Fridge Finder
My final project for my certificate was to design a user experience for social good. This includes a dedicated mobile app and a responsive website.
For this assignment, I decided to design a way to help communities ensure all residents have access to healthy food. My solution to the design problem was to create an app for local community fridges called Fridge Finder.
Challenge: I created a mobile app and responsive website for a community fridge to ensure all residents of a community have access to healthy food.
Project Duration: January 2023 - February 2023.
The Problem: Healthy food can be very inaccessible for financial reasons.
The Goal: To create a product to help volunteers and users stay in communication with each other and stay informed on fridge maintenance, stock. etc.
My role: UX designer, UX researcher.
Responsibilities: User research, wireframing, prototyping.
Project Overview
User research
Upon receiving the prompt, I was cognizant of its complexities. I found that breaking things down into subproblems made it more manageable. I set goals for research and that made things much smoother.
I conducted primary and secondary research in order to reach the following goals:
Goals
Determine if this app would be useful in my community.
Provide a way for volunteers and community members to either start or grow upon mutual aid efforts in their cities.
Answer questions: Is it easy for users to see what’s in stock?
Answer questions: Is it easy for users to update/ check in on a fridge?
Competitive Audit
Next, I learned about local and national community fridges. Many are run by volunteers, with a focus on mutual aid and community outreach.
Challenges: Since community fridges are mostly run by community organizers, when I began looking for community fridge apps, there were not many direct competitors. This forced me to look at other apps and websites for inspiration and heavily influenced my later design decisions.
Persona
I created a persona named Kimberly, based on the characteristics of the average person in need of a product like Fridge Finder.
“Kimberly is a student who needs a reliable way to get healthy food because she lives in a food desert.”
Creating this persona reminded me to focus on the user’s needs.
Digital Wireframes
My first set of wireframes was focused on simplicity and clarity of purpose.
However, later in the design process I made adjustments to a creature more interactive, social experience for users due to the community-oriented spirit of the project. I found that being flexible and open to change gave me a better end result.
Usability Study
Study type: unmoderated usability study
Location: USA, remote
Participants: 7 participants
Length: 30 - 60 minutes
Findings
Users did not like having to scroll very far. Important information needs to be more condensed.
Users found wording inconsistent and confusing.
Users would like a more social, engaging experience.
Mockups
Before vs. after usability study. I changed the carousel to a clickable 5-star rating system.
Underneath is a quantity ticker with an optional “Add comments feature.”
Accessibility Considerations
I made sure to use design principles, such as font size, hierarchy, and repetition to make my app more accessible.
I made sure that the colors chosen complied with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2. High contrast allows users with visual disabilities to still perceive content on the page.
I made sure to make navigation consistent so users can use the product without unnecessary errors.
Sitemap
Responsive Design
Takeaways
Impact: “These fridges tell people who often feel invisible that people out there care.”
What I learned: I learned that it is important to make your product and user experience match the goal. This is a very social, community oriented project and the user experience needs to mirror that.
Next Steps
Talk with users regarding future features they would like to see incorporated.
Kickoff research and discovery for community organizer-centered interfaces
Include option to partner with organizations.
Let’s Connect!
Thank you for your time reviewing my work on the Fridge Finder app and responsive website!
If you’d like to see more or get in touch, my contact information is provided below.
Email: taylorvrising@gmail.com
Website: taylorvrising.weebly.com
