NutriScan Pro:
Holistic User-Centered
Research and
Design
Overview
In today's fast-paced lifestyle, packaged food has seamlessly integrated into our daily routines. However, a persistent challenge arises from the lack of understanding of nutrition labels, compounded by the often intricate and user-unfriendly nature of these labels. Catering to diverse dietary preferences, from fitness enthusiasts to those with specific health conditions, we designed an app that aims to empower users to make informed and health-conscious choices effortlessly.
Project Goals
The goal is to unravel the complexities of nutritional labels, create standardized frameworks for presenting nutritional information, and develop personalized approaches that cater to individual dietary preferences and health objectives. The research aims to foster a culture of improved dietary awareness, combating rising rates of obesity, chronic diseases, and poor dietary choices in society.
Role & Responsibilities
I played a pivotal role in the Research team, concentrating on discerning grocery shoppers' behaviors and uncovering challenges associated with understanding nutrition labels. I started off by observing grocery shoppers behaviors, I conducted My focus on this initial research phase was instrumental in guiding subsequent brainstorming sessions aimed at devising solutions to simplify nutrition label complexities. While my primary responsibilities centered on the research side, I actively contributed insights to inform the creation of a user-friendly and impactful solution during the design phase.
Team Size
4
Duration
30 days
Target Audience
Dietetic People, individuals with allergies
Phase - 1 Discovery and Research
I observed shopper behaviors, focusing on studying consumer interactions with nutritional labels. I developed study protocols and conducted interviews to identify challenges in understanding this information, gathering rich qualitative data for the subsequent design phase.
Phase - 2 Design and iteration
I contribute to evaluating interfaces related to nutritional awareness. Collaborating with the design team, I evaluate interfaces, conduct think-aloud sessions, and refine designs based on user feedback, ensuring user-friendly interfaces for informed and health-conscious choices.
Software Used:
Phase - 3 Evaluation
We conducted a heuristic evaluation of the NutriScan app interfaces using Nielsen's principles.
Tools & Methods
We employed Figma as our primary tool for crafting the app interfaces, leveraging extensive research-derived insights to inform our design decisions.
Interview Insights
Insightful interviews were conducted with diverse participants to understand their grocery shopping habits and perspectives on nutrition labels. While some participants struggle with time constraints struggling to understand nutrition labels and confusion about portion sizes while maintaining a healthy lifestyle. some participants, managing diabetes, faces challenges deciphering nutrition labels and often opts for affordable but less healthy choices. Key findings include a tendency to overlook ingredient details when rushed, difficulty in comprehending complex labels, and a lack of transparency in ingredient changes. Further interviews shed light on people's dietary preferences and emphasized the need for improved nutrition labeling expressing confusion over certain terms and a preference for clearer presentation. These findings collectively highlight the importance of addressing label complexity and providing accessible nutritional information.
User Persona
Affinity map
We employed affinity mapping to systematically organize and make sense of the diverse insights gathered from interviews and surveys. By grouping related findings and patterns, this method facilitated a holistic understanding of user pain points. Affinity mapping allowed us to visualize the collective challenges faced by our target audience.
From the time constraints impact the ability of users to thoroughly check ingredient lists and make informed decisions. Usability issues such as complex procedures, difficult terminology, and the effort needed for calorie calculations suggest the app's interface may not be intuitive. Misleading or inaccurate labeling, inconsistency across nutrition labels, and inaccurate serving size information point to trust issues in product representation. Consumer problems reflect a need for clearer communication on ingredient changes, more accessible healthy alternatives, and better vegetarian options. The additional insights suggest a desire for transparency, understanding of labels, and a preference for quality, indicating that users are willing to invest in premium products provided they offer clear value.
Problem Statement
Grocery shoppers, particularly those with dietary needs, face challenges in comprehending nutrition labels and tailoring them to their health requirements.
Brainstorming
As a team, we started exploring solutions where we meticulously examined the wealth of data we collected, aiming to address users' challenges in understanding nutritional labels and grappling with misleading food package representations. Faced with various pain points, including the complexities of label comprehension and portion size ambiguities, And most importantly allowing users to get personalized results. While AR glasses and shopping cart reading device solutions were considered, we found a simple mobile app to be the most practical choice. Thus, we crystallized our concept—a user-friendly app allowing anyone to swiftly scan a product's barcode, providing instant, comprehensive information to empower informed and healthier choices.
Final Designs
Introducing
NutriScan Pro
A go-to app for making informed and mindful food choices. To unlock a world where health decisions are simplified, empowering users to navigate nutritional information effortlessly.
Onboarding Process
NutriScan Pro curates personalized results by collecting user data, such as dietary preferences and health information. This tailored approach ensures that the app delivers precise and customized insights to enhance the user experience.
Scanner
NutriScan Pro utilizes barcode scanning functionality, requiring users to scan the labels on packaged food items to accurately identify and retrieve product information.
Results page
NutriScan Pro presents nutritional information in a user-friendly format, allowing users to easily toggle between portion sizes, whether per serving or per package. The health score, conveyed through a color-coded system (red for harmful, green for healthy, and yellow for moderate), offers a quick and intuitive assessment. While users can delve into detailed nutritional information and ingredients, but that's for a future update.
Heuristic Analysis
We conducted a heuristic analysis (Neilson's Heuristics) on the app's final design, revealing valuable insights for enhancement. The findings underscored the potential benefits of incorporating tutorials and a history page, streamlining user interaction by eliminating the need for rescanning products. Additionally, suggestions for minor navigation improvements emerged, pointing toward refinements that could contribute to a more seamless and user-friendly experience.
Limitations
While the NutriScan Pro research phase provided valuable insights, certain limitations should be acknowledged. The study's focus on specific dietary needs could result in overlooking nuances in general consumer behavior. The reliance on self-reported information introduces the possibility of response bias, and the research may not capture real-time, dynamic factors influencing grocery shopping habits. Despite these limitations, the research served as a strong foundation for the project, offering valuable perspectives that informed the design and development of NutriScan Pro.
My Reflection
The project's evolution from unraveling nutritional label challenges through research to designing NutriScan Pro reflects a dynamic and insightful journey. Overcoming hurdles in crafting a universal solution, we opted for a mobile app, navigating the intricate landscape of personalization and accessibility. Prototyping interfaces and iterative design, guided by user feedback, solidified NutriScan Pro's user-friendly approach. Challenges spurred innovation, resulting in an app poised to revolutionize nutritional awareness, symbolizing the team's resilience and commitment to a healthier society.