FARM 2 YOU
Reimagining the farmers' market experience for home delivery.
Service Design | UX/UI Design
OVERVIEW
Project Context
Farm2You is a conceptual design project developed during my Experience Design Studio I course at Northeastern University, as part of my Master’s in Experience Design program. This project integrates actual field research with service design principles and methodologies to tackle the challenge of connecting consumers with local farmers for fresh produce. Through Farm2You, I have applied a comprehensive design thinking approach to reimagine how local food sourcing can be optimized for both consumers and producers.
Farm2You brings the benefits of a farmers market to consumers' doorsteps by allowing them to pre-order fresh, locally sourced produce from farmers and pick it up at a predetermined stop in their neighborhood. Farm2You facilitates direct communication between farmers and consumers, allowing consumers to easily purchase local produce while also providing farmers with a new sales outlet and helping to support local agriculture.
My Role
UX/UI & Service Designer
Responsibilities
User Research, Stakeholder Mapping & Affinity Mapping, Service Blueprint & Persona Creation, Roleplaying & Storyboarding, Wireframing & Prototyping
Duration
2 months (Oct - Dec 2022)
PROBLEM
Given that farmers often travel to the farmers' market each week, passing by potential customers on their routes, how can we leverage the resources of these farmers to create a convenient and accessible way for consumers to purchase locally-sourced produce, while still maintaining the authenticity and experience of shopping at a farmers' market?
Farmers' markets have gained popularity among health-conscious consumers seeking fresh, locally sourced produce. However, visiting the markets regularly can be challenging for many people due to various constraints, while small-scale farmers may lack the resources to offer home deliveries.
In this project, we explored how to create a convenient and accessible way for consumers to purchase locally-sourced produce while still preserving the authentic experience of the farmers' market.
Storyboard: Illustration of Farm2You Service
Meet Melody, a busy foodie passionate about locally sourced produce. She loves exploring new recipes and prefers buying directly from farmers at the farmer's market. But her busy schedule makes it challenging to visit frequently. That's where Farm2You comes in, providing a convenient and reliable way to access fresh produce.
Discovering Farm2You
Exploring and Pre-Ordering
The Farmer Begins the Trip
Tracking the Farmer's Truck
Heading to the Stop
Chatting and Selecting Fresh Produce
Heading Home with Fresh Goods
Preparing Delicious Recipes
Sharing and Engaging with the Community
THE DESIGN PROCESS
DISCOVERY
INTERPRETATION
IDEATION
EXPERIMENTATION
DISCOVERY
Understanding the Challenge
Stakeholder mapping
To begin our project, we conducted a stakeholder mapping exercise to identify and analyze the key individuals, organizations, and groups who have an interest or influence in the success of our concept.
Stakeholder mapping helped us to identify the key players and entities involved in the production and distribution of locally-sourced produce.
This enabled us to determine the relevant individuals and organizations we should engage and collaborate with to ensure the success of the project.
Field Research
After conducting the stakeholder mapping exercise, we visited the Copley Square farmers' markets to gain a deeper understanding of the current state of operations. We conducted informal interviews with three (3) farmers to gather insights into their perspectives on the market and their operations. We also interviewed consumers to understand their motivations and preferences when it comes to buying locally-sourced produce.
Insights gathered from field research
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Farmers prioritize sustainable agriculture and direct consumer connections, but struggle to compete with larger producers.
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Consumers prioritize freshness and quality, but also seek convenience and affordability.
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Both farmers and consumers seek alternative distribution methods for locally-sourced produce.
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Farmers primarily sell through CSA programs and farmers' markets but have limited resources for home delivery.
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Consumers value the authentic experience of selecting produce from farmers.
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Farmers are interested in joining a service to increase sales.
INTERPRETATION
Framing the opportunity
Affinity Mapping
Leveraging on our classmates, we conducted an affinity mapping exercise to brainstorm on the different aspects and considerations associated with local produce, as well as the insights gathered from our field research.
After the affinity mapping exercise, we conducted further analysis of the ideas to identify which themes were most relevant to our project concept. This activity was crucial in ensuring that we took into account all relevant considerations during the ideation phase.
