Project Overview
Project Overview
Midori is…
Midori is…
A nutrition app designed to help busy young adults effortlessly improve their diets by incorporating more fruits and vegetables into their daily meals. By leveraging generative AI, Midori offers an engaging and informative user experience. The app combines convenience with fun, making healthy eating more approachable and sustainable for health-conscious users.
A nutrition app designed to help busy young adults effortlessly improve their diets by incorporating more fruits and vegetables into their daily meals. By leveraging generative AI, Midori offers an engaging and informative user experience. The app combines convenience with fun, making healthy eating more approachable and sustainable for health-conscious users.
My Role
My Role
Product Designer,
User Researcher,
UI/UX Designer,
and everything…
Product Designer,
User Researcher,
UI/UX Designer,
and everything…
Project Type
Project Type
Self-Initiated
Self-Initiated
Timeline
Timeline
3 Weeks in Spring, 2024
3 Weeks in Spring, 2024
Team
Team
Just Me
Design Process
Design Process
Using Lean UX for MVP Design and Rapid Validation
Using Lean UX for MVP Design and Rapid Validation
Think
Think
Desk Research
User Research
Assumptions
Make
Make
Ideation
Sketches
High-fi Prototypes
Hypothesis
Check
Check
Usability Testing
Hypothesis Checking
Analytics
Let’s take a quick look at what I’ve done
Let’s take a quick look at
what I’ve done
Outcomes
Outcomes
Developed a hi-fi MVP prototype with a design system
Developed a hi-fi MVP prototype with a design system
Conducted usability testing to validate pre-defined hypotheses and gather valuable user feedback
Conducted usability testing to validate pre-defined hypotheses and gather valuable user feedback
Received positive feedback and high praise from both users and professors, highlighting the app's potential and user-centred design approach
Received positive feedback and high praise from both users and professors, highlighting the app's potential and user-centred design approach
Understand the Problem
Understand the Problem
Do you often find your fridge with spoiled vegetables or end up eating the same few fruits and veggies every day due to a busy schedule?
Do you often find your fridge with spoiled vegetables or end up eating the same few fruits and veggies every day due to a busy schedule?
If so, you're not alone — this is a common struggle for many urban dwellers. Vegetables play a crucial role in our gut health and overall well-being, yet incorporating them into daily meals can feel challenging.
If so, you're not alone — this is a common struggle for many urban dwellers. Vegetables play a crucial role in our gut health and overall well-being, yet incorporating them into daily meals can feel challenging.
72%
72%
of UK adults don’t meet the “5 A Day” guideline (Public Health England, 2022)
of UK adults don’t meet the “5 A Day” guideline (Public Health England, 2022)
88%
88%
globally fall below the WHO's vegetable intake recommendations (Moro et al., 2023)
globally fall below the WHO's vegetable intake recommendations (Moro et al., 2023)
Even though health consciousness rises and food-tracking nutrition apps gain popularity, low fruit and vegetable consumption remains a significant issue.
Even though health consciousness rises and food-tracking nutrition apps gain popularity, low fruit and vegetable consumption remains a significant issue…
Key Insights after Desk and User Research
Key Insights after Desk and User Research
Why?
Why?
Motivation Drops: Apps become boring or overly complicated, leading users to lose interest over time.
Motivation Drops: Apps become boring or overly complicated, leading users to lose interest over time.
Tedious Logging: Tedious food-logging process is a major pain point of why users feel demotivated.
Tedious Logging: Tedious food-logging process is a major pain point of why users feel demotivated.
Unappealing Veggies: Vegetables are often seen as "unexciting." Users struggle with incorporating them into meals in an appetising way.
Unappealing Veggies: Vegetables are often seen as "unexciting." Users struggle with incorporating them into meals in an appetising way.
Narrow Focus: Most nutrition apps prioritise calorie counting and weight loss, offering little support for holistic, balanced nutrition.
Narrow Focus: Most nutrition apps prioritise calorie counting and weight loss, offering little support for holistic, balanced nutrition.
Design Challenge
Design Challenge
How might we design a veggie-tracking app that motivates users to effortlessly and consistently meet the recommended '5-a-day' servings of fruits and vegetables, making healthy eating feel achievable and enjoyable?
