Meel
Meal suggestion for busy people
This case study outlines my journey of bringing Meel to life, from conception to solution. As the sole designer, I was responsible for every aspect of the UX process, from user research to visual design.
Instantly discover delicious meal recommendations tailored to your specific preferences.
Meet Jonah, a busy software developer. He often finds himself engrossed in work, scrambling to decide what to eat for lunch. He wants something healthy and satisfying, but doesn't have the time or mental energy to make a thoughtful choice.
Jonah's story is one that many busy professionals can relate to—the struggle of figuring out what to eat when time is short and there are too many/few options.
For many busy individuals, deciding what to eat daily is a time-consuming and frustrating endeavor. From dietary restrictions to personal preferences, there's often a lack of time and energy to make thoughtful decisions. This leads to rushed, unsatisfying, and unhealthy choices, which can hurt overall well-being.
But, is this really a problem?
I had to validate this problem. The goal was at least a 70% positive response from at least 50 people within the target audience.
I ran a survey using Tally. In this survey, I had to know…
Responses
"Why do you find choosing a meal stressful?"
There are different reasons. Some times it is stress from work and one ends up eating what I call a quick meal
It's stressful because i'm either craving so many things at once - lots of options, or i don't know what exactly to eat
Who is this for?
Initially, I assumed who the ideal user is. These assumptions were to guide me through the survey.
Assumptions—
- This person has a considerable amount of income
- This person has an active job or something that constantly brings cash into their pocket!
- This person doesn't want to go through the stress of always choosing what to eat let alone preparing it.
- This person prefers to order meals than cook them
- This person does not have any critical health concerns regarding food
- This person barely knows health-related information (like height, weight, diet types…), and neither is really concerned about it.
After validating these assumptions through the survey I ran above, I was able to get a reasonable view of who the ideal persona is.
User persona
- He spends most of his time working from home.
- He orders food most of the time as he doesn't have the skill or time to cook.
- He is not much interested in cooking in the first place.
- Since he spends most of his time working, he has little time to spend thinking of what is best to take.
- He would just love a suggestion.
- He has no critical health concerns, so he is open to most suggestions.
After doing all these, I ideated an app which I named "Meel".
With Meel, instantly discover meal suggestions tailored to your specific preferences
The food discovery process should be simple and efficient, without any of the hassle or time commitment of traditional meal planning.
The goal is to make finding the next meal as effortless as possible. Simply provide a few key pieces of information and Meel should handle the rest, providing personalized recommendations in seconds.
But…some things had to be considered
3 major challenges came up when ideating solutions and talking with the target audience.
Are there similar solutions out there?
- Outline at least 2 direct competitors so you know who should be considered
- Understand their product so you understand the market you're entering and where the opportunities lie
- Understand customer's feedback to see pain points, and what they're getting right
- Understand how the product is built so you know the complexities that go into it.
Insights from competitors
- These apps were built for a general demography. Meel is tailored to just one demography.
- The onboarding involves asking some questions that might not be easily accessed by the average person. I can simplify the whole onboarding so users get to choose the meals faster.
- These apps don't give users a way to order the meals. I can add that feature to Meel.
- These apps can be hard to use for the average person due to how complex they can get. I can reduce the app to the barest minimum so users know what they are doing at all times.
Putting it all together
Retrospective and lessons learned
- More qualitative research could've been done to learn more about users.
- Proper research leads to a well-informed design. The deeper the research, the better the insights, the better the design.
- A lot of insights can be gotten from looking at the competitor.
- Investing in animated interactions can be incredibly satisfying.