Case Study
Reimagined a concept kitchen platform with the aim to improve accessibility to home cooked healthy eating through delivery.
Duration
Jun 2024 - Aug 2024
Main Task
Identifying a product strategy to penetrate the competitive food market.
Hats Worn
Branding
UX/UI Designer
UX Research
Graphic Design
Product Strategy
Tools
Figma
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
About
Novus is a decentralized food marketplace that bridges the gap between time-constrained individuals seeking authentic, home-cooked ethnic meals and small businesses or home cooks looking to monetize their culinary skills. The platform reimagines how busy professionals and families access quality, culturally diverse food by tapping into an underutilized network of talented home cooks within their communities.
The Brief
Create a trusted, accessible platform that connects local home cooks with consumers in their community while preserving and celebrating culinary diversity by enabling home cooks to share authentic ethnic dishes. as a two sided marketplace, lower barriers to entry for food entrepreneurs while ensuring food safety and quality standards.
“In 2023, spending at food-away-from-home establishments accounted for 58.5% of total food spending—the highest share since the data series began in the 1930s.”
— USDA Economic Research Service, Food Expenditure Series (2024)
“In 2023, spending at food-away-from-home establishments accounted for 58.5% of total food spending—the highest share since the data series began in the 1930s.”
— USDA Economic Research Service, Food Expenditure Series (2024)
The Design Process
The Roadmap at a Glance
Research Takeaways
Painpoints Identified
1
Limited nutritional information
on pdf menus and 3rd party ordering sites, preventing informed decision making
1
Limited nutritional information
on pdf menus and 3rd party ordering sites, preventing informed decision making
1
Limited nutritional information
on pdf menus and 3rd party ordering sites, preventing informed decision making
2
lack of access to ethnically diverse meal choices.
meal options available are usually generic well-known ethnic options.
2
lack of access to ethnically diverse meal choices.
meal options available are usually generic well-known ethnic options.
2
lack of access to ethnically diverse meal choices.
meal options available are usually generic well-known ethnic options.
3
lack of accessibility
Options such as text to speech for those with disabilities, causing some to refrain from ordering at all
3
lack of accessibility
Options such as text to speech for those with disabilities, causing some to refrain from ordering at all
3
lack of accessibility
Options such as text to speech for those with disabilities, causing some to refrain from ordering at all
4
Lack of option to order home-cooked meals in advance
unless it’s a frozen food company and weekly delivery
4
Lack of option to order home-cooked meals in advance
unless it’s a frozen food company and weekly delivery
4
Lack of option to order home-cooked meals in advance
unless it’s a frozen food company and weekly delivery
Humanizing Research Findings
Humanizing Research Findings
User Persona
Ilya Khan
Age: 28
Education: Mechanical Engineering ddddddiiidi Graduate
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Family: Unmarried, 1 Cat
Occupation: Automation Engineer at oooooooooo Large Corporation
“My priorities are my career goals right now, my personal lifestyle comes second, as long as I can eat healthy without stressing about it, I'm not worried about it.”
“My priorities are my career goals right now, my personal lifestyle comes second, as long as I can eat healthy without stressing about it, I'm not worried about it.”
Bio
Iliya Khan is a busy automation engineer with dyslexia and dietary restrictions who is trying to efficiently eat healthier at work to lose weight so he can be a better employee while maintaining his health to get back into the dating scene.
Iliya Khan is a busy automation engineer with dyslexia and dietary restrictions who is trying to efficiently eat healthier at work to lose weight so he can be a better employee while maintaining his health to get back into the dating scene.
Goals
Be efficient in daily work and decide what to eat quickly and eat well during lunch break
Eat healthier to meet fitness goals, to get back in the dating scene
be mindful of his dietary restrictions by avoiding mistakes during ordering due to dyslexia
Be efficient in daily work and decide what to eat quickly and eat well during lunch break
Eat healthier to meet fitness goals, to get back in the dating scene
be mindful of his dietary restrictions by avoiding mistakes during ordering due to dyslexia
Frustrations
Having to read through complicated lunch menus and not being able to find a good option quickly.
“I could save time if the website would just show and save my dietary preferences for future orders.”
“dietary restrictions greatly affect my health; I avoid ordering online when menus aren’t legible as I could be compromising my health
Having to read through complicated lunch menus and not being able to find a good option quickly.
“I could save time if the website would just show and save my dietary preferences for future orders.”
“dietary restrictions greatly affect my health; I avoid ordering online when menus aren’t legible as I could be compromising my health
Summary
Iliya is extremely busy with work these days but is trying to build a healthier lifestyle as much as his career permits as he is on the lookout to start dating again. His work is extremely demanding so it has been increasingly difficult for him to meal-prep for work, and as a solo immigrant, he also feels extremely homesick, missing his moms cooking, but he is also weary of ordering out because his dyslexia makes it difficult to navigate orders. His strict dietary restrictions make the possible ordering of the wrong food due to his dyslexia life-threatening.
Iliya is extremely busy with work these days but is trying to build a healthier lifestyle as much as his career permits as he is on the lookout to start dating again. His work is extremely demanding so it has been increasingly difficult for him to meal-prep for work, and as a solo immigrant, he also feels extremely homesick, missing his moms cooking, but he is also weary of ordering out because his dyslexia makes it difficult to navigate orders. His strict dietary restrictions make the possible ordering of the wrong food due to his dyslexia life-threatening.
