taking a deeper dive

While we did gain some insights from the affinity map, we wanted to take a deeper dive into some market analysis and literature reviews to help us gain a better picture of the problems those struggling with food accessibility face.

developing our website structure

After we were able to hone in on our problem, we then moved onto developing our site structure, first by designing an information architecture diagram to develop the bare bones of the site, then filling in the gaps by creating user flows for each page of interest.

This specific flow below shows the scenario of “Searching for a Pantry”, with the green diamonds signifying the actions and the purple rectangles signifying the pages landed.

Fleshing out the UI DESIGN

Throughout this design process, I wanted to make sure to keep the design simple enough so it could be easily understood by a larger range of audience.

Those facing food insecurity issues are primarily those on the lower socioeconomic scale and as a result, may have lower English proficiencies or are not as well-versed in digital literacy.

Traveling through iterations

To ensure that we were able to convey our thoughts properly when translating our ideas into wireframes, some screens like the ones shown below went through series of iterations before they reached their final version.

(More information regarding the features will be explained in the “Features” Section below)

While we wanted to give community members the opportunity to connect with one another, we didn’t want to make this feature into a community chatroom; we wanted the messages sent to be related to the pantries, such as for checking whether some items were in stock at certain pantries.

Filter by Accessibility or Preferences

To find the pantries best suited for your needs, filter your search by checking off any dietary and/or accessibility needs.

Bookmark Your Favorite Pantries

Bookmark pantries for easy access and live updates on your favorite pantries!

Stay Connected with the Community

Know what is in-stock and available before visiting. Members can ask questions pertaining to a pantry in their specific pages.

• We wanted to build a community in which users can post anonymously while connecting with those in similar situations. By doing this, we hope that it can help alleviate the feelings of shame, loneliness, and the overall stigma of being in such a situation.

REFLECTION

Challenges

1. Working with Limited Ideas under Time Constraint

   During our research stages, we were focused on looking for unique insights that could lead us to potential underlying problems that not many people have tackled before. We were ambitious and wanted to succeed but didn’t know how to go about it since we didn’t have time nor the people to ask regarding these issues.

   Since this was a time-constrained project, we realized that we should shift our priorities to looking more into potential leads that we already had and start developing from there.

2. Working in Different Time Zones

   Due to the the various scheduling conflicts, we were rarely able to get the entire team together to work at the same time, but we learned early on that by delegating tasks to each person and setting deadlines for each task per day, we were able to stay productive and work efficiently.

Learnings

This designathon really opened my eyes to all the different social issues existing within our society today and the impact we, as designers, can make through our creations.

• Crafting a meaningful product doesn’t need to take months or years to complete. All it takes to start is the first step.

• Taking a user’s environments and backgrounds into consideration are important especially if your application is targeted towards a specific group.

Moving Forward

If I had more time, I would’ve loved to…

• Continue refining and fleshing out the design of the community and pantry pages

• Conduct user testing interviews or A/B testing sessions in order to gain more insight regarding the usability of each feature in regards to the way it is currently displayed

• Look into data analytics to help generate success metrics if this site were to actually going to be pushed

Given another opportunity, I would definitely want to participate in another designation/design jam and/or explore another social justice issue!