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Role
UX Researcher
UX Designer
Deliverables
Research
Wireframes
Prototypes
Tools
Figma, Miro, Notion,
Google Workplace,
Zoom, Canva
Duration
4 Weeks
Problem
Veganism has grown 500% since 2014 and the sales of plant based products are growing 3 times faster than overall food sales. More people than ever are trying on veganism for size but many struggle and attempts are met with more than a few blockers. My goal with this app is to make it easier to eat vegan in hopes that more vegan choices will be made.
Audience
This app if for anyone who would like to eat vegan; those who call themselves vegan and non-vegans alike.
Solution
Design a MVP for an app that helps someone learn about and eat vegan.
Discover: Competitive Analysis, Research, & Survey
I have my own experiences with veganism and I've heard stories of others. I have a grasp on what challenges lie ahead when someone chooses to eat vegan but I want to confirm my knowledge and conduct addition research. I started looking at all of the apps marketed towards vegans. I supplemented with research and heard from survey participants.
Competitive Analysis
After comparing over 15 different apps for vegans, I used Figjam to group the apps into categories by function and chose the most highly reviewed app to represent the category. See Competitive Analysis.
Vegan Pocket
A barcode scanning app to tell if food and no-food items are vegan. The app requires a $20 per month subscription which is too steep for most users. Another app in the food barcode scanner category is Shopwell.
Research
I did research before writing my survey to find out who is vegan.
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6% of the US is vegan as of 2020
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74% of vegans identify as female
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78% of vegans are between ages 16-34
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69% of vegans choose to eat vegan for their health
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39% of the US are not vegan but actively try to incorporate vegan and plant based food into their diet
See Plantproteins.co and US Plant Based Market Insights.​
Survey
Used Google Forms to survey 28 participants who have an interest in veganism or plant based diets.
​Demographics
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50% identified at female and 50% as male
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86% are ages 18-35
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68% have an income of $50,000 or less
Key Take Aways​
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Only 1 person called identified themselves as vegan but 95% of participants were actively buying vegan or plant based products
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68% cook at home at least 5 days a week
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77% eat vegan food for health reasons
The top 3 challenges participant faced while eating vegan were​
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spending too much time reading packages
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having trouble at restaurants
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running into or being worried about nutrient deficiencies
See Survey.​
Insights
There are 5 times as many former vegans than current vegans and that number is growing. People are trying the vegan diet and then finding a diet in the middle that works for them. Some of these people are 5:2 vegans (5 days on 2 days off), or practice veganism on Meatless Mondays or Veganuary. My biggest insight after conducting my research is that the vast majority of users will not be vegan.
Define: HMW Exercise, User Flow, & Personas
How Might We...​
I used Miro to brainstorm user needs, organize them into categories, and prioritize the most important questions. This slowly turned into a priority exercise that doesn't look like your typical HMW exercise. I was able to get a grasp on what my MVP was going to look like and what features it would include. My goal was to include 5 features: scanning, restaurant finder, recipes, education, and a personalized profile. I later used this to craft my user stories. See HMW exercise. See User Stories.
User Flow
I created 5 main user flows from my user stories. See User Flows.
Personas
I used Milanote to make 3 separate personas to represent the different levels of familiarity with veganism, and how different users would be using the app. The main user would fall under "The Convenient Vegan", a term I would often use to describe myself. *Spoiler alert* The term would also lend itself to the name of the app and project! See Personas.
The Convenient Vegan
Insights
While crafting the features for this app I want to focus on inclusion. I want to break the stigma that someone could be "not vegan enough" or "not practicing veganism right", and make space for people that are not vegan. There is a large group of the population using a "part time vegan" or flexitarian diet, but there are no apps for them.
Develop: Sketches, Wireflow, Mood Board, & Style Tile
Sketches
My initial ideas and iterations of various screens.
Wireflow
After completing my wireframes I added in arrows and annotations to indicate my ideas for each screen. See wireframes. See wireflow.
Style Tile
Used Figma to organize a sample of UI elements. After writing out a list of key words and trying out different names, "Convenient Vegan" was the most popular. It conveyed the intentions of the app well.
Insights
I want to UI elements to add to the approachable and friendly vibes. I want this app to feel organized and handy for the user.
Mood Board
The script style font is a great way to convey an organic feel. I want greens, blues, and yellows in the color palette and rounded shapes to keep the app friendly and inviting.
Deliver: Prototype, User Testing, & Results
Prototype
Putting it all together. See prototype rough draft.
User Testing
I conducted 3 moderated tests; 25-30 year olds, 2 female, and 1 male. The participants had varying levels of experience with veganism.
Wins:
1
the idea of inclusion in the scanner and restaurants
2
being able to save and organize recipes
3
overall would be very useful and handy
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"This would be so helpful when eating out!"
Opportunities:
1
the home page doesn't feel like a home page
2
would like to see bigger icons for clarity
3
should be able to share recipes
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"The home page looks like a bunch of ads."
Preference Testing
During my user testing participants had difficulty with the home page. I conducted a few different preference tests to see what content users would like to see, and the placement of the content. Users thought seeing their relative activity would be the most convenient for them. Also since the home button is now colored, then there is no need to use the "Home" label on the top of the screen.
Final Prototype
After hearing back from my users I made improvements to my original prototype. See prototype final draft.
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Conclusion
​The next steps for the app are ideas that were asked about during my user testing:
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be able to connect to health apps to track calories and nutrients
2
use health tracking to add progress and suggestions to the app
3
options to add items to your grocery list from scanner or recipes
It was so rewarding to have this experience working on a passion project. My best feedback was hearing that participants not only found my app useful, but wished it was in development so that they could use it. I learned to pivot ideas and listen to users. I challenged myself to grow and was able to add multiple new tools and software to my skillset. My favorite win for myself was being able to manage my time and organize progress. See presentation.