How might we design a veggie-tracking app that motivates users to effortlessly and consistently meet the recommended '5-a-day' servings of fruits and vegetables, making healthy eating feel achievable and enjoyable?
Design Solution 1/5
Design Solution 1/5
Slick Onboarding: Quickly Personalises the App Experience
Slick Onboarding: Quickly Personalises the App Experience
A smooth and intuitive onboarding process that gathers user information, dietary habits, and goals to tailor the app experience for each individual
A smooth and intuitive onboarding process that gathers user information, dietary habits, and goals to tailor the app experience for each individual
Design Solution 2/5
Design Solution 2/5
Visual Rewards: 'Light Up Your Garden' to Achieve Your '5-A-Day'
Visual Rewards: 'Light Up Your Garden' to Achieve Your '5-A-Day'
Set the NHS-recommended '5-A-Day' (5 portions of fruits and vegetables) as a daily goal to encourage healthy habits
Set the NHS-recommended '5-A-Day' (5 portions of fruits and vegetables) as a daily goal to encourage healthy habits
Make logging fruits and veggies enjoyable with visuals and animations. As users log their portions, relevant greyed-out cards turn vibrant, offering a rewarding experience that builds anticipation
Make logging fruits and veggies enjoyable with visuals and animations. As users log their portions, relevant greyed-out cards turn vibrant, offering a rewarding experience that builds anticipation
Categorise fruits and veggies to promote variety, encouraging users to achieve a balanced daily intake
Categorise fruits and veggies to promote variety, encouraging users to achieve a balanced daily intake
Design Solution 3/5
Design Solution 3/5
Fun, but also Informative and Personalised Experience
Fun, but also Informative and Personalised Experience
Track nutrient intake and get personalised recommendations to optimise your diet and meet the goal
Track nutrient intake and get personalised recommendations to optimise your diet and meet the goal
Get intake tracking and recommendations of recipes under each category
Get intake tracking and recommendations of recipes under each category
Ask AI to get personalised dietary evaluation and suggestions
Ask AI to get personalised dietary evaluation and suggestions
Design Solution 4/5
Design Solution 4/5
Various Ways to Effortlessly Log Your Veg-Only Intake
Various Ways to Effortlessly Log Your Veg-Only Intake
Easily gauge portion sizes with visualised units
Easily gauge portion sizes with visualised units
Scan packaged food to automatically extract veggie ingredients
Scan packaged food to automatically extract veggie ingredients
Browse the ‘For you’ page to quickly add your own food
Browse the ‘For you’ page to quickly add your own food
Design Solution 5/5
Design Solution 5/5
Recipe Inspiration Tailored to Your Ingredients
Recipe Inspiration Tailored to Your Ingredients
Browse recipes by intuitive categories
Browse recipes by intuitive categories
Filter recipes based on the ingredients you have or want to use to make meal prep easy and reduce food waste
Filter recipes based on the ingredients you have or want to use to make meal prep easy and reduce food waste
Look into the ingredients and step-by-step directions
Look into the ingredients and step-by-step directions
Let’s see how I got there!
Let’s see how I got there!
Marketing Research
Listening to Online Voices to Identify the Design Gaps in Nutrition Apps
Listening to Online Voices to Identify the Design Gaps in Nutrition Apps
Reddit is my go-to social media for secondary research. It’s packed with real, unfiltered voices from people of all cultures and backgrounds.
To dig deeper, I picked MyFitnessPal, Lifesum, and Nutrition Coach out of hundreds of apps in this category to understand user feedback. I chose these because they’re the most popular and closely aligned with my project. I wanted to learn what makes them stand out and, more importantly, where they fall short so my app can find its own place.
Reddit is my go-to social media for secondary research. It’s packed with real, unfiltered voices from people of all cultures and backgrounds.
To dig deeper, I picked MyFitnessPal, Lifesum, and Nutrition Coach out of hundreds of apps in this category to understand user feedback. I chose these because they’re the most popular and closely aligned with my project. I wanted to learn what makes them stand out and, more importantly, where they fall short so my app can find its own place.
Proto-Persona
Proto-Persona
Outlining a Proto-Persona to Clarify User Needs Early On
Outlining a Proto-Persona to Clarify User Needs Early On
Define the Design Challenge
Define the Design Challenge
How might we design a veggie-tracking app that motivates users to effortlessly and consistently meet the recommended '5-a-day' servings of fruits and vegetables, making healthy eating feel achievable and enjoyable?
