Overview
How might we create an app that fosters food donations and personal connections within a community?
Role
User Research
Wireframes
Lo-Fi and Hi-Fi Prototypes
Usability Testing
User Research
I surveyed 15+ people about the importance of community and the necessity of food donations. I created affinity maps, SWOT analyses, and planned out user flows.
Key User Research Insights
60%
said that they or their families throw away bought food such as canned food, snacks, drinks, or pet food either about once a week or once a month.
87%
said they would be willing to donate such food to their community.
82%
said they would be very likely to use an app that connects people in their community.
Brainstorming and Key Features
Social Media Format
People of the community are able to post about food they are able to donate and connect with each other through the app's comments, reviews, and messaging features.
Reviews and Connections
To maintain integrity of donations, users may leave donation reviews on others' profiles. They may also add people as friends to foster new connections within the community.
Welcoming and Inclusive Onboarding Process
When creating an account, the graphics and text are friendly and welcoming. BiteShare immediately takes into account location and food allergies or dietary restrictions to show users posts within their community that are most relevant for them.
Posting Donations
When creating and editing a post, users can set an active status to the post, indicating that the donation is currently available for pick up.
One of the features included after my usability testing was adding tags for dietary information and general location. Users can then hash out the exchange details through the direct messaging feature.
Initial Sketches
Lo-fi Wireframes
Final Hi-fi Prototype
Click below to go through the high fidelity prototype yourself!
Next Steps
For next steps in this project, I want to create more features based on the usability testing I did. I want to improve this project further by changing the layout of the bookmarks page to look like a library of content rather than a feed. I aim to include a more comprehensive rating/review system since many users expressed concern about trusting people who post donations. I also plan to add more inclusive dietary restrictions/allergies, add an area for expiration dates, and allow users to more easily filter posts based on their preferences.