Project Goals
This project was developed in response to a brief set by the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) for their Student Design Awards competition.
I chose the brief Tomorrow's Menu, which challenged participants to reimagine the future of food. My focus was on promoting new relationships with food that are more secure, regenerative, and culturally relevant.
Research
In order to promote new relationships with food, I first needed to understand our current relationship with it. To do this, I conducted primary research through surveys and ethnographic methods, examining how we interact with food from economic, technological, social, political, environmental, and geographical perspectives.
This research also allowed me to develop user personas, helping me better understand and design for my target audience.
Key Insights
From this research, two key insights stood out to me:
The significant environmental impact of livestock farming
The difficulty people face in changing their eating habits, even when they’re motivated to do so
I concluded that while meat is not a sustainable long-term source of protein, many people continue to rely on it out of familiarity and habit. This insight informed the development of a concept for an app designed to help users explore and adopt more varied, sustainable dietary choices in an engaging and supportive way.
Visual Research
Drawing on principles of emotional design and gamification, I explored ad campaigns that successfully shifted public perceptions around food. These often used strategies like personifying food items and adopting an informal, down-to-earth tone of voice to connect with audiences on a more personal level.
Iteration
From there, I began iterating on a visual identity for the app. I created original illustrations, including a character designed to help gamify the user experience and encourage engagement. Drawing from my visual research, I also incorporated playful, approachable copy to reinforce the app’s friendly and motivating tone.
Final Outcome
The final outcome of this project was a mobile app that incentivises users to diversify their diets by gamifying their food choices. At the core of the app is a personal avatar whose mood and wellbeing reflect the user's dietary habits, particularly their decision to eat meat or choose alternative protein sources.
Users are encouraged to build and maintain streaks of meatless days, with the avatar providing motivation and feedback along the way. The app also includes a menu of protein-rich alternatives and highlights the real-world impact of the user's choices through clear, data-driven statistics.
