Case Study
Source.
Intuitive app for farmer’s markets, produce, and recipes.
Project Overview
My Role
Research
Usability Testing
User Flow
Prototyping
Wireframes
Problem Statement and Challenges
Problem
30-40% of food supply goes to waste
I used to work as a farmer and have learned that many customers didn’t know how to use all the produce we would sell. A lot of the food we sold would go to waste.
Solution
Source. is an app that helps users discover farmers markets in their areas. It also educates users on how to store, prepare, and use different types of produce while proposing recipes as a way reduce food waste.
Design Process
Research
Discovery
Design
Iterate
User Interviews
Secondary Research
Competitive Analysis
User Flow
User Persona
Wireframes
Sketching
Mood Board
User Testing
Prototyping
User Testing
Research
I wanted to understand how people shop at farmer’s markets. I conducted user interviews.
Qualitative Data
Learn how people use produce they purchase at farmers markets or through CSAs (community supported agriculture)
Learn the practices and habits around discarding produce
To understand their habits for buying and eating locally grown food from farmers markets
Goals
Affinity Mapping
By organizing my findings in an affinity map I was able to group similar themes my interviewees shared. I learned that there was a connection between the habits, use, and waste of produce.
Insights
People wanted different recipe options with a new/familiar ingredient.
People wanted to know more about the vendors and their products before attending markets.
People lacked skills around how to store and preserve items.
User Persona
I wanted to create simple and motivating user stories. Crafting Sam’s user persona allowed me to empathize with users and support a clear direction for the user flow.
User Flow
Sam’s journey became clear once I understood his pain points. He wants to know what is available at farmer’s markets before he attends them. Mapping out his journey we can see what path Sam needs to take in order to learn about different produce sold at the market and ways to use the produce.
Competitive Analysis
There were no digital products in the urban agricultural market that offered solutions for shopping at farmer’s markets. I looked into apps that offered similar services that could support in Sam’s journey of locating markets, identifying different produce, and learning how to cook with them.
Wireframes
Market profile page
Recipe
Discover Flow
Identify Flow
Discover Markets
Camera
Info about produce
Recipes
Interactive Map
Market Page
Guerrilla Usability Testing
After testing with 5 participants, people did not understand the purpose of the app. It didn’t make sense for the home page to have a section for discovering produce. Instead it needed to focus on where to find markets. This allowed users to find produce at a market they want to attend.
Discovering markets and produce was unclear.
Simplifying the page allows users to search for markets that carry produce they are looking for.
Wireframes helped to conceptualize design choices. I gained insight by conducting Usability Testing with the wireframes.
Color Palette
Source. brand evokes familiarity, comfort, ease. I chose these colors to allow the images to stand out and provide a cozy experience.
Verdigris
#5FB5B2
Raisin Black
#16131C
85BEF5
White
#FCFBFA
85BEF5
Colors Meet WGAC Standards
Mood Board
Final Prototype
Project Learnings
People want to reduce waste if given the right tools and knowledge.
A simplified app means users have more time to learn new skills.
Users can learn about each vender and what they have to offer.
Users can toggle between information about a particular item.
Users can find the best recipes to satisfy their flavor palate.
An interactive map makes it easy to discover farmers’ markets in the area.