A Budget-Oriented Meal Planning App
This is a project I created in Spring 2023 for a design final. My goal was to create the interface for a meal planning app. More specifically, a meal planning app for college students who just moved out and are on a budget. Ideally, this app would work along with the spontaneity of a college student's lifestyle, while allowing them to view costs at different grocery stores, so that all of their nutrition needs are all in one place.
Budget Oriented
Price Filters
Easy To Use
Practical
Rough
Sketches
When I began drafting the screens, I was unintentionally focused on the design elements more than I was focused on my niche, budget meal planning. The rough sketches were helpful in the beginning, but later in my process I began to realize that I wasn't focused on the user needs.
Home Page Directory
First section allows you to search for recipes or view by categories.
There is no set minimum or maximum for number of meals to follow
Users can select their allergens and have the option to hide recipes with those ingredients
Once the user has selected their desired meals, they will appear in the horizontal scroll bar
When recipes are added to plan, ingredients will automatically be added to a preview menu
Budget Oriented Features
Users can see their nearest grocery stores and compare prices with the $$$$ rating
Detailed view of grocery list and prices at their selected stor
Recipe Book
All recipes come with the app at a one time small fee
When a recipe is clicked, user can read the method and ingredients list
The 3 dot button opens a drawer that allows them to add the recipe to their plan
What I learned
This was the first project that I created a full range of mockups for, along with a functioning prototype. I quickly learned that the most important part of this process was to seek out as much feedback as possible. My professor and classmates aided in that process a lot, and I began to become less protective of my designs, and more open to new ideas and elements.
This project solidified my passion for app design, and creating user-friendly apps. I plan to take what I learned about feedback loops into all of my future design projects and endeavors.