How might we design a veggie-tracking app that motivates users to effortlessly and consistently meet the recommended '5-a-day' servings of fruits and vegetables, making healthy eating feel achievable and enjoyable?
User Interview
User Interview
In-depth Insights from Real Users
In-depth Insights from Real Users
4/5 users tend to neglect vegetables in fridge because they lack creativity to incorporate veggies into their meals in an appetising way.
"Veggies are usually a bit unexciting and unappetising to me."
4/5 users tend to neglect vegetables in fridge because they lack creativity to incorporate veggies into their meals in an appetising way.
"Veggies are usually a bit unexciting and unappetising to me."
4/5 users feel overwhelmed by the pressure to input accurate data in food-tracking apps.
“It would be pointless to log my meals if the data isn’t exact...”
4/5 users feel overwhelmed by the pressure to input accurate data in food-tracking apps.
“It would be pointless to log my meals if the data isn’t exact...”
3/5 users want comprehensive nutritional insights beyond just calorie counting, including the benefits of specific vegs and tailored advice for optimising dietary habits.
3/5 users want comprehensive nutritional insights beyond just calorie counting, including the benefits of specific vegs and tailored advice for optimising dietary habits.
5 User Interviews
Affinity Diagram
Iterated Persona
Iterated Persona
Assumptions Prioritisation
Assumptions Prioritisation
Assumptions are then formulated and prioritised to help the project identify and focus on the key elements that require testing and validation.
Assumptions are then formulated and prioritised to help the project identify and focus on the key elements that require testing and validation.
Prioritised Assumptions-Business
Prioritised Assumptions-Business
Prioritised Assumptions-Users
Prioritised Assumptions-Users
Customer Journey Map
Customer Journey Map
CJM is Mapped to Ensure a Successful Onboarding Experience
CJM is Mapped to Ensure a Successful Onboarding Experience
Ideation
Ideation
Using Various Ideation Techniques as a Solo Designer
Using Various Ideation Techniques as a Solo Designer
Feature Design and Prioritisation
Feature Design and Prioritisation
Some Lengthy but Essential Steps...
Some Lengthy but Essential Steps...
Applied the MoSCoW model to identify top-priority features.
Applied the MoSCoW model to identify top-priority features.
Used the mental model to synthesise and further prioritise all the features with card sorting.
Used the mental model to synthesise and further prioritise all the features with card sorting.
Lean UX Canvas
Lean UX Canvas
Continuously adjusted the Lean UX Canvas to align design ideas with both user needs and business goals, fostering a destination-focused and hypothesis-driven approach.
Continuously adjusted the Lean UX Canvas to align design ideas with both user needs and business goals, fostering a destination-focused and hypothesis-driven approach.
V1
V1
V2
V2
Final Version
Final Version
Hypotheses
Hypotheses
We Believe that...
We Believe that...
High app trial rates will be achieved if the users (health-conscious busy young adults) are willing to sign up and use this app after the registration process.
High app trial rates will be achieved if the users (health-conscious busy young adults) are willing to sign up and use this app after the registration process.
High user retention rates will be achieved if the users find it easy and straightforward to log their veggies and fruits with the food-logging process.
High user retention rates will be achieved if the users find it easy and straightforward to log their veggies and fruits with the food-logging process.
High daily active users (DAU) will be achieved if the users feel motivated with the gamified "light up your garden" feature.
High daily active users (DAU) will be achieved if the users feel motivated with the gamified "light up your garden" feature.
Positive user feedback in app store will be achieved if the users feel motivated to eat veggies with the veg-and-fruit-only intake tracking feature.
Positive user feedback in app store will be achieved if the users feel motivated to eat veggies with the veg-and-fruit-only intake tracking feature.
High conversion rate from free trials to paid subscriptions will be achieved if the users attain helpful personalised dietary suggestions and knowledge with the AI-powered chatbot feature.
High conversion rate from free trials to paid subscriptions will be achieved if the users attain helpful personalised dietary suggestions and knowledge with the AI-powered chatbot feature.
High conversion rate from free trials to paid subscriptions will be achieved if the users get inspiring ideas of how to incorporate the veggies they have into their daily meals with the recipe discovery and generation feature.
