Researched, designed, prototyped a service for a distributed farmers’ market to improve access to local food
Highlights
Skills Used: Contextual Inquiry, Field Studies, Survey, Personas, Sketching, Hifi prototyping and Usability Testing
Tools: Adobe Flex and Adobe InDesign
Team Blog
#1 Interactive Prototype
#2 Interactive Prototype
Prototypes/Images
Instructor: Michael J. McQuaid
Course: SI682 – Interface & Interaction Design
Teammates: Jon C., Ben W., Gary S. & Jeff L.
Problem
Ann Arbor’s local food demand exceeds the supply. The farmers are satisfied with the prices and sales – yet they are skeptical about the long term future. Consumers lack the information to plan a trip to the farmers market.
Process
Our team studied the local farmer’s market with the goal of promoting local food consumption. We conducted field studies at the farmers market and farms, and interviewed professionals in the local food business. After many affinity diagramming sessions we realized that the farmers market was becoming a bottleneck for local food supply. Making trips to the market is very resource intensive for farmers. For consumers, the distance to the farmers market, and lack of information about the produce were stopping them from going to the market.
Design
We proposed a design solution of creating a decentralized farmers market that would be coordinated using an online web application. Our service innovation was to combine local events with farmer stands. We designed a site for three audience segments – farmers, consumers, and businesses. The site can be used to register farmer stands and produce availability. Farmers’ experience and organic farming status will be verified and prominently shown in their profiles. Our overall design got positive response from farmers and the farmer’s market manager.
My Role
I interviewed two farmers and the market manager at the farmer’s market. Listening to farmers and their problems was enlightening and humbling. They take pride in their heritage and experience. I also conducted a rapid survey in the famers market with the consumers and farmers. Like other team members I played an active role in the affinity diagramming sessions. I sketched the interfaces for our design and did many much of our final prototype in Adobe Flex, including integrating with the Google Maps API. I conducted usability sessions with two local food consumers and two farmers to evaluate our prototypes.