FENNEL APP
End-to-end mobile application for pantry inventory management
SUMMARY
I designed a mobile app that allows users to easily track food items in their pantry.
Note: This is a conceptual project.
ROLE
UX/UI designer, researcher
TOOLS
Figma
Google Forms
Miro
TIME
6 weeks (20 hours / week)
The problem
Did you know that Canada is amongst the worst globally in wasting food?
As of 2019, a whopping 58% of all food produced in Canada – 35.5 million tonnes – is wasted. This equates to $49 billion in value; the amount is enough to feed every Canadian for 5 months. On a more individual level, Canadian households throw out $1,766 worth of food each year.
Not only is this wasteful, food that is produced but not eaten ends up in landfills and creates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. When food is wasted, all the resources used to produce it are also wasted. By reducing food waste in Canada, we can also reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.
The objective
Astounded by my findings, I set out to create a pantry management app that offers the following benefits to users:
- Financial: By understanding what users have in their pantry, they can avoid purchasing excess items.
- Environmental: By being more aware of the food that users have at home & the expiry date of each item, they can reduce food waste significantly.
Design Process
1. Empathize
Gathering facts to make informed design decisions.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
What similar apps are in market, and what are their strengths & weaknesses?
I examined 5 existing pantry management apps and found the following:
- Basic product features were identified by cross-referencing all existing apps.
- The steps required to add an item to inventory is often cumbersome & unrealistic to expect users to use daily. → This process must be simplified as much as possible.
- The inventory list & shopping list sometimes do not connect/communicate with one another. → Products should be able to move between the two lists.
SURVEY
What are users' shopping habits, needs & pain points?
30 people between ages 19-49 participated in the survey.
USER PERSONA
What do our users look like?
Using the knowledge that I gathered from research, I created a persona representing a typical Fennel user.
RESEARCH SUMMARY:
✔︎ The app should anticipate daily use. Users must be able to achieve tasks with as few steps as possible.
✔︎ The two lists (pantry list & shopping list) must communicate with one another for seamless user experience.
2. Define
Refining information architecture for an intuitive app experience
PRODUCT ROADMAP
What features should be added to the app?
Based on the learning from research, I created a list of features to be included in the app in the order of priority.
Low priority items will be addressed in the later versions of the app.
TASK FLOW
What are the most frequently taken paths in the app?
One of the major shortcomings of the existing apps was the number of steps involved in adding an item - the process was much too cumbersome.
I explored the simplest path that users can take to add items to the app so it doesn't feel like a burden each time.
USER FLOW
How can we create an intuitive app that people would want to use every day?
I then visualized all of the paths - with decision points - that a user would take within the app.
3. Design
Creating the Fennel brand from the ground up
STYLE GUIDE
Defining the app's identity
Green was chosen as the primary colour to reflect the Fennel name & additional accent colours were inspired by the tones found in fresh produce.
The typography was chosen based on its legibility and the pleasant rounded look that conveys a sense of friendliness.
Overall, the design aims to appeal to a wide demographic, while using pops of colour & illustrations to make the app feel "fun" to use.
LO-FI WIREFRAMES
Determining the most effective layout
I began by brainstorming the layout with pen and paper, which I then digitized in Figma.
As a culmination of the research & information architecture exercises that were done, the following things were kept in mind:
- Include all must-have features as identified in the product roadmap.
- Simplify every task so it can be done in as few steps as possible.
- Allow users to quickly check the expiration date of each product.
- Allow items to be moved between the pantry list & shopping list.
HI-FI WIREFRAMES
Bringing the design to life
The interface was brought to life by applying the newly-established brand identify.
4. Testing and iteration
PROTOTYPE & USABILITY TESTING
Getting first-hand feedback from users
I created a prototype within Figma and conducted a usability test with 3 participants to determine if users can successfully navigate through the site with ease & identify any pain points in their experience.
- Average time to complete task: under 1 minute
- 67% of the tasks could be completed without error
DESIGN REVISIONS
Addressing user feedback to create a more intuitive product
Final product
Here is the final prototype of the Fennel app.
Say hello!
Let's have a conversation at ileneshioguchi@gmail.com or on LinkedIn.
© 2021 Ilene Shioguchi