Healthy Living Just Got That Easy!
EWG app provides users to choose a healthy lifestyle and make informed decisions about food they consume. This project is part of my design innovation group project where we conducted user research, ideate different ideas, prototyped and pitched our final enhancements.
For instance: There are plenty of “Healthy food” options available in the market and some of them contain harmful ingredients which consumers aren’t aware of. EWG is working towards this mission to bridge this gap and spread awareness through its app. Current EWG app does provide an extensive database of different products through its app where users can look for products through barcode scanning and search features. However, we see room for improvement in the overall useability of the app. For instance, It lacks the ability to tailor the experience to individual users, and if a user is looking for a product with potential risks, it does not provide guidance on how to proceed. This leaves people feeling confused and without direction.
The enhancements of the EWG app were determined through user research and interviews. Initially, the app was believed to be primarily used by parents. However, after conducting interviews, it was found that parents were too busy to use the app. As a result, the focus shifted to users with health-related dietary restrictions, such as diabetes or food allergies. Interviews were conducted with users who had these conditions to confirm their interest in learning more about the food they consume.
To find out what users thought, we asked them to download the app, scan or search some foods, and provide feedback. It was apparent very quickly that the app needed improvement. While 85% of users had an initial positive reaction, as they used the app more their impression diminished. The table shows some of the most common reasons including the request for better filters and personalization. .
“Great app but for me, the biggest flaw is the lack of flexible filters for the search feature. If I search for pizza, I get everything that contains pizza in the name including pizza sauces, dough, cheeses, and so on. ” - -Beth
“Please add the option to search specific ingredients in products. In the filter, if I want to search for products that contain or exclude products in the search results that contain soy, that would be helpful.”- Jason
Our customer discovery highlights the desire for an alert and a search feature for specific ingredients. The first consumer asks specifically for a feature to alert them that a product contains an ingredient. One asked for a filter for products that contain nuts, another for soy. It is clear that the top problem for users is a lack of a filter. They want an easier way to determine what ingredients are in the foods they are eating and how to avoid them .
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One of the pain points in the current EWG APP was users getting confused about how the app works and how the rating system works. To address this issue, an onboarding guide was created and the information was rearranged to assist users in navigating the app and the rating system.
It provides an onboarding survey where users can select their diet and health preferences and get results according to it.
We designed a profile screen to allow users to customize their preferences, and also created a favorites page for users to quickly access their preferred items.
The search feature allows users to go in two directions. They can either type and search for a product or scan it and get results, if the product doesn't meet the requirements or has bad ratings, users will get a healthy alternative option as well.
Users can also scan a barcode of a product to see if it is healthy or not.
Received very positive feedback from user testing and found that enhancements are strongly supported by users with special dietary needs.
“The recommendation part is a nice touch. Telling me it’s bad is not enough; I like to know if there is a better one available”. - Richeal
“The survey and search screens make the app easier to use and more user friendly.” - Angela
Through the implementation of these enhancements, users can easily access healthy food choices, which will in turn lead to higher user engagement and retention.