Duration:
June 2024 - July 2024
Design Role:
End-to-end Product Designer, Research, Prototyping, Usability Testing
Sector:
Food, Social, Lifestyle
UI/UX Design
End-to-end
Case Study
Gather
A community-based events platform where small businesses and foodies can connect
Problem
Solution
Gather is here to create a space that gives small businesses the support they need from their community and foodies an organic way to create new relationships through food
Goals for this project are to:
Provide a booking platform for small food businesses to create pop-up events or dining experiences in their area
Create a well-integrated social platform feature that connects members and small businesses together for meaningful and fun conversations
User Research
How can we validate these perspectives?
Why is there a need for this product?
5 Participants(Foodies + Food Industry Business Owners)
In-Person or Video Call
Interview Objectives:
My goal for this platform is to capture both the customer’s and business owner’s perspective to ensure that the needs of both would drive the design. Interviewing people from both camps helped define what the content was important.
Key Insights
From my interviews, it seemed clear that both customers and business owners were on the same page about authenticity. Everybody wants to find an outlet that helps them feel connected with genuine relationships. With these key points in mind, the platform was designed to connect people through food and their local neighborhoods.
“Food content these days feels heavily sponsored. I gravitate towards more authentic sources of information like long-form articles, forums, and recommendations from local chefs”
“I’m looking for food experiences that tell a personal story and feels like it is a part of the local fabric. It’s not always about whether or not the food tastes good or looks pretty. ”
“As a small business, I have no permanent location, so it’s difficult to ensure that I’m reaching my target audience whenever I’m hosting events in different places ”
“It’s too time consuming constantly trying to feed the algorithm with viral or trending content just to stay relevant”
Gather showcases every business’ story through about sections on every events page and adds a social element where customers can visit a chef’s profile page and interact with them or mentioned posts about their meals.
Users can get to know the businesses in their area more intimately through:
Monthly business features - owners can chat with users and post about their what they do
Users can search for events in their area and find more local experiences
Foodies and chefs can make posts and interact with each other through the Sharemybites page
Business owners can stay connected with their customers by:
Sending updates to followers on the Sharemybites social platform where followers will receive notifications.
Creating an FAQ section for people attending their events where they can regularly update with new information
Gather focuses on small events that highlights a more personal experience. Businesses can easily post their events and target locals in their area without the pressure of creating viral content to attract customers.
Customer Insights
Business Insights
Events Page - About Section
Profile Page
Homepage - Feature Section
Share My Bites - Social Feature(Desktop)
Events Page - FAQ section
Homepage - Featured Events
Events Search Page
Share My Bites - Social Page
How might we diversify the food scene by providing a digital space for local small businesses to showcase their unique offerings?
Through these two perspectives, I wanted to create a community oriented platform that allows customers to rediscover authentic experiences and for business owners who are starting off to feel that they’ve made authentic, long-lasting connections.
The driving principle of the app is to uplift small businesses and encourage customers to venture into new food explorations by prioritizing authenticity in features that allow constant user contributions to the space. This propelled the testing of the app to focus on three main tasks that would showcase the interactive/social aspects of the design. The goal of this project was to make sure that the app could be responsive from mobile to desktop, prioritizing different information for different formats.
Usability Testing
5 Participants
In-Person or Video Call
Avg. completion time - 9:00 Mins
“Visuals feel so pleasant to the eyes and makes me excited for the main product - the food!”
Users were happy with the UI and felt that the interactive components were stimulating.
Users liked that the interactions with businesses allowed them to learn more about the chefs and validate the authenticity of the food event.
Users liked how the design system pulled from familiar elements that allowed for easy navigation.
What Worked Well
“I like that the app gives me the ability to interact with chefs and use features like the Sharedbites mentions to validate whether or not I’ll like the chef’s food or support their cause”
“I like how familiar and easy it feels to navigate, I got through everything very naturally”
Testing Details
Particpants were asked to complete the three tasks in mobile and desktop form, focusing on how the community aspect and responsive design.
Final Prototype
Try out the prototype for yourself!
Mobile + Desktop
Final Takeaway
Gather’s target audience was captured in this user persona - Josh Jeong, “The Critical Foodie”. He’s a young professional who likes to spend his off time exploring new restaurants in his city. Tired of the seemingly inauthentic food scene, Josh is looking for more intimate experiences in his neighborhood. Gather aims to help users like Josh reconnect with the food scene in an authentic way that builds memorable connections and experiences.
Lofi Wireframes
Hifi Wireframes
Mobile Drafts
Desktop Drafts
Book a Forager’s Backyard Tasting Event
Learn more about the Event’s Business Owner
Make a post on Share My Bites
Mobile Design
Prioritize getting information displayed as simply without compromising important design features
Overall, the desktop layout now provides more detailed text and an enlarged grid for more info cards and images.
Side by side map and event cards layout for simultaneous viewing of location and event
Added sidebar for more detailed viewing of Activity, Explore sections, and status updates from Followed accounts.
Homepage
Events This Weekend
Share My Bites - Social Feature
Desktop Design
Prioritize providing more detailed features that would be optimal for larger screens and better viewing
Designing + Testing a Responsive Platform
How can we design for authenticity?
Who is our target audience?
User Persona
Platforms like Instagram and TikTok enable small businesses to showcase their culinary creations and cultivate a community of food enthusiasts. However with all the noise of social media there is a general feeling that authenticity has become hard to find.
Food enthusiasts are tired of sponsored/viral food content, while small businesses owners feel the constant pressure to create interesting content in order to build their customer base.
Working with business owners for this project made me realize how tough it really is to grow as a small business, especially for those that are mostly operating online. Through this platform, I wanted to create a space where small businesses could better connect with their customers and develop a community of supporters who are interested in exploring new food experiences. I learned that even through the glitz and glamor of social media these days, people are yearning for more honest, down-to-earth connections and experiences.