Timeline
December 2023 - February 2024 (12 weeks)
Role
Solo student project for Google UX Design Certificate
Problem:
Consumers struggle to make informed food decisions at independent restaurants.
Detailed nutrition information for meals at independent and local restaurants is hard to find. Diners need a tool to better understand what they’re eating and use it to choose restaurants and meals that best meet their health and fitness goals.
Solution:
Empower users with instant information
Competitive Analysis:
Outside of large franchises, users have to manually input nutrition data.
A competitive audit of several nutrition data apps showed that only two types of apps are currently available.
Large franchises are required by law to provide nutrition information. Some apps and websites act as a platform to view nutrition info for large franchises and grocery products but don’t include information about independent restaurant items or tools for users to create their own items.
Many nutrition calculator apps offer good tools to create a customized diet and health plan, but users often have to search for items the community has listed or input nutrition info manually. This method takes a lot of time and discourages users from using it.
User Research:
Users want to support local businesses and spend less time tracking nutrition.
I interviewed 5 potential users with varying backgrounds, all aged between 18-62 years old. Each participant lived in a suburban or metropolitan area, could afford to eat at high-end restaurants, and was generally health conscious. I included participants of various genders and races, some with existing medical or dietary conditions, and some users with disabilities. User Interviews helped inform the design and achieve the initial research goals below:
Understand user needs and frustrations as they find and analyze nutrition info
Understand how people typically find nutrition information and the emotions they experience during that process
Identify common user behaviors and experiences with discovering and understanding nutrition facts
Identify ways the app can respond to users with existing medical or dietary conditions
The findings from these interviews helped to inform the personas that define DineData’s target audience.
User Personas:
Brian Tsai
A single, 27 year old, Graphic Designer from Atlanta, Georgia
Brian is a fitness buff with an autoimmune disorder who needs a faster way to learn about menus’ nutrition info without asking questions or inputting data because he wants to understand food components and eat healthier to achieve his fitness goals.
Sharon Oakley
A married 63 year old with two adult children, owns a small business in Spokane, Washington
Sharon is a local business owner in her 60s who needs quick and easy access to nutrition info that’s simple to understand because she wants to explore and support local restaurants without sacrificing her health.
Value Proposition:
After collecting the information from the interviews and personas, I used an affinity diagram to organize the data and create DineData’s value proposition.
DineData empowers users with instant access to nutrition data for menu items and concise education on food components. Our efficient tools help users discover local dining options that align with their individual dietary preferences, giving them confidence and control over their nutrition choices at restaurants.
Paper Wireframes
Rapid Sketching to form ideas and format options.
