KEY FINDINGS
The user interviews revealed critical insights that shaped the development of FreshSave. Through conversations with diverse grocery shoppers, clear patterns emerged regarding shopping behaviors, attitudes toward surplus food, and specific pain points in current grocery experiences. These findings not only validated our core premise but also uncovered unexpected opportunities and challenges that directly informed our feature prioritization and design decisions.
1
4 out 5 participants explicitly stated they would only buy surplus food if they specifically needed those items.
2
3 out 4 participants expressed hesitation about the quality and safety of surplus food.
3
Working parents and professionals consistently mentioned limited pickup windows as a major concern, stating they can't easily adjust their schedule for same-day pickups.
4
Most of the participants said that they are not aware of the surplus food items until they arrive at the store.
5
Display all of the categories of the menu and make it more accessible.
PERSONA
Based on our research findings, I developed two evidence-based personas representing our key user segments: Budget-Conscious Jessica and Time-Constrained Jason. These personas captured distinct shopping behaviors, motivations, and pain points that informed my design priorities.
JOURNEY MAP
I mapped the current user journey for my primary persona (Jessica) to identify critical intervention points in the grocery shopping experience. This visualization process revealed key frustration moments and helped us prioritize features that would transform the shopping experience from a dreaded chore into an engaging activity.
USER FLOW
I developed comprehensive user flows to visualize how different user types would navigate through the FreshSave experience. These flows mapped critical pathways from onboarding through shopping list creation, matching, purchase, and fulfillment. By diagramming decision points and system interactions, I identified potential friction areas and opportunities to streamline the experience before moving into the visual design phase.
LOW FIDELITY WIREFRAMES
The early low-fidelity wireframes allowed me to test the fundamental information architecture and user flows with potential users before investing in detailed visual design. The wireframing process revealed important insights about content prioritization and helped refine the matching functionality that became central to the solution.
DESIGN ITERATIONS
Following structured critique sessions with my professor, I implemented targeted refinements to the interface design, focusing on hierarchy adjustments in the matching screen, streamlining the onboarding flow, and enhancing the visual distinction between regular and surplus items. These evidence-based iterations addressed key usability concerns while preserving the core functionality, resulting in significant improvements to the overall user experience as validated through subsequent testing.
Top section: Utilize the top area of the page to show the information that users want to see instead of ads
Pop-up modal: Minimize the use of pop-up modal, but instead use a whole page for certain important views
Navigation: Simplify the navigation by cutting down on the Home button.
FINAL PROTOTYPE
I developed a high-fidelity interactive prototype that demonstrates the complete user experience from onboarding through list matching, purchase, and fulfillment. Using Figma's prototyping capabilities, I created realistic interactions for core features including shopping list upload, match discovery, store exploration, and the achievement system.
WHAT I LEARNED
I understand that the browsing experience is a critical factor that keeps the customers interested and making their purchasing decisions. I keep it in consideration while coming up with multiple ways to keep the users visually engaged.
1
Consumer research reveals sophisticated understanding of product date labeling among target users, with many confidently extending usability beyond 'sell by' dates for certain categories. This presents an opportunity to implement product-specific freshness indicators and storage guidance that empower informed purchasing decisions while differentiating the platform through education-oriented features.
2
One thing that really surprised me in our conversations with one of the store managers? They're already setting aside tons of perfectly good surplus food, but they're just giving it to their staff because they're worried someone might get sick and sue them. If I can solve this trust and liability issue for them in the future—maybe with clear terms and some kind of quality check process—there's a huge untapped inventory they'd probably love to sell instead of just giving away or tossing.
3
Emotional dimensions of routine tasks - I underestimated how emotionally charged grocery shopping is for many users, revealing opportunities to transform experiences often dismissed as merely functional.
NEXT STEPS
1
Initiate usability testing across key user segments to validate critical features, gather actionable feedback, and establish a rapid iteration cycle that continuously improves the user experience.
2
Develop a vendor portal with intuitive inventory management tools that empower store managers to efficiently list surplus items, upload real-time photos, manage product descriptions, track performance metrics, and analyze sales patterns
3
Establish partnerships with food-focused nonprofit organizations and donation centers to understand their supply chain challenges.
