Zest

Community Kitchen

Brief

As part of the brief for my Google UX professional certificate, I set out to develop an app for a charitable cause. After doing some research and being aware of the world around me, I decided to tackle an issue that millions of people in the UK are struggling with daily.

In 2022 over 9.7 million people in the UK faced food insecurity with a marked increase in food bank utilisation. With this increase, I wanted to develop an app for organisations to use to improve the engagement of users, reduce household waste from cooking, and educate those who are worse off to a better life with food. The next stage of the process was to conduct primary research and reach out to those who were most in need.

Research

Reaching out to local charitable organisations I was able to gather a picture of some of the areas where users of these community kitchens and food banks needed the most help. Synthesising this data was a way to generate pain points for my target set of users with some of the conclusions of the research above. A number of the pain points here reflect the original goal of the brief and this alignment informed me that there is indeed a gap in the market to tackle these solutions in a user-centred and equitable way.

Synthesis of the data took the form of sorting feedback gathered by prospective users into categories such as existing problems, wishes, and current motivations. These categories also helped me develop a picture of user journeys as they currently are, and what these journeys may look like after the app was implemented. An example of an As-Is to a To-Be use journey for this research would be:

As-is: The user relies frequently on the convenience and affordability that ready meals and/or takeaways provide, to feed their family.
To-be: The user is comfortable and confident with making affordable, nutritious, and convenient food for their family to enjoy regularly.

After synthesising the data gathered, I developed a set of personas to begin understanding the needs and wants of our potential users.

It was clear from the research that some features that might be beneficial would be; cooking and skills classes (remote and in-person); a bank of recipes for users to reference; a news function to share community news; and a chat function for people to reach out. The next stage of the process was wireframing and ensuring the flow of the app was consistent with our accessibility standards.

Wireframing

Building the wireframe in greyscale helps to emphasise the weight of each frame and how the contrast impacts the accessibility. Opting for a simple UI with large call-to-action areas meant we can keep the app open to people from all walks of life.

ACCESSIBILITY - COntrast

Contrast is a huge factor in ensuring content can be read and items are differentiated. This meant primary colour selection was crucial. Our chosen colour passes the WCAG AAA test on all criteria.

ACCESSIBILITY - use of text

On the initial wireframes, there was the use of symbols in the navigation header. While this is aesthetically pleasing it leaves a question mark surrounding the accessibility. By opting to utilise text buttons for the navigation where possible we can ensure equitable design.

Final Prototype

The final prototype shown below represents a product which was started to address a real user-centred problem. As this problem is ever-evolving and developing, the app must do the same. The simple UI and contrast give the user a clear path for executing tasks and provide a platform for those who are looking to seek help.

Please feel free to view the individual screen below and also view the interactive Figma prototype (linked in the next text box).