An app that connects parents to
baby-friendly restaurants.
The project
Having a child can completely change your life, and one aspect that is particularly affected is dining out. Even a simple task like going to a restaurant can become quite challenging, especially when your little one starts eating solid food. Having a good experience for both parents and the child in a restaurant while accompanied by kids involves various aspects that need to be considered. Questions like whether the restaurant offers a kid-friendly menu, high-chairs, an appropriate environment, or a play area often arise. However, it can be difficult to find answers to all these questions when searching for a new restaurant.
Little Food is a project I developed as part of my UX/UI Specialization, where I was assigned the challenge of creating a digital product to solve a real-life problem that I either personally experienced or observed within the last 7 days.
ROLE: Sole UX/UI Designer
DURATION: 4 weeks
Everybody deserves to have a good time.
Your little one should be no exception.
THE PROBLEM
Parents face difficulties in determining whether a restaurant is kid-friendly or suitable for babies.
Despite the challenges involved in dining out with children, there is currently no solution that consolidates all the necessary information to confidently assess whether a restaurant is suitable for the whole family's enjoyment.
THE GOAL
PRIMARY GOAL
Create a digital product where parents can evaluate restaurants based on their kid/baby-friendliness rating.
Our primary goal is to provide easy access to information related to dining out with children, supporting parents in including their kids in their daily activities.
SECONDARY GOAL
Support parents when it comes to include their kids in their daily activities
Little Food is built on the premise that having a child should not mean giving up on enjoyable experiences. On the contrary, you can involve your children in your life and provide a great experience for both you and them. However, it does require a little assistance, and we are here to help.
THE SOLUTION
A collaborative community app that enables parents to rate
restaurants based on their kid/baby-friendliness.
Here's how the app works: As a parent or caregiver, you can rate or register a restaurant you have visited. You can share details about the dishes your little one had, whether high-chairs were available, the cleanliness of the changing tables, and any other pertinent information. Additionally, you can upload pictures, menus, prices, and provide comments on what you find important. Restaurants are also encouraged to register themselves and inform parents about their available options.
To foster community engagement, Little Foodies includes a section with early childhood nutrition tips, offering guidance on how to best feed your baby as they start exploring the world of food.
TIMELINE
Project scope
The project was developed from idea to final design. The work took place in several stages during the length of 4 weeks.
RESEARCH
Discovering
Defining
SUMMARIZING RESEARCH FINDINGS
To summarize the research findings and empathize with the users, I have categorized the insights into three main points: GOALS, FRUSTRATIONS, and PAIN POINTS. Drawing from the data gathered during user interviews and based on the main points, I have developed two personas and corresponding user journey maps. These personas and journey maps have been instrumental in gaining a deeper understanding of user needs and guiding the design of the app, including its key features.
Information Architeture
Wireframes
To ensure a good usability and having the time constraints for the project in mind, my goal was to create the low-fidelity wireframe to be tested with users before implementing the final look and feel of the app. Below we can see the comparison between initial idea and final design.
Look & Feel
Our app speaks with parents and caregivers, but the visual identity makes sure they remember why they are there: For the kids! Little Foodies have a fresh, friendly and playful look and feel, with assets that are modern and vibrant, but brings a little bit of a positive childishness.
Lessons learned
Little Foodies was the first UX/UI design project where I was the only designer. Through user research, I gained valuable insights into the pain points, frustrations, and goals of our target users. It became clear that parents face challenges in finding specific information about restaurants, such as kid-friendly amenities and menus. This understanding played a pivotal role in shaping our design decisions and prioritizing features that directly address these user needs. One of my biggest challenges was to ensure an easy and intuitive experience while also making sure that the app would display all the necessary functionalities for its MVP version, all that considering the time and resources constraints.
Despite the time limitations, I utilized user feedback and best practices to ensure the app met users' needs as effectively as possible. Ongoing user input and future improvements will continue to enhance the app's usability and reliability.
Next steps
Moving forward, I recommend conducting additional user testing and gathering feedback to validate and refine the app's design. This iterative approach will enable us to further enhance the user experience, address any unforeseen issues, and incorporate valuable insights for future iterations. Additionally, exploring potential partnerships with restaurants and implementing a verification system for kid/baby-friendly ratings could increase the reliability and trustworthiness of the app's information.
If you liked this case study, have any questions or just want to talk about it, feel free to reach out to me:
taynamotaflores@gmail.com
Thank you!