Who is my audience and what do they have to say?
Here are the specific audiences I think my product would appeal to:
- The eco-conscious- People who are doing what they can for the environment - in this case minimizing food waste as well as plastic packaging.
- Urban citizens- People in urban areas are more likely to use allotments and shared outdoor spaces
- Low income citizens- People with lower incomes are more likely to not have a garden of their own as well as are more inclined to need the food being offered. They might want to contribute to an eco-concious community but it is very difficult with the prices of loose vegetables and fruit in the supermarkets.
At the discovery phase of my project, I conducted user interviews in order to get a better understanding of the problem.
I asked people :
Do they ever grow too much food that they are unsure what to do with it?
Would they be interested in swapping food and products with the community?
Would they like to be able to donate food?
Would they want to meet people around their allotment?
I interviewed 15 people from my target audience
- I was most curious if people would participate in an app like this and if it would benefit the local community
- I learned that people are very keen to swap their produce and grow their community. I also learned people tend to grow too much of one thing.
- I changed my app to be as easy as possible to use as I want people of all ages to be able to navigate it. I made bold big buttons that are self explanatory.
- I gained inspiration from apps like Tinder where the interface is very user friendly and gives the user a jolt of excitement when its a match! (This case with produce)
Understanding the pain points that could arise
- Possibly afraid to meet a stranger (Even though they will be certified)
- Older clientele - might not be well versed in using apps.
- Food might go bad before it can be swapped
Jot it down!
- I usually start the design process with low fidelity wireframes. This is the way I iterate through many design options quickly.
- The main purpose of my sketches was to find the best layout that included all necessary information.
- My knowledge of the users goals led me to make certain changes to the design. (The app needed a login screen when you first open it- as it is imperative that the users are validated)
- I designed the interface to be very bold and simple to navigate. Similar to tinder the main "Match" screen lets the user either press and heart or select the x to keep searching- this keeps the process very simple and encourages the user to keep going until they reach their goal
- I placed the menu on the bottom of the screen as this enables the user to select the different buttons easily even with one handed use.
- After speaking to users I learned that users wanted to be able to communicate with each other- hence the chat feature. The chat feature is a way for the users to find a good meeting point but also to continue the conversation after the swap- Perhaps they want advice on gardening?
How will my user flow through the app seamlessly?
- I mapped out the users’ steps to see how I could simplify their journey to help them reach the most important goal of finding food to swap.
- I decided to create a flow map to see if there were any flaws in the flow.
- I knew the most important user goal was to swap food and eliminate waste.
- I wanted the steps to be very simple as soon as you opened the app. By making the match screen one of the first interactions, this way the user is already doing what they intended to do.
- I learned that I needed the profile page to include the match and feed buttons as a way to bring the user back to the main point of the journey (to swap food)
Colors tell a story
Lets interact!
My prototype is meant to showcase the app as well as some of my UI skills. It takes you through the basic flows and enables the user to interact with the various different buttons. I wanted to be able to conduct usability tests and get a real sense of the users interactions and feelings.
We always learn something
- Overcoming my initial concerns about user engagement and usability, I conducted a series of interviews and usability tests to determine what features and data were most important to the success of my app.
- By combining my passion for UI design with my expertise in UX, I was able to create an app that not only helps the local community minimize food waste, but also provides a fun and engaging user experience.
- Through this project, I discovered firsthand the importance of conducting thorough research and leveraging user feedback to inform the design process. For instance, the addition of a chat feature was critical to fostering communication and collaboration among users.
- Looking ahead, I plan to incorporate user-generated suggestions into future iterations of the app, such as the "swap meet" concept that emerged during collaboration with a developer. I also aim to expand the app's reach by making it location-based and incorporating a gallery feature to promote community engagement and connection through images.community to stay connected through images.