Introducing

FOODM8

For those with dietary restrictions, finding the perfect restaurant just got simpler. Discover restaurants that cater to your needs, explore detailed menus, and empower both diners and staff with allergen insights.

Project Overview

Roles

User Experience Designer

User Experience Researcher

Visual Designer

Project Specification

Duration: 6 weeks

Tools:

Figma
Mural
Adobe

Deliverables

Competitive analysis
Practical Personas
Empathy Maps
Affinity Diagrams
Storyboard MVP
Wireframe
Hi-Fi prototype
Usability Testing
Refined Design

Project Plan

The Problem

For those with dietary restrictions and food allergies, every restaurant experience is a challenge. Seeking a suitable restaurant involves arduous research across disparate platforms and even calling restaurants when information isn't available online. This convoluted process leaves individuals frustrated and isolated as loved ones dine without limitations.

How Can We Help These Users?

Currently, those with dietary restrictions meticulously research websites and menus in search of elusive information.

By enhancing access to crucial information, FoodM8 not only streamlines the process for users seeking accommodating eateries, but also eases the burden on restaurant employees striving to cater to these needs. The result? Reduced research time for users and alleviated uncertainty for restaurant staff, enabling a seamless dining experience for all parties involved.

Practical Personas

We began by delving into existing solutions aimed at aiding those with dietary restrictions in locating compliant dining establishments. Armed with this knowledge and our assumptions about user behavior, we created practical personas that highlighted the gaps in our understanding, allowing for a collective exploration of what we don't know about our users.

Dental Assistant

Allergy Anna

Anna has celiac's disease and has a severe reaction to gluten and cannot risk cross-contamination
She loves to eat out with her friends, but its hard for her friends to find compliant spots
Often spends substantial time researching restaurants prior to dining

Server

Stressed Out Steve

Steve is a server at a popular restaurant and wants to provide all of his customer's with a great experience
He often gets overwhelmed with many tables and cannot spend extra time with a table answering questions without compromising the service of other diners.
This job is important to him as it is his primary source of income

Stay at home dad

Frank the Father

Frank has a big job - feeding his family. While he does not have allergies, his son is deathly allergic to peanuts
Frank cares deeply for his family and has to remain vigilant about his sons diet.
His son is likes to hang out with his friends, and this means other families must be careful.
Frank wishes there was a resource that other people could quickly check to keep his son safe.

User Research

To validate our assumptions about users, we engaged with 8 participants, comprising 6 individuals navigating dietary restrictions and 2 restaurant staff members. Participants opened up about their past dining encounters, offering glimpses into the complexities of their culinary journeys. To truly comprehend their perspectives, we presented scenarios that mirrored real-life situations, allowing us to peer into their thoughts, actions, and decision-making processes. By delving into their narratives and experiences, we confirmed, challenged, and refined our assumptions.

Research Questions

1.

How do people with dietary restrictions currently find restaurants? What works? What does not work?

2.

What information do these people need to know in order to pick a restaurant or menu item?

3.

What impact do dietary restrictions have on restaurant operations?

Directly following each interview, we created empathy maps for each participant to create a deep understanding of the users we would be designing for.

We used this data to create an affinity diagram which revealed key themes. The team voted on sticky notes that we thought were the most relevant. Based on this insight, we identified constraints.

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Based on our research, we narrowed our scope down to 2 user groups - diners and servers.

Diners with restrictions need to know what they can and cannot eat at a particular restaurant quickly and accurately.

Can become moderately or fatally ill if exposed to allergen
Stressed out by social eating
Desire and appreciate detailed and up to date menus
Need to plan before going to a restaurant
Need to ask servers questions

Servers need similar access to provide fast and accurate dietary details and solutions to their guests.

Feel that they need access to more menu info to be certain
Struggle to accommodate restrictions
Devote a lot of time to those with restrictions
About 15% of all guests are asking

Key Quotes

"

When we go out to eat, I typically have safe food I can find on the menu. But if we try someplace new, I have to be cautious about what I order. Not every restaurant has allergen information available at the table.
- 27 year old vegetarian

"

We are moving so fast sometimes. It’s easy to accidentally answer a question wrong because there are 12 other things you need to be doing at any given moment. If we had some kind of resource that is more detailed than the menu, that would be really helpful.
- 22 year old server

"

All the ingredients on the menu have ingredients that aren’t listed so it’s hard to know what matches specific restrictions. Even if you don’t want to make your restriction a big deal, it becomes an issue.
- 40 year old with celiacs disease

"

The lady was frustrated and left, and I understand why, but she should do more detailed research about restaurants before coming in. But, also, how would she know we use peanut oil, that information isn’t available to her anywhere.
- 30 year old server

Ideation

Define Constraints

We Believe a Successful Solution MUST:

Contain accurate, detailed ingredient lists.
Eliminate or reduce pre-restaurant planning.
Eliminate or reduce the need to ask server questions.
Must work for users who are able to read and use mobile device.
At minimum provide more value than a restaurant's printed menu.

