PurePlate Food Safety App
Project Overview
PurePlate is a UX design project addressing food safety concerns through a mobile application that empowers users to make informed decisions about the food they consume. The app was developed after identifying a specific need in the market: helping cautious consumers quickly verify food safety information from credible sources, particularly parents concerned about what they feed their children.
The Challenge
My primary persona, Stacy, represented parents who have become distrustful of food retailers following various food scandals. Her specific pain points included:
–Fear of making unsafe food choices for her family
–Excessive time spent researching food products in supermarkets
–Relationship tension with her partner due to conflicting views on food safety
–Need for credible sources to validate food safety concerns
My Process
The project followed a comprehensive UX design approach including:
Stakeholder Mapping: Identified all individuals who would be affected by the app, helping to clarify connections and impacts across the user ecosystem.
User Persona Development: Created detailed personas including "Stacy" (distrustful parent) and "Dan" (time-poor individual seeking healthier food choices), focusing on their goals, frustrations and needs.
Competitor Analysis: Examined existing apps (MyFitnessPal and Think Dirty) to identify opportunities and gaps in the market whilst learning from their design strengths.
Design Conceptualisation: Used golden pathways and crazy 8's techniques to rapidly ideate solutions addressing specific user needs.
Visual Design & Branding: Selected a blue-focused colour palette to establish trust and credibility. I chose the Raleway typeface for its modern feel, legibility and versatility across various weights.
Key Features
The final design included innovative features directly addressing user needs:
Barcode Scanner: Allows users to quickly access food information whilst shopping, saving valuable time
Personalised Safety Profiles: Custom settings for allergies, dietary preferences and safety concerns
Collaborative Lists: Enables family members with different perspectives to create shared shopping lists with agreed parameters
Credible Educational Content: Studies, news and professional feeds providing trustworthy information on food safety
Visual Safety Indicators: Clear positive/negative markers based on personalised user parameters
Outcome
The final product successfully addressed Stacy's needs statement: "Stacy, who does not trust supermarkets, needs a way to easily and quickly learn which foods are safe from credible sources so that she can be confident when feeding her son and decrease stress on the relationship."
Through the PurePlate app, users can efficiently:
1. Verify if foods meet their personal safety requirements
2. Create and share lists with family members
3. Evaluate compatibility with preferences through list overviews
4. Continually educate themselves on food safety topics
5. Customise parameters based on evolving preferences
Figma file access:
https://www.figma.com/proto/pgFU4npUGEbOg5revHVPeS/TY2UD-Aaron-James-PurePlate?page-id=0%3A1&node-id=55-37&starting-point-node-id=55%3A37&t=ksnw5zxZsiQqJ2Bq-1
