graduate school · UI / UX DESIGN

Farmlinker - improving the food supply chain

ABOUT THIS PROJECT
Farmlinker is a mobile app UI/UX design project to address food insecurity in the community.

MY ROLE WAS
- 70% of UI Design
- 60% of UX Strategy & Solution
- 60% of Ideation
- 50% of Research
tool
- Figma
- Adobe Illustrator
I WORKED WITH
- Siddhi Sakhare
YEAR
- JAN 2023 ~ APRIL 2023
CLASS
- IXD-606-UX RESEARCH

Problem Statement

In a conventional food supply chain, Brokers intervene between consumers and farmers through numerous distribution steps, leading to food insecurity by increasing economic, environmental, and nutritional problems. Therefore, we need to reduce the steps in the food distribution process and motivate local stakeholders to participate in eco-friendly activities within the local food community to tackle food insecurity.
How might we reduce the food distribution process and motivate local stakeholders to tackle food insecurity?

Solution

1) Addressing food insecurity in communities by connecting local farmers, consumers, and drivers to reduce traditional distribution steps.

2) Motivating participants to voluntarily undertake eco-friendly actions by offering them suitable benefits.

0. join farmliker commuity

select your role

Upon initial access to Farmlinker, users can assume one of three roles: Farmer, Consumer, or Driver.

Once users join the farm linker community, Local farmers and consumers can directly trade farmers’ agricultural products And that products can be delivered by local drivers.
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ranking system
system

The more each stakeholder engages in eco-friendly activities within the Farmlinker system, the higher their ranking and the more benefits (fee discounts, sales, etc.) they can receive from Farmlinker. This is to motivate users to engage in eco-friendly activities voluntarily.

1. local farmers

01) Eco-Friendly Direct Sales

Farmers can sell eco-friendly produce directly to consumers without any intermediaries.
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✅ Reducing food waste
✅ Helping local community

02) Live Streaming Sales

Once certified as an eco-friendly farm, farmers can sell products via live streaming.
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✅ Helping farmers achieve economic independence

03) Donation

Local farmers can donate surplus produce to the local community.
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✅ Reducing food waste
✅ Helping local community

2. local consumers

01)  Eco-Friendly Direct Buy

Consumers can directly purchase eco-friendly
agricultural products from local farmers

✅ Ensuring Nutritional value
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02) recycling packages

Local consumers can return packages in
good condition to the farm.
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✅ Reducing packaging waste
✅ Cutting costs by recycling package
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3. local drivers

01) delivery mode

Local drivers deliver eco-friendly produce from
farmers to consumers.
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✅ Revitalize food supply chains

02) Recycle Mode

Local drivers can collect farm packaging
and return it to the farm.
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✅ Reducing waste generated by new packaging

4. ranking system

The more each stakeholder engages in eco-friendly activities within the Farmlinker system, the higher their ranking and the more benefits (fee discounts, sales, etc.) they can receive from Farmlinker. This is to motivate users to engage in eco-friendly activities voluntarily.

ranking system
system

The more each stakeholder engages in eco-friendly activities within the Farmlinker system, the higher their ranking and the more benefits (fee discounts, sales, etc.) they can receive from Farmlinker. This is to motivate users to engage in eco-friendly activities voluntarily.

01) Frarmer's ranking

The more a farmer sells eco-friendly produce and engages in recycling, the higher their ranking goes.
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02) Consumer's ranking

The more consumers purchase eco-friendly produce and apply for package recycling, the higher their ranking goes.
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03) Driver's ranking

The more a driver delivers and completes recycling, the higher their ranking goes.
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Design process: how i got to the solution

1. DISCOVER

01. research

Secondary research shows that existing food supply chains pose numerous obstacles to efficient, direct connections between farmers and consumers and have negative environmental impacts.

Specifically, traditional food systems are exerting dominance in the market, creating pressure on small to medium-sized farms and local economies.
Secondary Research
Opportunity hypothesis

2. DEFINE

01. persona

Based on finding and insight from research, I created a provisional persona representing potential stakeholders in the local food supply chain. This helped me understand the needs, desire, behaviors, and goals of potential Farmlink users.

02. Problem STatement

To clarify the problems faced by personas in the local food supply chain and set the direction for solutions, we created a problem statement.
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In a conventional food supply chain, Brokers intervene between consumers and farmers through numerous distribution steps, leading to food insecurity by increasing economic, environmental, and nutritional problems. Therefore, we need to reduce the steps in the food distribution process and motivate local stakeholders to participate in eco-friendly activities within the local food community to tackle food insecurity.

3. DEVELOP

ideation

After defining the problem of food insecurity within local food communities, I began the ideation process for a solution with my team member.
01. MIND MAP
02. PROCESS MAP
03. CARD SORTING
04. I.A
05. WIREFRAME

I collaborated with my team members to explore ideas for solving the problem we need to address, deriving keywords in the process. Among many ideas, we chose a mobile platform that can connect and motivate farmers, consumers, and driver.

I prepared 40 cards detailing the service's key content based on the flow and needs identified in the process map, and had 5 participants categorize them in order of importance. Through this process, I was able to understand which information is important to each stakeholder (farmers, consumers, drivers) and how to structure and group content accordingly.

I prepared 40 cards detailing the service's key content based on the flow and needs identified in the process map, and had 5 participants categorize them in order of importance. Through this process, I was able to understand which information is important to each stakeholder (farmers, consumers, drivers) and how to structure and group content accordingly.

[Click here for the complete Information Architecture]

Based on the card sorting exercise, I designed the information architecture to ensure users can efficiently find the information they need. Particularly, I structured the information architecture to place the most important information and content on the first page.

Afterwards, in the wireframe stage, I designed wireframes for each target user, farmers, consumers, and driver apps, focusing on usability and functionality rather than aesthetics.

05. styleguide

Based on the previous process, I created a style guide. This style guide helps keep Farmlink visually consistent by consistently using elements.

06. Usability testing

I gave the player a task and tested the prototype to see efficiency and intuitiveness of the process for farmers to easily register their organic crops.

4. FINAL RESULT

Final feedback

The final feedback obtained from the class and professor through the final presentation is as follows.
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1️⃣ The overall design seems to align well with our desired direction.
2️⃣ We reasonably solved the labor intensive problems.

final prototyping

What I've learned

The lesson I learned from this project was how to systematically navigate the design process, pinpoint problems, and devise solutions for target users.
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FINAL DESIGN

GREEN CERTIFICATION

Using the data and insights gathered from the previous steps, I designed the optimal solution for the user. I believe that my proposed design efficiently solves the user's problems.

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