Breadmania Case Study
Search for gluten-free bread in your area & join an exciting community
What is it?
“BreadMania is an app. It is a new and sustainable solution to find or share delicious, homemade, gluten-free bread in your area. BreadMania creates an exciting community for someone who is gluten intolerant. Now you finally have a tool to interact with others and share your personal story gluten-free.“
PROBLEM
Lack of a good quality gluten-free bread in suburban areas.
It feels very isolated being restricted by a specific nutrition plan or diet.
SOLUTION
Support gluten intolerant people in suburban areas with fresh and affordable gluten-free bread.
Create an inclusive environment where residents can interact with each other and share their personal stories being gluten intolerant.
MY RESPONSIBILITIES
This project for a part of my study course which I followed in the California Institute of Arts between 2018 and 2019. I was the only participant of this project and I tested it with other users (my classmates). I did a full UX cycle starting from the research and finished high-fidelity prototypes as well as a presentation of the final result to my audience.
Persona
4 Potential Customer Types
HEALTH
This group include gluten intolerant users with serious reaction and allergy on gluten. They are very conscious about their health condition, often collaborating with a doctor or a nutritionist to improve their diet.
SOCIAL
This group consists of users willing to share the recipes, housewives, elderly people willing to make new contacts in the local area. Usually, users of this group have lots of free time and they would like to spend it on something good.
LIFESTYLE
This group of users likes everything biological, vegetarian and vegan related. They have a relatively good income and are able to afford often expensive supplements and ‘green’ products. In their free time, they like to exercise, cook, read and hike.
ART PRACTICE
This group includes art students, art researchers and professional artists. They study the influence of sharing practice as a form of art (relational aesthetics).
Competitor Analysis - 3 Existing Apps
FIND ME GF
The user is able to find nearby gluten-free places to eat out. Plus: an ability to give ranking and leave feedback. Minus: doesn’t work without signing in, too much advertisement.
GLUTEN-FREE
Well-illustrated app with beautiful photography and a nice and easy to navigate menu. However, it works only with a paid subscription.
SCHAR
Clear menu, nice colours and many functions, but looks a bit overloaded with the information.
User Flowchart
I have learned new ways I can simplify the structure of an app.
I realised that searching for a type of bread is enough for the section 'search for'.
Content Map
Designing a content map for BreadMania App I constructed 3 main sections:
Search for
Bake & Share
Community
Paper Prototypes
Designing paper prototypes I had a chance to test them with the users.
After receiving a feedback:
I simplified the structure in the section ‘search for’.
I found out more possibilities for the section 'community' such as 'workshops'.
Site Map
After a user feedback on this early stage I learned to be flexible and open to new design solutions.
Wireframes
While working on wireframes I discovered the most convenient structure for this app. I placed permanent menu consisted of 3 main sections at the bottom of every screen.
UI Design
Moodboard
I have focused on 'function first' design.
I was inspired by positive, fun, easy to understand elements and bright colours.
My moodboard consists of some vintage and traditional images.
Challenges & User Testing
I realised that gluten free product is not just a hype or a trend. For gluten intolerant people it is a serious health condition. I have learned that an idea of sharing a homemade bread is not for every- one. After some of the tests one user mentioned that even a micro amount of gluten can cause severe health reactions.
For example, clean dishes used for cooking gluten free bread may contain remained micro parti- cles of gluten from previous food. If a person with a celiac disease eats from these dishes, he/she may get a health reaction even if the food itself doesn't contain any gluten.
I consider adding extra screen which informs a user about this possible danger. I have an idea to use a chatbot which will collect all the necessary information about the user and warn him/her before proceeding with 3 main menu options.
Promote this product in an actual community. I have a plan to apply for funding from a local gov- ernment to promote BreadMania app in the area within a content of building a community. Some of the steps have been made to present an app such as video recording and editing, final pres- entation, collecting more feedback, collaborating with local artists, promoting an app online.
Community
I find it important to create the right community of like-minded people as well as building a sustainable business platform.
Future Plan
Keep going with testing an app and collect more feedback from the users.
I would like to promote BreadMania app to the local government in Gieten, the Netherlands.
Create a business plan.