of their food purchase, so they can be accurately and effectively informed of their timeline to prepare meals using their food?
Persona
Beth Brianna
Age: 26
Occupation: Equity Analyst
Education: Marketing
Location: Vancouver, BC
Currently living alone. Learning meal planning and best food storage practices. Likes to cook at home.
Priorities & Goals
- Wants to know when produce is expiring
- Wants to better plan for her grocery trips
Barriers
- Accessibility of information
- Not confident in food storage
- Limited time to search for recipes with existing ingredients
Needs
- Personalized food storage advice & recipe recommendations based on her existing inventory
Sketches v1
Wireframes / Mid-Fi
User Testing
Less Written Instructions & Content
More Clarification with “My Fridge”
Create Context for Data
Next Steps & Key Learnings
- A leaderboard for the environmental statistics display.
- Develop screens to show nutritional information on produce.
Real-life users simulate through products and prototypes at their own pace in their own ways, without following a flow that designers expect. Hence, it is important to involve user testing to reset designer expectations.
