Owl

Challenge was to deliver a research plan and insight-driven design(only wireframes) for a convenient and personalized service which offers commuters tech-savvy curated foods and drinks while focusing on their wellbeing.

Owl food and wellbeing service logo on a pale background
Owl project roadmap from research and scoping to ideation and design

I found out that people often think about wellness in terms of physical health, but it is so much more.

Wellness is a holistic integration of physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing, fueling the body, engaging the mind, and nurturing the spirit. Wellness is a professional as well as a personal responsibility that encompasses eight mutually interdependent dimensions: physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, vocational, financial, and environmental.

Physical wellness is about caring for your body to stay healthy now and in the future. It is about getting enough nutrition, keeping yourself hydrated, doing exercise regularly, and managing your weight. In the nutrition part, it is crucial to nurture your body by eating a well-balanced diet. Filling yourself with a variety of nutrients and vitamins will not only help prevent illness but will also keep your body functioning at its best.

Although I’ll focus only on the nutritional side of the commuter’s physical wellbeing, it is good to keep in mind the related matters and other dimensions of wellness.

Eight dimensions of wellness: emotional, physical, occupational, social, spiritual, intellectual, environmental, and financial

I would do quantitative research to see the problem on a larger scale and to find out the number of possible consumers in İstanbul. I hoped to gain some data on how many commuters worry about their eating habits and how many of them are willing to change their diet for a healthier way. I think stratified sampling could help me to figure those out. Because with stratified sampling, I could divide the population:

  • By their social class to see the relation of this problem with people’s income.
  • By their education level to see if educated people are more health-conscious.
  • And by their age to see when people start worrying about their eating habits.

Commuters have a hectic lifestyle and feel fatigued after a long day. For this type of user, I wanted to understand what their motivations and triggers are. How do they decide what to eat? What are the influencing factors? What do they think about eating healthy? I hoped to gain some insights into the basic decision-making process when figuring out what to eat. After defining the questions I interviewed four people and mapped the process from the user’s perspective.

They know and enjoy cooking, but it's a hassle

Some of them mentioned that they like to explore and enjoy trying new recipes either in social settings or on weekends. However, after a long day, the effort of cooking and cleaning feels too much, so they often avoid it.

Picky about food choices

Taste preference, price, and delivery time are the biggest factors that guide their food choice. While they care a lot about cost, they still want high-quality ingredients and won’t settle for less.
Other factors include sensory attributes, availability, convenience, cognitive restraint, and cultural familiarity.

Sticking to the usual

When tired and hungry, people don’t feel like trying something new and prefer to go with what they know is quick and reliable. That’s why they tend to order from the same places and eat the same meals.

Commuter food journey map covering research, ordering, waiting, eating, and after eating

If we want this system to work sustainably and efficiently, we need to find a way to supply healthy food. For now, let’s assume we have a working organic food supply.

To position ourselves in the market, I have prepared a chart that includes the price, quality, and personalization dimensions that are valuable for consumers. We stand for commuter’s wellness, want to be sure they get enough nutrition and want to deliver food on time.

I prepared three groups, and each group represents the average of the restaurants belonging to that group. Fast food(e.g., Burger King, McDonald's, KFC), Turkish food(e.g., kebap, dürüm, döner), Subscription box(e.g., Fitchef, Mealbox).

Food service positioning chart comparing price, quality, and personalization
Three Owl onboarding wireframes for personal details and food preferences
Owl recipe wireframe with ingredients, portion controls, and nutritional information
Owl meal planner wireframe organized by meal and day
Owl food logging wireframe for adding meals and ingredients
Owl activity wireframe showing daily movement and food records