To understand the user base and product landscape: - I reviewed Phood's internal market research and past interview data.
Conducted additional interviews with 4 chefs and 2 dining managers - Shadowed 2 kitchens to observe real-time food tracking and disposal workflows.
Key Insights:
- Users were overwhelmed by unstructured raw data and charts that lacked focus
- Most users accessed the dashboard only weekly or during monthly reporting
- The tablet interface was cluttered and required too much manual input
User Quotes:
“I don’t have time to dig through five different graphs—I just want to know what’s costing us the most and fix it.” — Head Chef, University Dining
"We track waste religiously, but the dashboard never gave us anything we could act on quickly.” — Sustainability Manager, Grocery Chain
“I wish I could compare today’s waste to last week, without exporting and calculating everything myself.” — Sous Chef, Hospitality Group
I collaborated with the CTO and data team to understand how raw data is transformed into insights. (See picture below).
Information and Emotion to be relayed to end-user before and after using the Analytics
Converting data model into Insights
Whiteboarding to understand the technology behind the analytics dashboard. I learned how the system currently works and converts the data model into insights for chefs and dining managers.
I synthesized these findings into personas and a journey map that illustrated pain points from menu planning to food disposal
I mapped out the user flow to see how I could simplify their journey to help them reach their most important goals with the Phood dashboard. This process gave me a high-level overview of the User Journey and the pain points of chefs from menu planning, purchasing to disposal.
My design goals were shaped around 3 core user needs:
1. Understand what’s being wasted the most and why.
2. See trends to inform procurement and menu planning
3. Share insights across teams for accountability
I began with whiteboarding sessions and rough sketches before moving to wireframes in Figma. I explored chart types (bar, pie, donut, line), grouping methods (by category, kitchen area), and UI layouts for filtering and comparison.
I tested early wireframes with chefs and stakeholders. Feedback showed a strong preference for simplicity,clarity, and personalization.
This led to a tabbed layout structure: -
1. Overview: Summary of key metrics and alerts
2. Insights: AI generated patterns and root causes
3. Trends: Historical comparisons and forecasting
Overview Dashboard - Before
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Overview Dashboard - After
Reports and Analytics - Before
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Trends tab - After
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Insights Tab - After
I created high-fidelity mockups in Figma, refining visual hierarchy, typography, and interaction patterns. I used Material Design-inspired cards and chips for filters, a soft palette aligned with Phood's brand, and clean data visualizations.
To highlight progress, I created a side-by-side comparison of the original dashboard vs. the redesign. This helped stakeholders visualize the impact.
Improvements made:
1. Tabbed Navigation (Overview, Insights, Trends):
Simplified the interface by organizing data into focused tabs, reducing cognitive overload.
2. Actionable Insights Panel:
Added intelligent summaries (e.g., top waste items, peak waste hours) to help users act on data instead of just viewing it.
3. Interactive Filters & Drill-Downs:
Enabled filtering by date, food category, and kitchen zone to personalize data analysis and uncover patterns.
4. Modern Visual Hierarchy:
Applied Material Design principles to highlight key metrics, improve readability, and enhance usability.
5. Exportable Reports:
Introduced one-click export options (PDF, CSV) to streamline reporting and cross-team sharing.
Improvements in the new design:
1. Tabbed Navigation (Overview, Insights, Trends):
Simplified the interface by organizing data into focused tabs, reducing cognitive overload.
2. Actionable Insights Panel:
Added intelligent summaries (e.g., top waste items, peak waste hours) to help users act on data instead of just viewing it.
3. Interactive Filters & Drill-Downs:
Enabled filtering by date, food category, and kitchen zone to personalize data analysis and uncover patterns.
4. Modern Visual Hierarchy:
Applied Material Design principles to highlight key metrics, improve readability, and enhance usability.
5. Exportable Reports:
Introduced one-click export options (PDF, CSV, PNG) to streamline reporting and cross-team sharing.
Tablet App Design
I created wireframes and redesigned the Phood app interface. I used Figma to create low and high fidelity mockups. I took feedback from the team and made 2 iterations of the designs.
Improvements in the new design:
- I made the side dashboard consistent with the Phood brand. In a way that it relays important information without causing Cognitive overload, drawing attention to more important areas like the Camera view, Weight and the Drop-down options.
- Created Visual Hierarchy between the items detected by the AI using different shades of orange. Lesser important items have lower positioning, size, and color shade.
- Reduced the need to interact with the device and save the user time, by adding an auto-submit feature. The user doesn't need to tap on any button when the correct food item has been detected by the camera. All the user now needs to do is place the item and remove it upon detection.
Impact:
1. Dashboard logins on Mondays increased by 42%
2. Time-on-task for entering waste data via tablet reduced by 30%
3. Usability test scores improved from 62 to 85
4. Chefs began proactively using insights to alter prep quantities and menu sizes
Reflections:
1. This project demonstrated how thoughtful design can unlock underused value in existing tools.
2. By reducing friction and highlighting impact, we empowered teams to take ownership of food waste.
Key Learnings:
1. Data is powerful only when it's usable—visual clarity and prioritization are everything.
2. Tablet-based tools need to be dead-simple and operable even during high-stress kitchen moments.
3. Comparative mockups are great for stakeholder buy-in and design advocacy.
