Mooli
Timeline
January – May, 2025 (5 months)
School
Parsons School of Design
Program
Masters Communication Design
Course
Major Studio 2
Overview
I noticed my parents letting food from their CSA share go to waste. Unfamiliar vegetables would often end up in the compost. I wanted to create an app that helps people solve that issue. How can we cook with unfamiliar produce? And, how do we discover what is growing locally in our viciinity?
Solution
For this project, we went through a regimented process to create a product, from problem discovery to high-fidelity prototypes. We interviewed, sketched, tested, and designed apps around the topic of our choosing. I found a way to create an app that allows people to discover local food vendors, educate themselves on the produce, and how they can use it.
Problem
People aren't aware of what produce is grown locally, and they aren't sure of how to cook with it once they have it.
Research Questions
- How can we help people find local produce in their area?
- How can we help people figure out what to cook with local and seasonal produce?
- How can we inform people about what is seasonal and what is local?
- How can we get people more involved with their local food system through consumerism, waste, and awareness?
Goals
- Find local produce at farmers’ markets and grocery stores (Community)
- Find recipes by taking pictures of produce (AI)
- Understand the food cycle from production to waste (Educational)
User Interviews
Matt Yee
Private Chef, Specializes in Local Food, Based in NYC
“I will go to the farmers market and pretend money is not an option. The produce is worth it, tastes better, and it's more nutritious. I'm getting all my vitamins I need versus cabbage from Chinatown.”
Paul Seo
Investment Banker, Hates Grocery Shopping, Based in NYC
“Farmers’ markets pop up randomly, and I don’t know the timing. It's usually when I'm not prepared to shop.”
Insight
People believe local food is higher quality but struggle to find it.
How Might We
Provide more information about where to buy local food, and the background of the actual food?
Linda Farnham
Manager of Finance, CSA Shareholder, Based in Rural MA
“With the CSA, I don’t always use the produce that I get because it’s not what I typically eat. I would like to be better about eating what is in season.”
Insight
People want easier ways to meal prep, build grocery lists, and avoid food waste. They also need quick shopping and cooking solutions, especially when using unfamiliar seasonal produce.
How Might We
Provide a way for people to plan their meals, create a grocery list, and use what is in their fridge, all in one place?
Devansh Khajanchi
Design Student, Regimented Meal Planner, Based in NYC
“Missing ingredients is a big problem. Even if I don't have one ingredient, I will not cook that recipe unless I know it's not going to affect it at all. Farmers’ markets are also super expensive.”
Insight
People choose where to shop based on proximity, food type, convenience, and price. Farmers’ markets are often seen as too expensive and limited.
How Might We
Provide more local options to people that are convenient, within their price range, and ensure optionality?
Ideation
Finding Recipes
Allow people to search for recipes based on what they have in their fridge. They can then find recipes, and add the remaining ingredients to their grocery list.
Take a Photo
Allow people to take a photo of their fridge or an unknown vegetable to provide recipes and shopping lists.
Map
This map will show food vendors in the area that sell local produce. Based on people’s grocery lists, it will show them what they can buy there.
Low-Fidelity
Flow 1
Scan Unfamiliar Produce
I began by designing the sign-up flow, since onboarding was the primary objective of this project. Starting here also allowed me to uncover additional features the app needed to support a meaningful user experience. I incorporated insights from my user interviews directly into this flow — those conversations revealed valuable perspectives on what people look for in social and event-based apps, from connection-driven design to seamless discovery.
Flow 2
Build Lists Through Recipes
At this stage, I began building out the event cards, event landing page, filtering system, and map view. My goal was to make it easy for users to explore events happening right in their local area. This section became the core discovery experience — where people could browse nearby happenings and see which of their neighbors were attending.
Flow 3
Find Recipes Based on What's In Season
Users can access the chat feature directly from the event pages. Once on an event page, they can join a group chat with other attendees to connect before or after the event. The avatars within the chat are interactive, allowing users to engage with one another in a more dynamic and playful way.
Testing
Flow 1
Take Stock
During the testing phase, I conducted usability sessions with five participants to observe how they interacted with and navigated the app. One of the initial features allowed users to catalog the contents of their fridge, inspired by frequent mentions of food waste during early interviews. However, through testing and reflection, I realized this feature strayed from the app’s core purpose—helping users discover local produce and learn how to use it. In response, I replaced it with a feature that lets users take a photo of local produce to identify it and explore ways to cook with it.
Flow 2
Recipe Swipe
This was another feature that evolved significantly during testing. Originally, users could swipe through different recipes—an interaction that, while engaging, began to drift from the app’s main focus. To maintain clarity and purpose, I removed this feature and instead introduced a way for users to discover recipes by ingredient. The swiping concept could be revisited in a future phase of the project as an enhancement once the core experience is more established.
Flow 3
Build Your Grocery List
Based on the recipe a user selected, the necessary ingredients would automatically populate their grocery list. From there, I wanted to extend the experience by helping users find nearby grocery stores that carried those items. Each store would include a “local food rating,” indicating how much of their produce was locally sourced—encouraging users to make more informed and sustainable shopping choices.
High-Fidelity
Branding
