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KAZAH

A More Fun Way to Eat Out

User Experience Design Project

Ocotober 2023 - December 2023

Seattle, Washington (Remote)

Overview

KAZAH is an app designed to help older adults discover new dining options while introducing them to modern technology through an intuitive, swipe-base interface popularized by Tinder. Research revealed that older adults, often less active on social media, tend to revisit the same restaurants due to limited exposure to new places.


KAZAH offers an easy-to-learn, engaging platform where our users can explore nearby dining options, customize dietary preferences, and discover diver cuisines making dining out more exciting and accessible..

KAZAH is an app designed to help older adults discover new dining options while introducing them to modern technology through an intuitive, swipe-base interface popularized by Tinder. Research revealed that older adults, often less active on social media, tend to revisit the same restaurants due to limited exposure to new places.


KAZAH offers an easy-to-learn, engaging platform where our users can explore nearby dining options, customize dietary preferences, and discover diver cuisines making dining out more exciting and accessible..

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Problem

Older adults need a new and easy way to find local dining options. Many older adults find themselves going to the same locations when dining out because they know that they’ll enjoy it and because there isn’t a good way to keep up with new restaurants nearby.


Current methods of finding new places to mainly consists of word of mouth and through self exploration of their city. But many older adults spend more time inside, their exposure to new restaurants may be limited and also limiting customer exposure for new locations.

Older adults need a new and easy way to find local dining options. Many older adults find themselves going to the same locations when dining out because they know that they’ll enjoy it and because there isn’t a good way to keep up with new restaurants nearby.


Current methods of finding new places to mainly consists of word of mouth and through self exploration of their city. But many older adults spend more time inside, their exposure to new restaurants may be limited and also limiting customer exposure for new locations.

Solution

Our solution focuses to help older adults easily be exposed to new restaurants nearby. KAZAH was designed for older adults to find local restaurants in a more exciting way. The design, inspired by Tinder’s swiping mechanism, KAZAH aims to recommend food locations for older adults while introducing the young and trendy designs used in technology today. Our mission is to show local restaurants to older adults while helping them familiarize with new technology.

Our solution allows users to select dietary restriction, swipe through all of the local restaurants, easily read about the necessary information about locations, and more personalized features. KAZAH is a find all features in one spot application that users can use to make dining a little bit more fun. 

Our solution focuses to help older adults easily be exposed to new restaurants nearby. KAZAH was designed for older adults to find local restaurants in a more exciting way. The design, inspired by Tinder’s swiping mechanism, KAZAH aims to recommend food locations for older adults while introducing the young and trendy designs used in technology today. Our mission is to show local restaurants to older adults while helping them familiarize with new technology.

Our solution allows users to select dietary restriction, swipe through all of the local restaurants, easily read about the necessary information about locations, and more personalized features. KAZAH is a find all features in one spot application that users can use to make dining a little bit more fun. 

Design Process | Research

Through various research methods (user research, market research, and literature research), we were able to collect more data and better understand our audience. As none our team members fit this demographic, it was really important for us to spend time researching and doing our best to understand this audience. 

Through various research methods (user research, market research, and literature research), we were able to collect more data and better understand our audience. As none our team members fit this demographic, it was really important for us to spend time researching and doing our best to understand this audience. 

Design Process | Findings

Older adults often prefer cooking at home, especially those with stricter dietary needs, while those with fewer restrictions eat out more.

  • They face challenges with inactive lifestyles, limited exercise, and difficulty exploring new cuisines due to dietary restrictions.

  • Existing apps are inconsistent and offer limited usefulness, leading to frustration with evaluating food safety.

  • Existing apps for finding local stores lack usability, accuracy, and comprehensive dietary support.

  • About 10% of American adults (~26 million) have food-related sensitivities, highlighting a significant need for better solutions.

Older adults often prefer cooking at home, especially those with stricter dietary needs, while those with fewer restrictions eat out more.

  • They face challenges with inactive lifestyles, limited exercise, and difficulty exploring new cuisines due to dietary restrictions.

  • Existing apps are inconsistent and offer limited usefulness, leading to frustration with evaluating food safety.

  • Existing apps for finding local stores lack usability, accuracy, and comprehensive dietary support.

  • About 10% of American adults (~26 million) have food-related sensitivities, highlighting a significant need for better solutions.

Design Process | Low Fidelity Wireframe

Our lowfidelty wireframe included all of the key features we would have in our solution. The features we wanted to include had the following: Home Page, Dietary Restriction Selector, Bookmarks, Search Feature, Restaurant Details, and a Log In Page

Our lowfidelty wireframe included all of the key features we would have in our solution. The features we wanted to include had the following: Home Page, Dietary Restriction Selector, Bookmarks, Search Feature, Restaurant Details, and a Log In Page

Design Process | User Testing

Through user testing with the proper demographic we were able to gather data and pros and cons of our current design. The feedback we had received focused on two points:


  • What makes our design/app unique?

  • What are our key features.


Our low fidelity wireframe had focused heavily on perfecting an app that has all of the necessary feature to function, that our initial design looked like a copy of Yelp. Many users who had tested this design had let us know that the features were helpful, but it was true that our app didn’t have a unique feature other than prioritizing dietary restrictions. That’s when we started brainstorming ways to make our application unique, one that wasn’t on the market already.


That’s where KAZAH’s unique feature birthed. As we were generating ideas, the unique feature of swiping to say yes or no to something could merge really well with user’s trying to find a new place to eat. 

Through user testing with the proper demographic we were able to gather data and pros and cons of our current design. The feedback we had received focused on two points:


  • What makes our design/app unique?

  • What are our key features.


Our low fidelity wireframe had focused heavily on perfecting an app that has all of the necessary feature to function, that our initial design looked like a copy of Yelp. Many users who had tested this design had let us know that the features were helpful, but it was true that our app didn’t have a unique feature other than prioritizing dietary restrictions. That’s when we started brainstorming ways to make our application unique, one that wasn’t on the market already.


That’s where KAZAH’s unique feature birthed. As we were generating ideas, the unique feature of swiping to say yes or no to something could merge really well with user’s trying to find a new place to eat. 

Design Process | High Fidelity Wireframe

As we kepy some of the key features of the app, we spent more time designing and refining our application. Through many iterations of our designs, we had reached a point were KAZAH has it’s own personality and a unique design for this specific market. 

As we kepy some of the key features of the app, we spent more time designing and refining our application. Through many iterations of our designs, we had reached a point were KAZAH has it’s own personality and a unique design for this specific market. 

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Reflection

This project has taught me the strong design process. While documenting every step of the way, from brainstorming, user research, user testing, creating personas and storyboards, KAZAH was designed to create product that wasn‘t found in the market. As this project focused on creating a solution to a problem, I learned that when market researching, see what exists was really important. When refining our project after user testing, I was able to see and hear a lot of opinions and views that I hadn’t seen by myself.  

This project has taught me the strong design process. While documenting every step of the way, from brainstorming, user research, user testing, creating personas and storyboards, KAZAH was designed to create product that wasn‘t found in the market. As this project focused on creating a solution to a problem, I learned that when market researching, see what exists was really important. When refining our project after user testing, I was able to see and hear a lot of opinions and views that I hadn’t seen by myself.