Nourishwise
Removes the nutrition guesswork at local restaurants
ROLE UX Research & Design
PLATFORM: Mobile App
LAUNCHED 2016
How might we …
Connect eaters to local restaurants’ nutrition information to help them make healthy meal choices.
The client was a start-up business working with restaurants and registered dieticians to make dishes healthier. The Nourishware app was a subscription service for people to understand the best options for them on a restaurant’s menu.
Process
I partnered with another designer to complete the MVP design and prototype. I led the research, including user testing, and wireframe prototype. Steve Lomas took the lead on the look and feel. Great partner to work with.
Personas: People Who Eat Healthfully
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Overtaxed Tracy
PRIMARY
Not as well-informed as she thinks. And she tries to find healthy options for herself and her family. Lack of time and indecisiveness lead her to make unhealthy meal choices.
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Healthy Mel
SECONDARY
Already well-informed and living healthy. Goes out of her way to look for best food options. Better informed than the average American on nutrition and food production. Unlikely to need the app.
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Wishful Whitney
“ANTI-PERSONA”
Wants to be a healthy eater but just can’t give up the junk and sugar. Misinformed but doesn’t care. Would rather be given a list of convenient, healthy, good-tasting options than learn about nutrition.
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Restaurant Owner
STAKEHOLDER
The app is designed for people seeking help managing their nutrition needs. But to support the business model, it needs to fulfill the restaurant partners’ requirements.
User Surprises
Interviews overturned our original hypothesis about the target customers. We thought the Early Adopter would be a woman with a healthy lifestyle. But research proved that they are already well-informed on nutrition perils in restaurants and don't need an app. It is people who want to have a healthy lifestyle but don't know where to start and have a hard time maintaining healthy eating habits who want the app.
Interviewed chefs were not excited about the idea of taking instruction from a dietitian, but restaurant owners saw advantages. Besides the obvious chance to build a good reputation with more customers, there are advantages to supply management as well. Customers making special substitutions and changes to dishes can run up costs. The idea of already having nutritious dishes on the menu that might satisfy those customers makes supply ordering more predictable.
Research Insights & Themes
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Convenience
Nourshwise would save time finding a quick meal without resorting to fast food. User would be more confident in their selection for a healthy meal and less stressed trying to decide.
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Planning & Group Profiles
This person often finds themselves planning events and gatherings. Nutritious meals are often sacrificed in trying to ensure everyone will have something they like.
Profiles for family and groups like co-workers make the app convenient and reliable.
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Journaling
Keeping track of good — and bad — meals so they don’t forget the dish. The app already has detail on the dish, including location and cost. Easy to add date when user selects the items. App can include quick tap ratings on nutrition, flavor, service, etc. and an option for write-in comments.
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Tinder for Food
People like to swipe. It’s easy and we’re used to it. And a text list of food is sufficient but great photos are enticing. Browsing through the dishes and creating a favorites list also creates data for Nourishwise to share with restaurant partners.
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Texting is Only Disruptive
Repeat texts are too intrusive and annoying with an already busy and demanding life. Notifications are less annoying, and dinner versus other meals would be acceptable.
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Positive Attitude
The positive approach went over well. Other nutrition apps are sterile and results are then driven by guilt which creates inconsistent results and an unhappy user. Users appreciated the friendly supportive approach.
Lo-Fi Prototype
After adjusting our assumptions with the insights we gained from research, started wireframing the app to process through the options.
Always learning, we found out that most black & white photos of food are unappetizing. The wireframes were a combo of black & white wireframes and color photos of food.
Usability Test: Lessons Learned
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Delighted
… rated 4 out of 5 for User-friendly, Improvement on current methods, and Recommend to friends
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Location/Proximity
… typically the first priority searching for eating out
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Exclusivity
… a big motivator to pick healthy meals as well as make it worth paying for (e.g., Ghost meals, personalized nutrition info, and healthy tips)
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Confirmed User Type
… confirmed that Overtaxed Tracy is the key user. Healthy Moms would recommend to others who don’t have their expertise and knowledge.
Journey Map
Hi-Fi Prototype
After reviewing usabilty feedback with client, it was time to move forward to applying styles for a high fidelity, “finished” prototype.
Usability Test2 : Lessons Learned
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Origin of Information
… stress professional dietitians and their collaboration with chefs. This aspect of the business was not immediately clear but increased their confidence level in the information once it was explained. Add dietician’s name to restaurant listing.
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Community
… quick sharing dishes or restaurant locations with friends and family is important.
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Simplicity & No Sacrifices
… emphasize easy to be healthy without sacrificing flavor or fun (i.e., a beer with this burger is still a healthy 60mg carbs).
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Look & Feel
… scored higher with men than women in tests.
Next Steps
After updating the hi-fidelity prototype with the findings from the second usability test, we handed over the prototypes to the client so they could begin development. We included recommendations on the look & feel to appeal more to their target audience.