Hypothesis Statement
We believe that providing Iliya with an accessible ordering experience—including screen reader support, visual food imagery, and transparent nutritional information, will enable him to efficiently select meals that support his health and fitness goals. We will know this is true when Iliya completes orders faster, reports higher confidence in his food choices, and expresses a sense of community connection through supporting local home cooks.
We believe that providing Iliya with an accessible ordering experience—including screen reader support, visual food imagery, and transparent nutritional information, will enable him to efficiently select meals that support his health and fitness goals. We will know this is true when Iliya completes orders faster, reports higher confidence in his food choices, and expresses a sense of community connection through supporting local home cooks.
Ideation Overview
we crafted a how might we statement to identify how to narrow down the most effective solution for Iliya.
"How might we make authentic, home-cooked meals as accessible and efficient to order as fast food, without compromising health, transparency, or community connection?
"How might we make authentic, home-cooked meals as accessible and efficient to order as fast food, without compromising health, transparency, or community connection?
Our How Might We Statement guides us from divergence to direction; using 2 rounds of timed brainstorming to crazy 8s, generating a wide range of concepts, practicing critical thinking pushed through rapid ideation.
Our How Might We Statement guides us from divergence to direction; using 2 rounds of timed brainstorming to crazy 8s, generating a wide range of concepts, practicing critical thinking pushed through rapid ideation.
User Journey Map
User Flow
The user journey map was continued to inform decision making for the user flow diagram.
Typography
In this design, emphasis is given to visible accessibility for all, keeping simple, clean typography throughout the app.
In this design, emphasis is given to visible accessibility for all, keeping simple, clean typography throughout the app.
Colors
#FF9900
#FFEDD9
#FF8A00
#2B2B2B
#82832C
Manrope
Aa
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
123456789
Heading 1
Heading 2
Sub-Heading
Sub-Heading 2
Paragraph
Bold
Bold
Medium
Extra Bold
Medium
32 px
16 px
14 px
14 px
12 px
Colors
#FF9900
#FF9900
#FFEDD9
#FFEDD9
#FF8A00
#FF8A00
#2B2B2B
#2B2B2B
#82832C
#82832C
Logo Design
The Wireframes
The Wireframes
The Wireframes
The first draft prototyped for usability testing
Low Fidelity Wireframes
High-Fidelity Wireframes
High-Fidelity Wireframes
Final Design Breakdown
Digital Mockup
Onboarding
Usability Testing Results
(Explained through Iterations)
Usability Testing Results
(Explained through Iterations)
"did the Item add to cart?"
"did the Item add to cart?"
Previously
Users were all confused about confirmation of items added to cart, check out confirmation due to lack of notification/ visibility of system status, doubting whether the action they had taken was registered in system
Users were all confused about confirmation of items added to cart, check out confirmation due to lack of notification/ visibility of system status, doubting whether the action they had taken was registered in system
Solution
Overlay confirming action taken to ensure clarification of choices made by user in real time
Overlay confirming action taken to ensure clarification of choices made by user in real time
Key Impacts
Key Impacts
Easy support to small businesses
Easy support to small businesses
Easy support to small businesses
providing small business owners and home cooks with the opportunity to gain exposure in the market, while providing home cooked meals to an increasing globalized community of immigrants in the west.
providing small business owners and home cooks with the opportunity to gain exposure in the market, while providing home cooked meals to an increasing globalized community of immigrants in the west.
Awareness on nutritional value
Awareness on nutritional value
Awareness on nutritional value
fresh meals are produced with complete transparency of calories and nutritional breakdown to spread awareness about healthy eating
fresh meals are produced with complete transparency of calories and nutritional breakdown to spread awareness about healthy eating
virtual cooking involvement
virtual cooking involvement
virtual cooking involvement
by being able to customize all aspects of meals,, users can participate in higher involvement if they choose of their meals, creating just the taste and nutritional value they desire.
by being able to customize all aspects of meals,, users can participate in higher involvement if they choose of their meals, creating just the taste and nutritional value they desire.
Personal Takeaways
Personal Takeaways
Making Consistent design choices for intuitive flow
Making Consistent design choices for intuitive flow
When users like Iliya are navigating under time pressure, every inconsistency creates friction. I learned that repeating visual patterns, predictable interactions, and uniform hierarchy allows users to focus on their goal—not on figuring out the interface.
When users like Iliya are navigating under time pressure, every inconsistency creates friction. I learned that repeating visual patterns, predictable interactions, and uniform hierarchy allows users to focus on their goal—not on figuring out the interface.
Transparancy and simplicity build trust
Transparancy and simplicity build trust
For users making health-conscious decisions, hidden information feels like a barrier. By surfacing nutritional details upfront and keeping the interface uncluttered, I learned that clarity becomes a form of care—it tells users we respect their needs and have nothing to hide.
For users making health-conscious decisions, hidden information feels like a barrier. By surfacing nutritional details upfront and keeping the interface uncluttered, I learned that clarity becomes a form of care—it tells users we respect their needs and have nothing to hide.
Stay connected
Crafted with creativity and passion. Let’s stay connected reach out anytime!
Stay connected®
Crafted with creativity and passion. Let’s stay connected reach out anytime!
Copyright © Tala Bahadori 2025
Stay connected®
Crafted with creativity and passion. Let’s stay connected reach out anytime!
Copyright © Tala Bahadori 2025