Awarel – Milla Dovgal ‒ UX UI Designer

ABOUT

This is my first individual project for the Ironhack UX/UI Bootcamp. This project is based on a design thinking process and includes UX and UI design.
My area of research is wellness, and I decided to focus on eating habits. I have researched people’s relationships with food, and I have seen the possibility to create something new in this area — mindful eating app.

The project is based on an implementation intention strategy; it is a simple way to follow through with our intentions and do what is necessary to attain our desired results.

TEAM
Individual Project

ROLE
UX/UI Designer

PROJECT DURATION
2 weeks, Feb 2019

TOOLS
Sketch, Principle, Illustrator, Photoshop, RealTimeBorder, Pen & Paper

UX PROCESS

UX Process

CHALLENGE

Develop a digital product for the wellness industry, that makes a user’s relationship with mental, physical, or emotional well-being better. The tool should track the user’s progress and pushes them to commit to a healthier lifestyle.

USER RESEARCH

For the survey, I prepared questions about eating habits and related feelings. I used Lean Survey canvas for it. The primary goal of the survey was to find the pain points and to see the patterns in people’s eating behavior. I got 74 responses, and here is one of the most important findings — 88% of people eat when they are not hungry.

The key findings from the interviews are the following:
1. People use food as a reward, the process of buying food is also rewarding;
2. People feel guilty or ashamed after the “wrong” eating;
3. People use food to comfort themselves.

DEFINITION

PROBLEM

People eat when they are not really hungry because they confuse physical hunger and emotional hunger. The emotional hunger cannot be satisfied with food. As a result, people have negative emotions — frustration, discomfort, stress, guilt, regret, shame after eating with no physical hunger. It affects their self-esteem and self-confidence.

SOLUTION

Create an app for people who want to be more aware of their food-related habits by asking users questions, if they have any signs of a physical hunger with some further suggestions to help users learn, develop their awareness skills. I have chosen to focus on three ways to help users — before, during and after the eating process.

Before — ask a user questions, if she/he has any signs of a physical hunger with some further suggestions.
During — a guided meditation while eating for increasing mindfulness or an apple watch app with reminders during the meal time.
After — Self-monitoring a daily journal to log feelings, emotions and food intake (without counting calories), that will help users to see the patterns in their behavior.

For my MVP I decided to choose the “before” part — ask the user questions about hunger to help users learn, develop their awareness skills.