We Believe a Successful Solution SHOULD:

Convey credibility.
Reduce amount of questions a diner has to ask.
Provide up to date ingredient information.
Should be quick to use in a fast-paced environment (for Servers).
Increase server knowledge of menu and confidence.
Save servers time and stress.

Our MVP

We developed a story map to determine what actions a user would need to take to accomplish their goals:

Low Fidelity Prototypes

Our design journey kicked off with an iterative sketching approach. We swapped sketches, dissected each other's concepts, and wove them into our own. From this sea of sketches, we voted on our favorites and invited feedback from our professor and classmates.

Design

Style Guide

Before developing the prototype, we developed a style guide. We settled on a palette of yellow, orange, and blue – hues that convey clarity, a breath of fresh air, joy, trust, and freedom. Our font choice balances a fun, modern aesthetic with seamless readability.

High Fidelity Mockups

Using figma, we created two key user flows.

This flow allows a user to identify a restaurant that meets their dietary needs.The goal was to make restaurant discovery a breeze for those with dietary restrictions. With tailored filters, users can swiftly find compliant options.

The app goes further, offering features that user cited as important like ingredient details, user reviews, and photos for a well-informed decision.This tool that ensures everyone, including those with dietary restrictions, can enjoy dining out.

Crafted with the needs of restaurant owners at its core, this flow allows them to seamlessly upload and manage their menu offerings.

Our objective was to hand the reins of culinary representation back to the ones who know their offerings best – the restaurant owners. Whether a menu exists or not, our app equips them to effortlessly upload it. Powered by AI magic, the system identifies items and auto-fills the digital menu. Owners can then fine-tune their menu, adding details and ensuring it reflects their culinary identity.

User Testing

Research plan

We interviewed 8 participants across our 2 user group segments: 4 on the diner side and 4 on the restaurant side.

Key Insights

Key Information was Readily Available!

Users were delighted with the ability to quickly view a list of restaurants that would accomodate their needs. Features like the filters, reviews and detailed ingredient lists exceeded expectations.

"It's nice that they have gluten free options, its wonderful to see them laid out easy to read"
"I didnt have to dig for the information I need about my restrictions"
"This would be a great resource for me when Im trying to find a restaurant. Being able to see full ingredient list and menu item specific reviews would make restaurant decision making easier"
"I wish everyone that came to my restaurant had this, it would reduce a lot of friction and make my job easier."

Adding Menu Option Needs Improvement

User's loved the auto menu capture and ingredient list creation, however, it was not clear what restaurants needed menus and users wanted the ability to review the menu before posting it.

"I like that its easy for anyone to add a menu, but I don't think it was obvious what places needed menu additions at first"
"The listing for the menu-less restaurants should look different, like tell you there's no menu before you even click on the restaurant"

Conclusions and Next Steps

Users were ecstatic about the product as a whole and believed it had real value. They thought the improved accessibility to detailed restaurant and menu item information would save them time and frustration in the future. Users also shared that they thought the ease of use would encourage their friends to use the app as well, even if they do not have a restriction, which would allow them to partake in more social eating.

While users enjoyed the ability to add menus, the user flow here was not intuitive. We believe it would be useful to create more obvious signs detailing if a restaurant has details added, and flush out the menu adding process. The prototype was likely not robust enough to handle the requests of users.

Moving forward, the team plans to iterate on this design and re-test with users before releasing a MVP!

Final Takeaways

1

All Feedback is Good

Throughout the course of this project, we sought out feedback every step of the way. Other perspectives contributed to the teams problem solving greatly. This feedback allowed for innovative brainstorming and helped us identify problems early.

2

Expect to Make Mistakes

Due to the large quantities of feedback we sought out, there were many bumps in the road. I learned how essential it is to detach yourself from the design, and graciously accept feedback with an open and appreciative mind.

3

I love Prototyping!

I had very limited experience in Figma prior to this, and because of this, I took on a majority of the hi-fi prototyping role so that I could gain necessary skills. I found this part of the design process to be incredibly rewarding. I can't wait to take on more prototyping projects!