Gluten-free Lifestyle App
Pure Plate: Empowering Gluten-Free Living
Pure Plate is an innovative app designed to support individuals with gluten intolerance or Celiac disease in managing their gluten-free lifestyle. Whether navigating safe dining options, creating recipes, or decoding food labels, Pure Plate serves as a reliable, user-friendly resource for making informed dietary decisions.
This app concept was developed during the completion of Google’s User Experience Design Certificate, with a focus on delivering a practical solution to a real-world problem.
Role as Lead UX Designer
As the Lead UX Designer, I led the end-to-end design process, including:
Conducting user research to uncover key pain points and needs.
Developing personas, problem statements, and user journey maps to guide design decisions.
Designing and refining wireframes, mockups, and prototypes.
Prioritizing accessibility to ensure the app is inclusive and usable for all.
The Problem
Individuals with gluten allergies or Celiac disease lack a centralized, trustworthy resource for up-to-date information on safe restaurants, dishes, and recipes. This gap often leads to frustrating trial and error, wasting time, money, and sometimes risking health.
The Solution
Pure Plate provides a one-stop solution to:
Quickly reference safe recipes and ingredients.
Locate and track gluten-free restaurants and dishes.
Learn about ingredient labels with confidence and ease.
User Research & Personas
To inform the design, I conducted interviews with three users experiencing varying challenges with gluten allergies. Their unique perspectives shaped the app’s features
Leo: A 19-year-old college sophomore recently diagnosed with Celiac disease. He struggles to understand ingredient labels and identify safe foods.
Kelcey: A seasoned gluten-free eater of 10 years, she lacks a system to track the safe restaurants she has visited.
Harper: Managing a gluten allergy, she wants a way to save her favorite recipes to streamline meal preparation.
These insights highlighted the importance of simplifying ingredient education, organizing restaurant tracking, and enabling recipe management.
Sitemap
Through iterative design, I identified the need to prioritize core features like recipe creation, favorites, and restaurant discovery. This refinement ensured the app stayed focused on its primary purpose: simplifying the gluten-free lifestyle.
User Flow & Wireframes
The user flow was designed to provide seamless access to key functionalities, including creating and viewing recipes from any page.
During dashboard iterations, it became evident that recipes should take center stage. The app’s primary use case is finding something to cook, followed by locating a restaurant.
Designing a recipe feature presented unique challenges, as recipes are highly customizable. The design reflects this flexibility, ensuring users can personalize their experience while maintaining ease of use.
Hi-fi Mockups and Prototype
Pure Plate combines thoughtful design with practical functionality, empowering users to confidently navigate a gluten-free lifestyle.
