A mobile app to help people mitigate food waste by learning different ways to prepare and store produce, discovering local farmers markets, and finding recipes they can use with locally grown products.
Source.
Overview
Working as an urban farmer I noticed a trend. So much produce was being wasted or composted. I wanted to learn why this was the case and find a digital solution to help prevent food waste.
Product Designer
UX Researcher
My Role
Tools
Figma
Word
Miro
Design Process
Source. is an app that helps users discover farmers markets in their areas. It also educates users on how to store, prepare, and use different types of produce while proposing recipes as a way reduce food waste.
Solution
Research
Secondary Research
I wanted to know people’s relationship with buying produce from locally sourced vendors. I looked into academic journals and studies.
30-45% of food goes to waste...but why?
People do desire to shop locally but:
Going to mass-produced grocery stores is more convenient
People are set in their ways with shopping habits
There were no findings on how clients interact with the produce they purchase such as how they cook, store, and discard produce. Understanding this would help me understand what type of digital product would best serve people.
User Interviews
My goal was to learn about how people interact with the food they purchase at local grocery stores or farmer’s markets.
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I conducted user interviews to understand users’ behavior and attitudes when planning and executing grocery shopping. Click to view my entire research plan.
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I wanted to find participants who lived in metropolitan areas, and who did not shop for a large family. This would help keep my interviews consistent. View survey questions
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Walk me through your typical shopping experience at farmers markets?
How do you prepare to shop at a farmers market?
How do you prepare to receive your CSA box?
What do you usually buy from there?
How much do you buy from there?
How often do you attend the market? Do you budget? Or do you go when food runs out?
Tell me about a time that you used a new ingredient from a farmer’s market or CSA bag?
Tell me about a time when you bought something new and it turned out well?
Name a time you were satisfied with your overall shopping experience.
Tell me about a time when you bought something new and it didn’t turn out so well?
Tell me about a time when you had a negative experience at the farmers market.
Walk me through how you discard or get rid of produce that has gone bad.
What would make that experience more useful?
What would you consider best practice for discarding produce?
How do you store produce/ How often do you discard produce?
Is there something on the front end that would help you discard less produce?
Affinity Mapping
I wanted to learn the themes and patterns participants shared by grouping their insights into similar categories.
“I would like to go to local farmers not Aldi but I know I get the lowest price at Aldi”
-Ruby
Inspired by people using scraps as broth and wants to learn how
-Sarah
Wonders if there’s multiple options to cook or use with one type of produce
-JJ
Key Insights
People lacked skills around how to store and preserve items.
People wanted to know more about the vendors and their products before attending markets.
People wanted different recipe options for a new or familiar ingredient.
Discovery
Empathy Mapping
I wanted to have a more thorough understand of the interviewees’ thoughts a behaviors.
Says
“Maybe if I made a soup out of stock I’d be like wow that’s possible”
“It’s fun to talk to farmers and hear about where they come from and get recommendations”
Thinks
Wishes there was a way to find local produce and what’s available
Wants to support local vendors
Wonders if there are multiple options for using tulsi
Feels
Unsure about trying something new
Frustrated that there’s no option for low-priced local food
Timid around a lot of people
Does
Throws out spoiled food in the trash
Wastes food they don’t know what to do with
Shops at grocery stores because it’s more convenient
User Persona
Competitive analysis
User Flow
Key
Flow
Identify Produce
Discover Markets
Wireframes
Discover Markets
Identify Produce
Usability Testing
Testing with 5 random participants I met at a coffee shop, I was able to test the user flow to see each task’s success rate.
Users were asked to envision themselves at a farmer’s market.
Task:
Let’s say you find an herb that you don’t know the name of, how would you figure out what it’s called?
I learned that the home screen overloaded users with information, making it difficult to complete tasks. I created a home screen with relevant information by meeting the heuristic, aesthetic, and minimalist design.
FAILED
Tags make it easy for user to filter what they are looking for
Users expect to scroll through different markets
Labeling each icon gives users more control to access different screens
Design
Moodboard
I wanted to create a brand that evokes familiarity, comfort and ease
Style Guide
Iterate
Final Usability Test
Task:
When asked to learn the name of an herb users were able to click the “identify” icon and learn more about the product.
SUCCESS
“This app is exactly what I need to fulfill all of my apothecary dreams.”
Iterate
Final Design
An interactive map makes it easy to discover farmers’ markets in the area
Users can learn about each vender and what they have to offer
Users can toggle between information about a particular item
Users can find the best recipes to satisfy their flavor palate
Summary
What I learned
People want to reduce food waste if given the right tools and knowledge.
A simplified app means users have more time to learn new skills.
What I would do differently
I would categorize recipes by taste palate or ethnic origin, giving users more control over their search for recipes.
Next Steps
I would conduct interviews with vendors to gain a well-rounded viewpoint of the farmer’s market experience.