ROLE

Product Designer

TEAM

Wendy Li, Eugene Lo, Shannon Lui,                  Param Shah, Shrenik Kankaria, Albert Han

SCOPE

10 weeks, Spring Quarter 2020

RESPONBILITIES

UX Research, Product Design

TOOLS

Figma, Photoshop, InVision, Illustrator

THE CHALLENGE

Grocery shoppers who care about the impact of their food consumption are often inundated with information overload when deciding which products to buy.

Initial Design Thinking 

Defining the Scope 

We began within the UCLA community by targeting students and faculty for the initial user research. We wanted the focus to be on the community, as there is a plethera of food resources in Westwood. 

Through my scope, I hoped to better understand the choices and decisions that members of my community make with regards to buying groceries.

Research Methodology

Designing with a wide range of users in mind meant it was critical to dedicate time to understand our user's motivations. 

Within the context of the design challenge and scope, an initial survey was the most accessible for our target audience. The goal was to gain insight to identify trends. The survey was distributed through cold emailing various student organizations, faculty, and by posting it on UCLA student forums. We received responses from 75 students and faculty. 

At the end of the survey, there was an opportunity to sign up for a one-on-one interview that would help us delve deeper into understanding out users. I was able to conduct more in-depth, one-on-one interviews with those who signed up for them. 

Below are the team notes after receiving user data.

Insights 

The biggest obstacle for people when buying ethical brands of food is the expense. Participants also listed inconvenience and lack of information of labeling as large obstacles. Over half of our participants make a grocery list before shopping, and the average person grocery shops once a week. An overwhelming majority of participants listed health as the most important thing they consider when purchasing groceries. 

Based on these insights, we developed guiding questions to inform our design process: 

• How might we streamline the grocery buying process?
• How might we provide health data about groceries in a manageable way?

User Painpoints

Based on our research, we brainstormed features that could best serve our users. At this point in the process, we had a web of ideas and could not follow up on all of them. We discussed in length the features that we should prioritize and the ones we would put on the backburner. 

Personas

To better understand our users, I created two main user personas based on our findings.

The Problem

People have a difficult time finding products that align with their ethical values because they ultimately get overwhelmed.

The Solution 

An app that suggests specific labels for foods that users were already planning on buying based on their ethical values. 

We decided to design this app with colorful icons to inject fun into a typically mundane activity.

Wireframing + User Flows 

We used low fidelity prototypes to test our designs. 

I conducted 10-15 minute usability tests to test the effectiveness of our design before moving forward. 

• I presented users with a lists of tasks to complete and asked them a variety of questions to gauge how they felt.
• I also tested two color schemes. 

I ironed out the functionality and design to create the final design.

Final Design

Publishing on the App Store

To publish on the App Store, we paid special attention to accessibility with reference to the IBM Accessibility Guidelines as well as privacy settings. 

Our app launched and you can now download it today!

Thank you for reading!