Sometimes it’s hard to find places to buy locally-grown foods. If you are like me, it can be difficult to predict what is available at the farmers market on Saturday since you usually have to show up and browse before you see what’s available. With 147,307 farms selling direct to consumers in the USA from which $8.97 billion is generated every year (2020 USDA Local Foods Marketing Practices Survey), one would think it would be easy to locate a local farm that wants to sell direct-to-consumer but this isn’t always the case.
It is difficult to locate local food events, places where local food is sold, and farms that sell direct-to-consumer.
Create a digital product that connects customers with locally grown food by providing a searchable database of local farms and events, and an easy way to make purchases.
This project was completed over a 6-week period. The first 2-3 weeks were spent conducting research, developing the MVP and project direction, and the remaining 3-4 weeks were spent designing and prototyping the product.
Product Designer
UX Researcher
UX Designer
Just Me
2022
6 Weeks
Passion Project
My initial hypothesis that customers find it difficult to find local food was not disproved. However, something I did not expect that plays a big role in this design, is that customers like to know what products are available before going to the farmer’s market or to the farm stand.
The main issue for farmers is that they find it difficult to effectively communicate with their customers and would like a more convenient way to stay in touch with their customers.
Customers find it frustrating when they don’t know what locally grown foods are available from an on-farm store or event like a farmer’s market
Customers don’t like to search for individual farm information online and on social media
Customers are frustrated when they must travel to multiple locations, long distances, or at varying times to purchase locally-grown food
Farmers would like an easier way to update customers about any changes to their schedule, product availability, orders, new products, etc.
Farmers find it difficult to manage their product supply as demand for their products can be variable
The app will connect customers and farmers by equipping customers with an interactive map, a listing of local farms and sales locations, and the ability to purchase within the app.
Local food producers can communicate with customers through the app and create and update inventory through notifications and messages.
The initial design did not include a “location” on the home screen. Users found this confusing as they did not know where “local” was. Adding a dropdown list of locations at the top of the home page increased clarity for users. It also allowed users to have multiple areas from which they could view results. This would be a great feature for customers who are looking for local food events while they are traveling on vacation, or in other areas they frequent.
The original design for the “messages” page had the potential to cause confusion for users as the design was not a familiar layout and had an unclear CTA (call-to-action). I added two tabs at the top of the page, one tab for managing direct messages and the other for managing push notifications. This seemed to clear up the confusion and users seemed to understand this page better.
After going through many (20 or so) different possible names for this product I chose “Stone’s Throw” as it accurately described the essence of the brand; finding food that is grown nearby. It was perfect for this product and concept as it has undertones of country life and is also a measurement of proximity. I came up with the tagline “Local food is just a Stone’s Throw away.”
The wordmark is made using the font MultiDisplay as a base. MultiDisplay is a sans-serif font with a small amount of flare that appeals to a wide audience.
The charismatic yellow beet in the logo is representative of something you might purchase from a local farm and the white line leading to the beet is the path one might take while finding local food and farms.
Open Sans was chosen as the font for the product as it has a more modern, clean appearance, and has high readability at different type-scale and weights.
Since this is a photograph-heavy design that showcases products and farms I wanted a color palette that would complement the natural color of foods and the bucolic feelings that are often associated with local food. The green and off-white primary colors emulate nature and sunlight.
The secondary colors also echo the natural feel of the primary colors and complement the colors of food.
Flatart Icons and IOS16 icon packs were used from Icons8.com for the design. Flatart Icons were used for the navigation bar and in the quick-category section on the home page and IOS16 icons were used elsewhere throughout the product.
The home screen was meant to showcase locally available products, farms, and events such as farmer’s markets by displaying suggested content based on the user's purchase and viewing history. The user can easily select a product they find interest in, or they can search for specific foods they are looking for. Search results can easily be sorted and viewed in a map or list format.
Products, farms, and events are arranged to direct customers toward adding a product to the cart. Farm profiles display a short description of the farm, reviews from other customers, recent notifications from the farm, and products offered.
Customers add a product to their cart either through the product profile or through one of the product cards on the home or search pages. Once a product is added, customers choose a pickup or delivery option and proceed with payment. The app sends updates about the order through push notifications, alerting the customer when the order is ready for pickup.
When a customer favorites a farm or event, the farm or event appears on the favorites page. By doing so, customers are subscribing to push notifications the farm or event sends out. This way, farms are able to contact many customers interested in their products.
Farmers can communicate with customers through direct messages and through push notifications. Push notifications are only sent to customers who have favorited the farm and have elected to receive notifications from the farm.
Orders and inventory are managed through the home page and the inventory pages. Farmers can quickly fulfill orders and update inventory.
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