Product design
Picnic helps people who wants to eat plant based keep to their diets by making it easier to select a restaurant that has menu options for everyone.
Picnic helps people who wants to eat plant based keep to their diets by making it easier to select a restaurant that has menu options for everyone.
Project type
Master Thesis at Parsons
Responsibilities
Research, Ideation, Prototyping, Testing
DATE
Spring 2022
(Updated 2024)
Spring 2022 (Updated 2024)
More and more people are turning to plant-based diets for sustainability reasons and the number of vegetarians and vegans are increasing. But eating out with friends can be a stress factor, and it can be hard to find restaurants that caters to everyone.
Picnic helps people who wants to eat plant based keep to their diets. At the same time, the product is an educational source for people to learn about their friends food restrictions.
More and more people are turning to plant-based diets for sustainability reasons and the number of vegetarians and vegans are increasing. But eating out with friends can be a stress factor, and it can be hard to find restaurants that caters to everyone.
Picnic helps people who wants to eat plant based keep to their diets. At the same time, the product is an educational source for people to learn about their friends food restrictions.
Research
Desk research insight
Desk research insight
Adapting a plant based diet is one of the most impactful actions an individual can take on climate change
Adapting a plant based diet is one of the most impactful actions an individual can take on climate change
From interviewing a diverse group of people, including people who are on plant-based diets, people who have tried and given up, and people who generally care about sustainability but have not tried to adjust their diet, I was able to gain actionable insights about attitudes, pain points, and areas of opportunity.
These insights lead to the questions that would lead the ideation process,
From interviewing a diverse group of people, including people who are on plant-based diets, people who have tried and given up, and people who generally care about sustainability but have not tried to adjust their diet, I was able to gain actionable insights about attitudes, pain points, and areas of opportunity.
These insights lead to the questions that would lead the ideation process,
User Interview Quote
User Interview Quote
“I can be hard to find a place to eat that has things on the menu for me, which sometimes can make me feel bad for my friends that they have to accommodate to my life choices.”
Vegetarian
User Interview Quote
User Interview Quote
“I had no idea eating meat is unsustainable, that makes me rethink my food choices.”
Non-plant-based
How might we make it easier for friends with different diets to eat together?
&
How might we encourage and inform about sustainable eating?
Ideation
Solution
Solution
Based on feedback from users the most feasible solution seemed to be an app where friends can share their diets, and then search restaurants and filter with their friends profile.
Based on feedback from users the most feasible solution seemed to be an app where friends can share their diets, and then search restaurants and filter with their friends profile.
This idea for an app would address a gap in the restaurant and social tech markets by enabling users to create personal dietary profiles, share them with friends, and identify restaurants that can accommodate all preferences.
This idea for an app would address a gap in the restaurant and social tech markets by enabling users to create personal dietary profiles, share them with friends, and identify restaurants that can accommodate all preferences.
Defining the product
What differentiates this app from other restaurant review apps, and how is it connected to the original project topic of sustainability?
What differentiates this app from other restaurant review apps, and how is it connected to the original project topic of sustainability?
After putting together a mid-fidelity prototype and testing with a few users I realized that there was a disconnect from where the project started. So I brought back one of the HMW statements "How might we inform about and encourage sustainable eating?"?
An educational aspect of the app was added onto user's profiles, with information about each diet as well as access to a directory where users can explore diets and food restrictions that exist outside of their friend groups as well.
The system map helped with sketching and designing the final UX of the app, along with looking at competitors to define common design conventions.
After putting together a mid-fidelity prototype and testing with a few users I realized that there was a disconnect from where the project started. So I brought back one of the HMW statements "How might we inform about and encourage sustainable eating?"?
An educational aspect of the app was added onto user's profiles, with information about each diet as well as access to a directory where users can explore diets and food restrictions that exist outside of their friend groups as well.
The system map helped with sketching and designing the final UX of the app, along with looking at competitors to define common design conventions.
High fidelity prototyping
Visual design
The branding centers on using shapes to represent different diets, with profile icons and the logo drawing from these shapes, whose complexity reflects the diet's intricacy.
The branding centers on using shapes to represent different diets, with profile icons and the logo drawing from these shapes, whose complexity reflects the diet's intricacy.
User testing
User testing
Several rounds of designs went through quick testing before finalizing the design with improved navigation and usability.
Several rounds of designs went through quick testing before finalizing the design with improved navigation and usability.
Original Final frames 2022
Re-vamped frames 2024
Onboarding
The onboarding flow that welcomes a new user communicates the concept of the app in a delightful way.
Select friends and search
With the ability to create friend groups, users can easily make searches with the same people without having to select them each time.
Browse restaurants and share a list with friends
On the restaurant cards and pages you can see a match score of how well the restaurants menu matches you or your friends diet, marked by the diet icon.
Menu is high on the restaurant detail page because that's something people mentioned early on during interviews that they always have to check.
A feature that tested well in mid-fi, was the idea of being able to share a list of potential restaurants with friends within the app.This also enhances the social aspect of the app, and differentiates it from other platforms.
Friends profile
Read about a friends diet at the bottom of their profile. You can easily see what they eat and don’t eat as well as different reasons a person could have for being vegetarian.
Re-vamped frames 2024
Onboarding
The onboarding flow that welcomes a new user communicates the concept of the app in a delightful way.
Select friends and search
With the ability to create friend groups, users can easily make searches with the same people without having to select them each time.
Browse restaurants and share a list with friends
On the restaurant cards and pages you can see a match score of how well the restaurants menu matches you or your friends diet, marked by the diet icon.
Menu is high on the restaurant detail page because that's something people mentioned early on during interviews that they always have to check.
A feature that tested well in mid-fi, was the idea of being able to share a list of potential restaurants with friends within the app.This also enhances the social aspect of the app, and differentiates it from other platforms.
Friends profile
Read about a friends diet at the bottom of their profile. You can easily see what they eat and don’t eat as well as different reasons a person could have for being vegetarian.
Final reflections
Building restaurant database and encouraging participation
One big challenge with building the app is getting reliable menu info from restaurants since this data isn’t always readily available. The app could work with restaurants to get menu details directly and also use a mix of web scraping, public APIs, and crowd-sourced input.
By encouraging users to share their experience and confirm menu items that match their diet, it would help build a richer database. Participation can be incentivized by offering exclusive discounts, invitation to try out new menu items etc.
There is also a strong partnership potential with restaurants, as it enables businesses to highlight their menu's inclusivity and accessibility.
One big challenge with building the app is getting reliable menu info from restaurants since this data isn’t always readily available. The app could work with restaurants to get menu details directly and also use a mix of web scraping, public APIs, and crowd-sourced input.
By encouraging users to share their experience and confirm menu items that match their diet, it would help build a richer database. Participation can be incentivized by offering exclusive discounts, invitation to try out new menu items etc.
There is also a strong partnership potential with restaurants, as it enables businesses to highlight their menu's inclusivity and accessibility.
maudthuland@gmail.com
maudthuland@gmail.com
maudthuland@gmail.com