— role
UX research
UX design
Yolk app
Yolk was designed to be a mobile application that suggests personalised food experiences based on the user’s profile and background experience. This was a student project developed at General Assembly.
project background
With globalisation, some traditions are getting lost. The food business has had to adjust to the global standards which makes it hard to get ‘real’ food experiences “like grandma used to make”. In an eclectic city like Sydney where people from all over the world come to live together, access to authentic food experiences – through an app like Yolk – could be a great way of interacting with other cultures.
AFFINITY MAPPING ▾
Materialising the problem
To understand and empathise with potential users, we used field interviews, focus groups and questionnaires, competitive analysis and persona creation.
These served as a starting point to reflect on the user's needs and struggles in order to find a possible design solution.
— what we looked for
1. Findability of authentic food experiences
2. Food tools available in the market
3. Different definitions of authenticity
4. Priorities when looking for food
5. Food experience vs. its practicality
6. Different ways to achieve pleasure
7. Food as a storyteller
The choice of food is a personal matter of an individual.
"I would have either seen it, read about it or would have had it somewhere else."
Project development
Yolk app was created to help find new food experiences for people to connect to. Most of the current tools in the market are very feature-specific and don’t connect to personal context or previous experiences.
This app is for users who think food is more than just fuel. Instead, it’s part of their lifestyle, it is storytelling, and it triggers emotional memories.
Find food experiences that are aligned with personal expectations.
Help making quick decisions about food when in need.
Find occasion-specific food that may please everyone.
Discover new cuisine gems that will expand your palate.
FEATURE PRIORITISATION, INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE AND USER FLOW ▾
LOW-FI WIREFRAMING ▾
Finding the right structure
As a starting point for the design phase, I created low-fidelity wireframes for first user testing. This way I could achieve more qualitative insights for future designs without having to spend too much time on putting together perfect wireframes.
— findings and actions
1. Simplify sign up
2. Add permission screen to access phone features (e.g. location)
3. Add a way to import contacts from other platforms (e.g. Gmail)
4. Add a drop-down menu to profile questions
5. Add "Sort by" function to the Homepage
6. Add personal localisation to map view
7. Add rating system to the listing (reviews would also be nice)
8. Differentiate “favourites” and “wish list”
9. Add privacy settings option
10. Adjust Homepage naming
11. Top menu buttons to be more relevant
12. Remove calendar
13. Reduce layout options to facilitate the user journey
Designing the solution
After the first usability findings, I started developing high-fidelity wireframes and built the first prototype. This was just a concept project that never came to life, but if continuing to build this product here's a few user findings that would have to be addressed:
1. The content needs to be bigger in general
2. Rethink the way to find/add a friend
3. Add "Delete/Remove" button from the list
4. Possibility to add personal rate or "Like" to the findings list
5. Possibility to recommend something to a friend
6. Re-think "Sort by" button position