ABOUT THE BRAND
I created a brand called Autoimmune Foodie (AIF) that helps people with dietary restrictions due to health reasons. Individuals within my audience can often feel anxiety and fear when going to new restaurants. This can lead to self-isolation, avoidance, and other social consequences.
Imagine 'Anna' in her early 20's who has a very bad reaction to gluten. It gives her stomachache and will make her feel nauseous hours after ingesting a small amount. She is out with some new friends who suggest a curry place and don't understand when she sounds hesitant about trying it. They wonder why she is being picky and difficult. She just may rather opt out of going than try to uncomfortably push the issue.
Imagine 'Anna' in her early 20's who has a very bad reaction to gluten. It gives her stomachache and will make her feel nauseous hours after ingesting a small amount. She is out with some new friends who suggest a curry place and don't understand when she sounds hesitant about trying it. They wonder why she is being picky and difficult. She just may rather opt out of going than try to uncomfortably push the issue.
TikTok
This channel was created for brand awareness and support. It is meant to foster communication and to provide feedback about the needs of our audience within the growing community.
SCAN TO FOLLOW CHANNEL ON TIK TOK
RESEARCH
I researched current apps that were on the market for this. I found a few specific to gluten free options, one that does ask you for your specific limitations and creates a plan based off of that but it was missing options that applied to autoimmune issues like paleo and low sugar options. The solution I was looking for did not exist and there is a need.
MOOD BOARD
I wanted all three channels to have the same look to create cohesiveness and brand awareness. I chose a color palette with greens to indicate the healthy mindset of the brand, and a feminine color to bring in the personality and style of the Autoimmune Foodie.
Often, designers a given a task to create a prototype quickly without having very clear expectations on how it will work structurally. A designer will create the wireframe, only to have to rework and iterated on it many times before getting it ready to test. I learned a technique that I wanted to test out on one of my projects called Object Oriented UX. This very useful object mapping exercise saved a lot of time in figuring out the details such as: navigation, CTAs, filters, user input, etc. I plan to take more courses from Sophia Prater, who shared this tool at a UX Front conference earlier this year.
OBJECT MAPPING
APP SOLUTION
I decided to create an simple app that starts out by taking the user through a quiz that saves an adjustable filter to their profile. The restaurants that are displayed will be ones that align with the considerations entered by the user all local to Utah Valley, with the intent of growing into more areas.
The home screen has just one main call to action: Let's Eat! A searchable list and map view of local restaurants that have been reviewed by the community and or personally contacted by the Autoimmune Foodie with dietary restrictions in mind. Each restaurant page will feature a personal note from the Autoimmune Foodie and reviews from other users who require similar accommodations. This provides an opportunity for connection, and will also create trust within the reviewing community.
Other options are updating & adding profiles, leaving reviews, messaging community members and saving restaurants in a favorites list to check out later.
The home screen has just one main call to action: Let's Eat! A searchable list and map view of local restaurants that have been reviewed by the community and or personally contacted by the Autoimmune Foodie with dietary restrictions in mind. Each restaurant page will feature a personal note from the Autoimmune Foodie and reviews from other users who require similar accommodations. This provides an opportunity for connection, and will also create trust within the reviewing community.
Other options are updating & adding profiles, leaving reviews, messaging community members and saving restaurants in a favorites list to check out later.
RECIPE BOOK
The third channel is a physical recipe book and downloadable ebook filled with two days worth of recipes and a personal story for users to connect with. Click on the button to view.
CONCLUSION
They remind us often, that we are not our audience…but sometimes we are! I designed this app and brand channel experience with my own pain points in mind because I would have and would still benefit from these media channels. I would love to test my ideas at some point in the larger community. TikTok was created for brand awareness, community involvement, connection and feedback. The app is more local day to day helpful information that fills an empowerment need for my audience and the recipe book is a branch off that empowering the audience in another environment.
Thank you! This was a passion project and produced for a University Web Development and Design Program
DGM 3280|Adaptive Media Experiences.
DGM 3280|Adaptive Media Experiences.