ShelfMate
Empowering Pantries
Nourishing Communities
Making Every Trip Count
ShelfMate
Tools:
Figma
Figjam
Mural
Timeline:
March - June 2023
Role:
Lead UX/UI Designer
Team:
1 Project Manager
4 UX/UI Designers
1 Developer
Tools:
Figma
Figjam
Mural
Timeline:
March - June 2023
Role:
Lead UX/UI Designer
Team:
1 Project Manager
4 UX/UI Designers
1 Developer
Project Summary
ShelfMate is a mobile app that aims to enhance the accessibility of food pantries for students experiencing food insecurity. By facilitating better communication between food donors and those in need, as well as improving the inventory management system of food pantries, ShelfMate strives to enhance the overall experience for food-insecure students.
My contribution:
- Devised and conducted user research
- Designed the dashboards, create account flow, and recommend item flow
- Assigned tasks to designers and managed deadlines - Work with designers to build a brand identity and design system
Background
Is UCLA's food bank meeting the needs of students?
According to The UC Basic Needs Research & Evaluation team, 74% of students that accessed Basic Needs Services on UC campuses used their campus food pantry. However, over 50% of these individuals felt that their campus food pantry did not meet their needs, some shortcomings were a lack of variety of options and physical proximity to resources.
Project Summary
Project Summary
ShelfMate is a mobile app that aims to enhance the accessibility of food pantries for students experiencing food insecurity. By facilitating better communication between food donors and those in need, as well as improving the inventory management system of food pantries, ShelfMate strives to enhance the overall experience for food-insecure students.
My contribution:
- Devised and conducted user research
- Designed the dashboards, create account flow, and recommend item flow
- Assigned tasks to designers and managed deadlines - Work with designers to build a brand identity and design system
ShelfMate is a mobile app that aims to enhance the accessibility of food pantries for students experiencing food insecurity. By facilitating better communication between food donors and those in need, as well as improving the inventory management system of food pantries, ShelfMate strives to enhance the overall experience for food-insecure students.
My contribution:
- Devised and conducted user research
- Designed the dashboards, create account flow, and recommend item flow
- Assigned tasks to designers and managed deadlines - Work with designers to build a brand identity and design system
Background
Background
Is UCLA's food bank meeting the needs of students?
Is UCLA's food bank meeting the needs of students?
According to The UC Basic Needs Research & Evaluation team, 74% of students that accessed Basic Needs Services on UC campuses used their campus food pantry. However, over 50% of these individuals felt that their campus food pantry did not meet their needs, some shortcomings were a lack of variety of options and physical proximity to resources.
According to The UC Basic Needs Research & Evaluation team, 74% of students that accessed Basic Needs Services on UC campuses used their campus food pantry. However, over 50% of these individuals felt that their campus food pantry did not meet their needs, some shortcomings were a lack of variety of options and physical proximity to resources.
User Research
How do users feel about the current food pantry?
To address the problem statement, I needed to gain a better understanding of the three main users that interact with the food pantry.
Food Insecure Student
Food Pantry Donor
Food Pantry Worker
To gain a better understanding of the three types of users that interact with the food pantry, I gathered research through two methods.
10 Survey Responses
6 user interviews (2 interviews per user type)
User Research
User Research
How do users feel about the current food pantry?
How do users feel about the current food pantry?
To address the problem statement, I needed to gain a better understanding of the three main users that interact with the food pantry.
To address the problem statement, I needed to gain a better understanding of the three main users that interact with the food pantry.
Food Pantry Worker
Food Pantry Worker
Food Insecure Student
Food Insecure Student
Food Pantry Donor
Food Pantry Donor
To gain a better understanding of the three types of users that interact with the food pantry, I gathered research through two methods.
To gain a better understanding of the three types of users that interact with the food pantry, I gathered research through two methods.
10 Survey Responses
10 Survey Responses
6 user interviews (2 interviews per user type)
6 user interviews (2 interviews per user type)
Three types of users with unique challenges
Three types of users with unique challenges
Food Pantry Worker
"It's hard to keep track of what items we have in stock"
"Everything is kept track of manually, which is a lot of work. Some items are miscounted"
Food Insecure Individual
"I often waste my time walking to the food pantry only to find items that don't meet my needs."
"I feel like the items donated don't meet my needs. Just snacks usually."
Food Pantry Donor
"It's difficult to know what the food pantry accepts. I don/t know until I get there"
"I wonder what items are most needed by those who go to the pantry."
Food Pantry Worker
"It's hard to keep track of what items we have in stock"
"Everything is kept track of manually, which is a lot of work. Some items are miscounted"
Food Pantry Worker
"It's hard to keep track of what items we have in stock"
"Everything is kept track of manually, which is a lot of work. Some items are miscounted"
Food Insecure Individual
"I often waste my time walking to the food pantry only to find items that don't meet my needs."
"I feel like the items donated don't meet my needs. Just snacks usually."
Food Insecure Individual
"I often waste my time walking to the food pantry only to find items that don't meet my needs."
"I feel like the items donated don't meet my needs. Just snacks usually."
Food Pantry Donor
"It's difficult to know what the food pantry accepts. I don/t know until I get there"
"I wonder what items are most needed by those who go to the pantry."
Food Pantry Donor
"It's difficult to know what the food pantry accepts. I don/t know until I get there"
"I wonder what items are most needed by those who go to the pantry."
