Eat n’ Log - An AI-enhanced food experience journaling app
The idea for Eat n’ Log emerged during the COVID-19 lockdown when I was struck by a personal frustration. I found myself with thousands of food photos in my photo album but realized they failed to capture the full experience or context of the meals. I couldn’t easily recall where I ate, who I was with, or how the food tasted. As someone who values these memories, I knew there had to be a better way to log food experiences in a way that went beyond photos. This became the inspiration for creating Eat n’ Log, an app designed to help users journal their food experiences, complete with contextual information, flavor profiles, and other meaningful details.
As both the product designer and founder, I led the entire process of conceptualizing, designing, and iterating the app. This involved conducting user research, prototyping, usability testing, managing development, and refining the product through various iterations. This portfolio details my journey from identifying the problem to launching the beta version of the app.
Nowadays, our phone "eats" before us. 69 percent of millenials and 50% of Americans report that they snap photos of their food before eating. However, using traditional photo albums and camera rolls to capture food experiences was inefficient and lacked contextual value. My own experience, combined with initial user interviews, revealed that many users faced the same challenge of wanting to document not only the visual aspect of their meals but also their experiences, flavours, and settings.
1st Iteration
User Interviews (Summer 2021)
Adhering to the cardinal UX rule, “you are not your user,” I immediately initiated user research to validate my hypothesis. I conducted user interviews with six people to understand their experience with food journaling or logging meals through photos.
Key Insights from Research:
Many users found that food photos alone were insufficient in capturing the full dining experience.
Users wanted an intuitive way to log flavors, atmospheres, and personal reflections, all in one place.
Participants struggled with organizing food photos and often forgot the details of their dining experiences.
This user feedback confirmed that I wasn’t alone in facing this problem, and it pushed me to move forward with a solution.
Lo-Fi Prototyping
With clear insights from my research, I sketched out several low-fidelity prototypes on paper. These initial sketches focused on creating a straightforward, notebook-like interface that would allow users to easily log their food experiences. I ensured the design would support detailed entries with flavor profiles, descriptions, and meal locations alongside photos.
Mid-Fi Prototyping (Figma)
Based on my lo-fi sketches, I developed mid-fidelity prototypes in Figma. These prototypes focused on simplifying the entry creation flow to make the process intuitive and quick. I prioritized ease of use, assuming users would want to log their entries on the go. The initial prototypes included features such as photo uploads, meal ratings, and fields for adding flavor descriptions.
Usability Testing
Usability Test 1 (Maze)
I conducted my first usability test on Maze, focusing on evaluating the ease of use of the entry creation flow—from taking a food picture to saving the entry with all the necessary details. The results were insightful, revealing significant pain points in the design:
Results:
None of the participants reached the intended end of the user flow.
Users struggled with navigating through the app, and the flow felt unintuitive.
The UI was considered difficult to use, especially in terms of how users entered and saved information.
Redesign After Test 1
Armed with this feedback, I redesigned the entry flow to improve usability. I realized that the information architecture was overly complex, leading users to drop off early in the process. To address this:
Key Changes:
Simplified the navigation by eliminating unnecessary steps.
Redesigned the home screen and streamlined the menu to make it easier for users to create and save entries.
Adjusted the visual hierarchy and increased font sizes for accessibility (from 8px to 16px).
Entrepreneurship Training & Iteration
Entrepreneurship@UBC (2022)
In the fall of 2022, I was accepted into the Entrepreneurship@UBC Venture Founder program, which provided formal training in entrepreneurship. While I received mentorship on business development, I also took on the role of product manager to drive the app’s design and development forward.
Business Strategy:
Conducted over 50 market interviews to validate demand and refine the product-market fit.
Performed market sizing using both top-down and bottom-up approaches to understand the potential user base and market penetration.
Governance & Development:
Incorporated the business, set up a vesting schedule, and handled legalities related to the startup.
Collaborated with developers to establish the core CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) functionalities of the app.
Managed the product backlog, ensuring that development priorities aligned with user feedback and business goals.
2nd Iteration
Prototyping
Second Iteration (Fall 2022)
I created a second iteration of Eat n’ Log based on insights from usability testing and market research. This version focused on addressing the main issues from the first round of testing and making the design more user-friendly and responsive.
Key Improvements:
Redesigned the app with a four-column grid to ensure responsiveness across different devices.
Streamlined the information architecture, removing the home screen and simplifying the menu bar to reduce cognitive load.
Increased font sizes and improved contrast to meet accessibility guidelines, ensuring a broader audience could use the app comfortably.
Usability Test 2 (January 2022)
I conducted a second round of usability testing to evaluate the changes. The results showed marked improvement:
Results:
42.9% of participants successfully navigated the entry creation flow, compared to none in the first test.
Users found the navigation easier but needed more time to understand how to fill out all the fields.
Alpha Development
Leading a Cross-Functional Team
Team Building (February 2023)
In early 2023, I assembled and led a team of 14 UBC students to push the development of the app forward. The team comprised six marketing specialists and seven developers, with me serving as both the UX lead and product manager.
Management & Development:
I ran stand-up meetings and organized weekly sprints to keep the team on track.
Led the development of the responsive React Native app, overseeing the integration of key features.
Managed the team using tools such as Discord, Git, and Notion, ensuring smooth communication and workflow.
Marketing Initiatives:
We launched an Instagram campaign to increase visibility and build an initial user base for testing.
Alpha Testings
Alpha Test Results (Spring 2023):
The alpha version was distributed through Apple Store Connect, and while it showed potential, it was riddled with usability and technical issues:
USE (User Engagement Scale) Score: 3.5 out of 5.
Net Promoter Score (NPS): -38.5, indicating user dissatisfaction.
Users felt that filling in the fields was tedious and likened the process to completing a survey.
The app had several bugs, with entries sometimes not saving, further frustrating users.
Beta Development
Pivot & Redesign
Taking Over Development
After parting ways with the original team due to legal issues, I took it upon myself to learn Flutterflow and Firebase to rebuild the app from scratch. In this new iteration, I incorporated AI to make the entry creation process more engaging and less time-consuming.
Key Innovations:
Auto Location Detection: Integrated with Google Maps API, allowing automatic location logging for meals.
AI-Driven Flavor Suggestions: Utilized ChatGPT’s API to dynamically suggest flavor profiles and meal descriptions.
Personified AI Assistant: Created an AI persona named Roni, a friendly gourmet dog avatar, to guide users through the process and make it more interactive.
Beta Test (Early 2024)
The beta version saw significant improvements, with user engagement and satisfaction levels increasing:
USE Score: Improved by 20%, rising from 3.5 to 4.2.
NPS: Increased from -38.5 to 16.3, a 142% improvement, reaching industry standards for B2C apps.
Users appreciated the improvements in the UI and enjoyed interacting with Roni, which made the app feel more intuitive and enjoyable to use.
Key Takeaways
Building Eat n' Log was a highly educational journey in user-centered design, product management, and business development. I learned how to navigate the balance between user needs, technical challenges, and market demands. The biggest lesson was that successful UX design isn’t just about building a tool but solving a real problem. Through continuous user feedback and iterations, I created an app that not only addressed the pain points of users but also engaged them with innovative, AI-powered features.