Additional Field Research
We conducted an additional phase of field research by visiting the Boston Public Market and surveying consumers. During the survey, we aimed to gain insights into the preferences and priorities of consumers when it comes to purchasing locally-sourced produce. Specifically, we requested consumers to rank their top 5 considerations when buying local produce.
User Persona
The process of stakeholder mapping, field research, and affinity mapping enabled us to gain insights and comprehend the requirements and preferences of our primary user groups, namely farmers and consumers. Building on this understanding, we developed two user personas: one for farmers and the other for consumers, to facilitate our comprehension of their specific objectives, incentives, and difficulties.
IDEATION
Generating and refining ideas
During the affinity mapping session, the idea of "ad-hoc buy from delivery truck" emerged as a potential solution. We realized that farmers often travel to farmer's markets and pass by numerous potential customers on their trips. As a result, we began to refine this concept and explore ways to leverage farmers' resources, such as their trucks and farmer's market itineraries, to create a mobile delivery service.
Service Blueprint
We used the service blueprint to identify potential issues and improve the customer journey. It helped us align touchpoints between customers, farmers, and systems, and address pain points and inefficiencies in the end-to-end experience.
Role Playing
The role-playing exercise helped us simulate scenarios and interactions between customers, farmers, and systems to identify gaps and issues in the customer journey, refine service features and processes, and improve the overall end-user experience.
The necessary functional requirements we identfied include:
Customers should be able to:
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receive route announcement notifications
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view farm profiles and catalogs
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subscribe/unsubscribe to farms
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create/update their account details
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pre-order products
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create a shopping list
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track the status of the truck in real-time
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set alerts for when the truck is within a certain radius or time
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provide feedback
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chat with the farm admin
Farmers should be able to
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Set up farm profile - catalogue, outlets, commute days and times
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Check in and make announcements
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Post and update product quantity and price at check-in (first leg of trip)
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Update product quantity and discount price at check-in (return leg of trip)
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Real time tracking of the truck
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Receive notifications for interested customers
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Progress tracker - completed trips, remaining trips and ETA
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Track inventory
User Flow Diagram
Creating a user flow diagram helped us identify the necessary screens for the Farn2You app and visualize the sequence of screens that a user will encounter while navigating through the app.
EXPERIMENTATION
Prototyping and Testing
Wireframes
High Fidelity Prototype
SOME KEY DESIGN DECISIONS
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Incorporating community features:
We added features for users to find neighbors, search recipes, and post updates to build a stronger community. By connecting users with others who share their passion for supporting local agriculture, we aim to create a more engaging and rewarding experience for everyone.
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Farmers' wait time countdown:
To optimize the delivery process and enhance the experience for farmers and consumers, we added a wait time countdown for farmers at each stop. This allows farmers to manage their time more effectively and avoid waiting indefinitely, while also enabling consumers to plan their visits more efficiently and avoid missing out on their desired products.
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Unique QR code for consumers: Each consumer gets a unique QR code that enables farmers to track offline activities and purchases. This makes it easier for farmers to manage their inventory and plan for future deliveries, while providing consumers with an added layer of transparency.
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Rating system: Implementing a rating system for both farmers and consumers to provide feedback and establish trust and accountability within the community
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Pre-ordering feature: enables consumers to reserve items in advance, ensuring that the farmer has enough inventory to meet demand. This feature also benefits farmers by allowing them to better plan their inventory for each stop.
REFLECTION & FUTURE POSSIBILITIES
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Reflection: During the design process of Farm2You, we encountered a variety of challenges, including finding a balance between user needs and technical feasibility, as well as keeping the design simple yet engaging. To overcome these challenges, we engaged in several activities, including role-playing, which helped us gain a deeper understanding of our users' needs and preferences. Through the iterative design process, we were able to create a design that we believe addresses these challenges and provides a positive user experience.
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Future Possibilities: With the continuous evolution of technology, there are numerous possibilities for future improvements to Farm2You. For instance, we could leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to personalize the app experience for each user, based on their preferences and past behavior. Furthermore, integrating blockchain technology could enable greater transparency and traceability in the food supply chain, providing consumers with more information about the origin of their food.