PlateMate
Research, Product Design,
UX/UI Design, Wireframing,
User Testing, Prototyping,
Branding
Roles
Samantha Mirabella
Sharon Ou
Yashini Ravindran
Soyoung Jeong
Team
Timeline
Fall 2025 - 12 Weeks
Total Group Hours: 180
Hours Contributed: 90
Figma
Illustrator
Figma Make
Tools
PlateMate is an Al-powered companion that provides dietary guidance based on users’ unique needs and health goals.Product Overview
Context
We were tasked to develop a digital product centered on automation, focusing on how AI could simplify actions for users.Project Brief
The Problem
Individuals with different dietary needs, restrictions, health conditions, or lifestyle goals struggle to find tailored nutrition guidance.
Research & Discovery
Statistics reveal that there are high rates of diet failure and struggles to meet nutritional requirements across North America. Food allergies affect approximately 220 million people worldwide and in Canada there is a large and growing market for food allergic consumers.Statistics & Facts
We explored existing health and nutrition apps to identify gaps and opportunities for innovation. By comparing features, interfaces, and user experiences, it helped us determine where Platemate could stand out through its AI-driven personalization and approach to tracking meals.Benchmark Analysis
Through a PACT analysis, we examined People, Activities, Contexts, and Technology to plan how users would interact with PlateMate. It helped to identify user needs, define key tasks like meal logging and recipe generation, and evaluate the environments where the app would be used.
PACT Analysis
User Research
Our research highlighted the importance of accessible personal dietary guidance. I further conducted interviews with 6 individuals, 3 young adults, and 2 adults to identify pain points and behaviours. I came up with the following questions to ask participants.User Interviews
After gathering user insights, I organized my data through affinity mapping to discover common themes. Through this method, I formed 5 main themes.Affinity Mapping
Solution
User Modelling
The user personas represent the target audience for PlateMate, highlighting their pain points, needs, and goals. Defining personas informed the design of the product’s features to ensure they are intuitive and address real user challenges.User Personas
The structure of the app was developed based on its key features. The user first goes through the onboarding process to set up a profile based on dietary needs or health goals and can edit this information any time through their profile. The key pages in the navigation bar include the scanner, recipes, food log, and health log.System Map
Visual Research
Creating mood boards helped to inspire the clean and approachable visual style that we aimed to achieve for our app.Mood Boards
Wireframes
I was responsible for designing the low and high-fidelity wireframes for the scanner feature which allows users to scan meals, products, or restaurant menus to determine how foods align with their diet.Low and High-Fidelity Wireframes
User Testing
I conducted user tests with 6 users to improve and refine the app design. Highlighted below are some of the key improvements I made based on the user feedback collected.Testing & Refinements
Scan
Recipes
Food Log
Prototype
Instantly scan packaged foods, meals, or restaurant menus to assess dietary compatibility and access detailed nutrition breakdowns. PlateMate will also automatically suggest alternatives for meals, products, or menu dishes that may better align with users diets.
Scan Products, Meals, and Menus
Chat with PlateMate using text or voice to generate custom recipes tailored to dietary needs. The AI-driven assistant ensures every meal fits users’ unique needs. Users even have the option to scan the ingredients they have on hand to generate recipes that incorporate them.
Generate Personalized Recipes
Seamlessly record daily meals in the food log to track nutritional intake and progress towards health goals. Through the health log, PlateMate helps visualize trends and keeps users accountable to their health or fitness objectives.
Track Meals and Health Goals
Design System
Clear typography guidelines are applied consistently throughout the app design.Typography
The colour palette reflects the platform’s branding to reinforce a sense of trust and safety. Accent colours are incorporated for the percentage ratings that inform users how well food products and meals align with their diets.Colours
Iconography
A streamlined set of icons are used throughout the app to ensure a unified and professional style.
Key Takeaways
I learned how to design intuitive and trustworthy AI interactions that personalize user experiences while maintaining user control. Developing the scanner and recipe generator deepened my understanding of how AI can make health tracking and meal planning more seamless.AI-Driven Design
Collaborating with a team on this project taught me the value of clear communication, teamwork, and knowing when to take initiative. This experience reinforced the importance of remaining organized and supportive in a collaborative design process to create a cohesive product.Collaboration