High conversion rate from free trials to paid subscriptions will be achieved if the users get inspiring ideas of how to incorporate the veggies they have into their daily meals with the recipe discovery and generation feature.
Positive user feedback in app store will be achieved if the users know more about how to eat wisely with the personalised recommendation feature.
Positive user feedback in app store will be achieved if the users know more about how to eat wisely with the personalised recommendation feature.
High user retention rates will be achieved if the users can easily see what they have consumed for a day/ a week
High user retention rates will be achieved if the users can easily see what they have consumed for a day/ a week
Sketches
Sketches
Final Work
Final Work
Click Here to Play with the Prototype
Click Here to Play with the Prototype
Style Guide
Style Guide
Usability Testing
Usability Testing
Out of the 9 hypotheses tested, 6 achieved a high success rate of over 80%.
However...
Out of the 9 hypotheses tested, 6 achieved a high success rate of over 80%.
However...
The 'Daily Evaluation' feature was found to be unintuitive when it was only accessible through the chatbot page.
2 users struggled to understand the concept of '5 A Day' and what actions they needed to take without a clear guide.
2 users pointed out that certain colour contrasts need enhancement.
The 'Daily Evaluation' feature was found to be unintuitive when it was only accessible through the chatbot page.
2 users struggled to understand the concept of '5 A Day' and what actions they needed to take without a clear guide.
2 users pointed out that certain colour contrasts need enhancement.
Usability Testing Results
Usability Testing Feedback Survey
Iteration 1/2
Designing for Accessibility: Adding an Increased Contrast Mode Instead of Modifying the Default
Designing for Accessibility: Adding an Increased Contrast Mode Instead of Modifying the Default
Usability testing revealed that some colour contrasts needed enhancement for better readability.
Recognising that users have different contrast preferences, I added an 'Increased Contrast Mode' rather than changing the default design. This mode allows users to switch on deeper contrast between foreground and background colours, making navigation easier and more inclusive for everyone.
Usability testing revealed that some colour contrasts needed enhancement for better readability.
Recognising that users have different contrast preferences, I added an 'Increased Contrast Mode' rather than changing the default design. This mode allows users to switch on deeper contrast between foreground and background colours, making navigation easier and more inclusive for everyone.
Default Mode
Default Mode
Switch to ‘Increase Contrast’
Switch to ‘Increase Contrast’
Iteration 2/2
Adding Onboarding Tips for a Smoother Experience
Adding Onboarding Tips for a Smoother Experience
To enhance the first-time user experience, I designed onboarding tips to help users understand key concepts. By using simple language and interactive prompts, the onboarding process becomes more intuitive, ensuring that users feel confident and motivated from the start.
To enhance the first-time user experience, I designed onboarding tips to help users understand key concepts. By using simple language and interactive prompts, the onboarding process becomes more intuitive, ensuring that users feel confident and motivated from the start.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Reflecting on My First Product Created from Scratch
Reflecting on My First Product Created from Scratch
Thank you for reading through this journey.
This was my first experience using the Lean UX method to quickly create an MVP and validate hypotheses that combined both business and user needs. I learned the power of effective user research, the importance of having a clear goal, and how to craft an onboarding experience starting from the end goal backward, and so much more...
To further validate its real-world potential, this product design surely needs more usability testing for iterative design improvements, along with diverse perspectives to collaboratively evaluate and refine its features. But I'm proud to have shared this rough yet intriguing project, created with passion.
And I'm excited to hear any feedback from you.
Thank you for reading through this journey.
This was my first experience using the Lean UX method to quickly create an MVP and validate hypotheses that combined both business and user needs. I learned the power of effective user research, the importance of having a clear goal, and how to craft an onboarding experience starting from the end goal backward, and so much more...
To further validate its real-world potential, this product design surely needs more usability testing for iterative design improvements, along with diverse perspectives to collaboratively evaluate and refine its features. But I'm proud to have shared this rough yet intriguing project, created with passion.
And I'm excited to hear any feedback from you.
Interested in Connecting?
Made with love 💛 © Jenny Xing
Interested in Connecting?
Made with love 💛 © Jenny Xing
Interested in Connecting?
Made with love 💛 © Jenny Xing