Connect: Food + Community
Client Name: Residents of Sunset Park, Brooklyn
About the Client:
Sunset Park, Brooklyn has a diverse community of working class residents many who use the local farmers market weekly for regular produce / dairy / etc access.
Sector: Food, Health
Design Services Provided:
UI / UX, Mobile App Design
What We Used to Communicate:
Key Screens:
Search:
This screen has a simple search function allowing the user to easily find what they need.
What We Used to Design:
Client Need:
During the pandemic, access to groceries and community was a significant issue. Due to the working class low income nature of my Brooklyn neighborhood, along with my own issues getting groceries for three weeks there was a pressing need for to local, easy to access, healthy food. My first thought when thinking conceptually about this app was where users who needed affordable nutritious foodof the farmers market already located in the neighborhood and food banks that were nearby as well. Lack of community was an issue as well and building a social media component into this app was an important design feature.
Design Approach:
I began this design process by asking neighbors on my block that I had existing relationships with if they would have a need for a mobile app with these features and everyone I spoke to was genuinely interested and agreed they would use it. Out of a 15 person sample, 13 of the 15 I spoke to would use the app and the other two neighbors were not as excited about this type of an app.
After speaking to this small user research sample I then sketched a prototype on paper with the simplest version of the app, making sure users were able to navigate locating farmers markets and food banks in their community. I then added a social media component where users can locally connect and meet at the farmers market or food bank in their neighborhood.
Design Specifics: Color and Typography:
I chose a primarily white and various shades of green color palette to invoke a sense of calm along evoking the colors of produce. I chose Roboto as my font due to it being a clear font for the user to read easily.
Wireframes:
The wireframes below show the journey the user will take while using the app.
Locations:
The user will be able to see a map of locations and click on each marker to find out specific details.
Events:
This screen is a new addition not found in the wireframe flow, it allows users to find events related to healthy eating and farming in their community. This addresses the mental health aspect of the app as well.
Connect Community:
This screen is the community hub of the app. This allows users to connect, see who’s currently available online and get together. The green dots indicate when a user is online.
Project Outcome:
Potential users in my neighborhood who were originally contacted as part of my user research who were in mobile app development got in touch and inquired about developing the app and work on the project is currently in progress.