Challenges

This was my first deep dive into UX design, and it pushed me to think critically about how people interact with digital products. I had to balance intuitive design with practical user needs, ensuring Pantry Raid was both easy to use and genuinely helpful.

A well-defined problem statement is the foundation of any successful design project. It keeps the focus on real user needs, guiding decisions and ensuring the final product solves the right problem effectively.

Here's what I came up with:

Working professionals, with some cooking experience, need a way to expedite the meal planning and creation process because they want to balance time spent inside and out of the kitchen.

Talking directly with users was key to shaping Pantry Raid’s design. I conducted four interviews with five participants—a couple with toddlers, a married individual without kids, and a single person—to get a broad perspective on meal planning habits and challenges.

I organized my notes into an affinity map, grouping similar responses to uncover patterns. The biggest pain point? Meal planning takes too much time. But the benefits were clear: less stress, healthier eating, and saving money. Most participants relied on multiple tools to plan meals, highlighting the need for a more streamlined solution. These insights directly shaped my design decisions, ensuring Pantry Raid addressed real user needs.

Interview Results – Affinity Mapping

The interviews revealed key insights: meal planning is time-consuming, but it ultimately reduces stress, saves money, and promotes healthier eating. Most participants—including a married couple with toddlers—relied on multiple tools to plan their meals. To uncover patterns, I organized all the responses into an affinity map, which shaped my design decisions throughout the course. These findings directly influenced the user experience, ensuring the final product addressed real frustrations and needs.

Meet Short Paul, the persona representing busy working professionals—the core audience for my design. Creating this persona kept the focus on real user needs, ensuring the final product was practical and relevant. By grounding design decisions in Paul’s challenges and goals, I stayed aligned with what truly mattered to users.

The initial user flow set the foundation for my prototype, and while the final design evolved, the core ideas remained. Research introduced new insights that refined navigation, making it more seamless and intuitive. My focus was on efficiency—allowing users to move between features effortlessly and act on ideas without unnecessary steps. This approach ensured a smoother, more user-friendly experience.

The initial user flow set the foundation for my prototype, and while the final design evolved, the core ideas remained. Research introduced new insights that refined navigation, making it more seamless and intuitive. My focus was on efficiency—allowing users to move between features effortlessly and act on ideas without unnecessary steps. This approach ensured a smoother, more user-friendly experience.

Turning my sketches into digital wireframes in Figma was a smooth transition. This was my first time using Figma, but having recently started learning Adobe XD, I quickly adapted. While I liked Adobe XD, Figma felt more intuitive, making it easier to bring my ideas to life and refine the design efficiently.

Through multiple unmoderated user tests, I refined my prototype into a fully functional design. Prototyping was one of the most rewarding parts of the process—seeing the screens come to life with working interactions felt incredibly satisfying.

User testing provided valuable insights. Overall, navigation felt intuitive, with most misclicks occurring when users were simply exploring the app. Based on feedback, I made small but impactful adjustments, like changing expiration dates in the pantry to a countdown format and adding a favorites function for recipes.

There were features I envisioned for a final product, such as a smart shopping list that automatically removes pantry staples and an adjustable serving size option. While I couldn’t illustrate them concisely in this version, they remain key considerations for future iterations.

This class strengthened my UX design skills, giving me the structure to refine my process and build on what I had already taught myself. It deepened my understanding of design and production workflows, and I’m excited to keep pushing my skills even further.