Overview
Novus was a collaborative project undertaken in the Fall of 2021 as part of an interactive media studio course. The concept behind Novus revolves around the development of a refrigerator app equipped with cameras that can be installed in any fridge, aiming to combat food waste. These devices serve the purpose of tracking groceries, managing budgets, and providing personalized recipes for cooking. Novus is designed to assist everyday users who wish to monitor, budget, and plan their meals effectively. The app offers different packages with diverse features, including camera functionality that proves beneficial in various scenarios, ultimately contributing to the reduction of food waste.
Adobe Suite, Figma, Miro, Procreate
The Deliverables
App (prototype), Branding (logo and brand book), and packaging products.
The Team
Karolyna Ibave, Daniella Rodriguez, and Melanie Gonzalez
My Role: Project Manager
• A Figma prototyped fridge app that is compatible with any fridge to help reduce food waste, track your groceries, budget, and find personalized recipes to cook with.
• Planned, modified and executed research techniques, procedures and tests.
• Identified, documented and reported on technical factors impacting interface performance.
• Worked with team to translate paper prototyped app into Figma prototype app
Research
Methodology
Surveys - Interviews - Shadowing users - Product research - UI research
Competitive Analysis
To understand our competitors and be able to create a competitive app that would be useful, strategic and engage our users. We as a team did plentily of research and looked for similar products as ours. We then analyzed them according to their strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities. The direct competitors were Fridge Eye, KitchenPal, SUPERCOOK, and SmartThings. I researched the indirect competitors, which were Samsung Family Hub, LG Instaview, and GE Profile Smart.
User Strategy
The team ideated assumptions in the beginning about our users wants and needs. In order to understand how our users were behaving, we created a plan on how we would approach our users, we began by creating a survey asking our users about their shopping habits when it came to grocery shopping.
Other Strategy
I researched ways Novus can track the users food within the fridge and pantry. Scanning Food with GS1 Application Identifiers which are barcode symbols that encodes certain types of information. The information we can pull is production date, due date, packaging date, best before date, sell by date, expiration date. We can also can see if products are vegan or not and where the product was made (Ex. United States, China, Japan). All this information is tracked by the barcode of the product.
User Interviews/Shadowing
In addition to conducting surveys, our team also conducted interviews and shadowed users in their kitchens and during grocery shopping trips. By observing the grocery shopping, kitchen, and cooking habits of friends and roommates, we gained a more comprehensive understanding of the information gathered from the surveys.
Product Research
To gather additional insights on our indirect competitors, members of our team conducted research visits to Kroger and Lowes. At Kroger, the focus was on exploring their sensor shelves, while at Lowes, the emphasis was on studying the LG fridge. These visits aimed to gain a deeper understanding of the products and how users interacted with both the fridge and our own product.
Ideation
Personas
Journey Map
Design
Visuals
User Interface
Through extensive research, various font types commonly found in recipe books and reading materials were explored. As a result, the primary font selected for Novus is Montserrat. This font is recognized for its clean, modern aesthetic and excellent legibility, catering to a wide range of users. Montserrat offers a diverse range of styles, encompassing nine options ranging from Thin to Black, ensuring flexibility and versatility in design choices. Its high readability makes it a suitable choice for conveying information effectively within the Novus application.
Color
The team aimed for Novus to prioritize sustainability and promote a healthy lifestyle. In terms of color palette, our selection included shades of red, yellow, and green. Red was chosen for its eye-catching quality, commonly utilized by food brands to attract consumers' attention. Green was incorporated to evoke a sense of health and well-being, particularly relevant in food packaging. Yellow, being associated with happiness and optimism, was also included. These were the primary reasons behind our color choices for Novus.
Logo
I worked on the logo and wanted to create a simple icon that represents our app Novus that will be easily identifiable.
Logo Iterations
Final Logo
Slogan
Kitchen Life made easier
Paper Prototype
Low Fidelity
High Fidelity
App Onboarding
During the onboarding process, we personalize the user experience by gathering information about their goals, allergies, dietary preferences, and family size. This enables us to filter recipes specifically tailored to their needs.
Recipe
Novus provides personalized recipes tailored to the user's available food inventory in their fridge and/or pantry. This approach effectively reduces food waste by ensuring that all ingredients are utilized. In cases where the user is unsure of what to cook, the recipe options can be filtered based on the available food, enabling the discovery of new recipes.
Camera
The camera feature empowers users with the ability to view the contents of their fridge and/or pantry at any time throughout the day. By utilizing the attached camera option, users can track their food even when they are away from home, benefiting those who do not rely on grocery lists. This functionality helps users in various ways, including preventing excessive purchases of the same items, strategically using low-stock items, and overall minimizing food waste.
Grocery List
For the users that love to making a list when shopping for groceries, this function helps users put everything they need for their shopping spree.
Brandbook
Packaging
This packaging is specifically designed for the camera option, available to users who choose the camera package within Novus.