Three types of users with unique challenges
Three types of users with unique challenges
Competitor Research
Competitor Research
Competitor Research
What's already out there?
What's already out there?
What's already out there?
As we were searching through apps and websites on the market that provide a similar service to ours, we found that there were very few that focused on improving the impact of food pantries
As we were searching through apps and websites on the market that provide a similar service to ours, we found that there were very few that focused on improving the impact of food pantries
As we were searching through apps and websites on the market that provide a similar service to ours, we found that there were very few that focused on improving the impact of food pantries
Problem Statement
Problem Statement
Problem Statement
How can we improve the impact of food pantries?
How can we improve the impact of food pantries?
How can we improve the impact of food pantries?
Food pantries are intended to support those who lack access to food by providing affordable and nutritious options. However, the lack of communication between food pantries, donors, and individuals in need hinders their effectiveness, often resulting in wasted trips and unmet needs.
Food pantries are intended to support those who lack access to food by providing affordable and nutritious options. However, the lack of communication between food pantries, donors, and individuals in need hinders their effectiveness, often resulting in wasted trips and unmet needs.
Food pantries are intended to support those who lack access to food by providing affordable and nutritious options. However, the lack of communication between food pantries, donors, and individuals in need hinders their effectiveness, often resulting in wasted trips and unmet needs.
User Research
How do we intervene?
Based on our user research, we found that the satisfaction of our users depends heavily on each other. As a result, we wanted our app to enhance communication between our users.
Food Donor
Food Donor
Sees what food items are available + Recommends items that they need
Make informed donations based on what the food pantry accepts + community needs
Can check items in and out of food pantry, updating inventory
Food Insecure Individual
Food Pantry Worker
Food Insecure Individual
Food Insecure Individual
Food Donor
Food Donor
Food Pantry Worker
Food Pantry Worker
Sees what food items are available + Recommends items that they need
Make informed donations based on what the food pantry accepts + community needs
Can check items in and out of food pantry, updating inventory
Ideation
Ideation
How do we intervene?
How do we intervene?
Based on our user research, we found that the satisfaction of our users depends heavily on each other. As a result, we wanted our app to enhance communication between our users.
Based on our user research, I found that the satisfaction of our users depends heavily on each other. As a result, I wanted our app to enhance communication between our users.
Food Insecure Individual
Food Donor
Food Pantry Worker
Sees what food items are available + Recommends items that they need
Make informed donations based on what the food pantry accepts + community needs
Can check items in and out of food pantry, updating inventory
What is the story here?
Before starting our design, our team built a storyboard to visualize the impact and actions that our users will take.
What is the story here?
Before starting our design, our team built a storyboard to visualize the impact and actions that our users will take.
Before starting our design, our team built a storyboard to visualize the impact and actions that our users will take.
What is the story here?
Storyboard
Low-Fidelity Prototype
Food insecure individual: find food pantry + recommend items they need
Food donor: Know what items are in need by community + see their donation history
Food pantry worker: create profile for pantry + manage inventory by checking items in and out
High-Fidelity Prototype
Manage food pantry inventory with ease
By implementing a digital inventory system that allows food pantry workers to easily add or remove items, a more systematic method of organizing pantry supplies can be established, reducing the need for manual tracking that limits food pantry workers. Furthermore, this digital system facilitates communication between food pantry workers and donors, as they can precisely specify the types of food that the pantry accepts.
Reflections
collaborating with designers requires the ability to compromise when there is a disagreement. Reminding the team that we share the same goal (Creating a seamless user experience for our users) helps us focus our conversations
To accommodate multiple users, consistent communication with all parties involved is crucial. Placing users as the top priority helps avoid unnecessary design elements and ensures a more streamlined and purposeful user experience.
Low-Fidelity Prototype
Food insecure individual: find food pantry + recommend items they need
Food donor: Know what items are in need by community + see their donation history
Food pantry worker: create profile for pantry + manage inventory by checking items in and out
Manage food pantry inventory with ease
By implementing a digital inventory system that allows food pantry workers to easily add or remove items, a more systematic method of organizing pantry supplies can be established, reducing the need for manual tracking that limits food pantry workers. Furthermore, this digital system facilitates communication between food pantry workers and donors, as they can precisely specify the types of food that the pantry accepts.
Stay informed about available items and request what you need
Stay informed about available items and request what you need
Before traveling to the food pantry, food insecure individuals can see ahead of time what items are available- saving time and energy. In addition, if they do not see an item they like, they can recommend a category, which will inform donors.
Make impactful donations
Before buying items to donate, donors can see what items are needed by those who use the food pantry. This leads to more impactful donations that will be used by the community
Make impactful donations
Before buying items to donate, donors can see what items are needed by those who use the food pantry. This leads to more impactful donations that will be used by the community
High-Fidelity Prototype
High-Fidelity Prototype
Reflections
collaborating with designers requires the ability to compromise when there is a disagreement. Reminding the team that we share the same goal (Creating a seamless user experience for our users) helps us focus our conversations
To accommodate multiple users, consistent communication with all parties involved is crucial. Placing users as the top priority helps avoid unnecessary design elements and ensures a more streamlined and purposeful user experience.
collaborating with designers requires the ability to compromise when there is a disagreement. Reminding the team that we share the same goal (Creating a seamless user experience for our users) helps us focus our conversations
To accommodate multiple users, consistent communication with all parties involved is crucial. Placing users as the top priority helps avoid unnecessary design elements and ensures a more streamlined and purposeful user experience.