The Challenge
Develop an application that tracks a users environmental impact within a 20-hour total time limit.
Duration & Role
February 2018
Lead UX/UI Designer
The Idea & Target Demographic
FarmShare is a mobile application that allows young college-educated professionals with concerns for their environmental impact to purchase food directly from farms in their area using a community shared agriculture (CSA) program (more info), and have it delivered to their home on a weekly basis. Utilizing a typical mobile shopping checkout interaction model, the purchasing of local food is simplified. Young college-educated professionals were targeted for their willingness to adopt a mobile model and capital to spend on bulk produce orders.
User Research
After coming up with the idea I interviewed eight of my friends who met the targeted demographic. I also conducted background research regarding the ins and outs of CSAs.
The following barriers to entry of a CSA were found to be true:
It is difficult to find all local farms to compare/contrast offerings
The pickup times for CSAs can be inconvenient
The existing CSAs are limiting in their offerings. Participants usually have to supplement with food from the grocery store.
FarmShare removes these barriers by:
Utilizing location services to populate a list of farms in your area based on requested food type
Home delivery dates are selected by the user
The ability to curate a box of food by the user and to view what exactly will be delivered in said box a week in advance
Environmental & Local Economic Impact Report
FarmShare also provides a green report informing the user of the environmental and economic impacts of eating locally. It tracks environmental impact by calculating CO2 and water savings based off of the type of food, growing conditions, and travel distance. The economic impact is determined by the cumulative impact of the user purchasing boxes season after season and how the continuous revenue helps the farmer. Whether that be through the purchase of machinery and tools, or the sponsoring of after-school programs. The user can view their environmental impact on their receipt at checkout. As an incentive, once users reach certain environmental saving milestones, different coupons would become available for use at nearby bakeries, cafes, and restaurants that also work with local farmers.
Conclusion
FarmShare simplifies the farm to table connection. Communication between the farmer and user as well as detailed information about the farm and yields this season are all within the mobile app. That way users know firsthand the positive impact their purchase has on the farm, as well as what to expect in terms of quality and quantity this season. Not only does the user feel good about supporting the local economy and has informed information on their environmental impact, the farmer benefits from a steady income and connection to their customers.
The Design
Prior to final color iterations of the design I went through two rounds of hand drawn wireframes that I presented to one of the potential users for feedback. From there I made various alterations to get the following final product.
