Fortuna: Food’s Fortune Teller
Product Design, UX Research, UI Design, Branding
Concept app that makes deciding what to order ✨magical✨ by making personalized meal suggestions from nearby restaurants.
the BRIEF
Driven by everyday frustrations surrounding food decisions and the belief that time is precious, and Fortuna leverages AI to suggest personalized menu items, streamlining the decision-making process. Through this project, I honed my skills in Figma while embracing the design process, ultimately reaffirming the importance of empathy-driven solutions and passion-driven innovation.
the PROBLEM
The aim was to address a timeless issue that would persist for generations. Some brainstorming led to the topic of food, a universal necessity, and the time inefficiency of meal decisions. After a long day at work, the last thing anyone wants is to waste time scrolling through endless options trying to decide what to eat. That’s when I landed on a true timeless problem: time is precious. I wanted to find a way to help people spend less time deciding, and more time enjoying life (and food).
Duration
8 Weeks
Type
Solo Project
Tools
the INSPIRATION
I began by brainstorming with a friend. We started by listing problems – everyday pain points that annoyed us or had room for improvement. After grouping them into categories, we noticed many of the notes were about restaurants or food: Deciding where to eat; Hard to find gluten-free options; Wasting time scrolling through menus to find what you’re looking for; Finding new restaurants to try; Not knowing what to do for dinner.
From there, a few broader ideas emerged:
How might we connect people with food they’ll love?
How might we make finding good food easier?
How might we make ordering food enjoyable?
the OUTCOME
Meet food’s fortune teller. Fortuna was born with the purpose of helping users spend less time deciding what to eat and more time enjoying meals. Every feature in Fortuna was created with the guiding principle that time is precious. The app uses a smart algorithm with artificial intelligence to suggest menu items based on individual user preferences and dietary restrictions. The home page suggests a handful of specific dishes from nearby restaurants based on behavior, local weather, and other data. Or, users can “Ask Fortuna” to recommend a dish they’ll love from her crystal ball.
For those who like being hands-on, users can search by individual menu items; unlike other food-ordering apps that only show restaurants in the search results and force users to click and scroll through each restaurant’s menu. And at every point throughout the app, items are labeled and sorted so they meet the user’s dietary restrictions. Because why waste time scrolling through things you can’t eat? Or, better yet, why waste time scrolling at all when you can let Fortuna work her magic?
the PROCESS
EARLY WIREFRAMES
SWOT ANALYSIS
COMPETITORS
There’s currently no app with all of Fortuna’s features, so my search was divided into four categories of potential competitors: Meal Delivery and Takeout Apps, Review Sites and Restaurant Finders, Decision Helpers, and Dietary Restriction Websites.
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
Simplify wherever possible to improve efficiency and save time for users.
Time is Precious.
Foster an environment for users to enjoy meals again.
Spread love of food.
Embrace Serendipity.
Create moments of happiness throughout the experience.
Get Personal.
Suggest items for each user so spot on they’ll think we read their minds.
WHY NOW?
Market Validation
Takeout dinner market is expected to double by 2030 to $451 billion¹
Most Americans are suffering from decision fatigue²
74% of Americans aged 18-49 follow a specific diet³
300% increase in vegan or plant-based diets over last 15 years⁴
1 “Takeout Dinner Market.” The Brainy Insights. 2 Gold, Jenny. “Another Pandemic Malady: Decision Fatigue.” Los Angeles Times. 3 “2022 Food and Health Survey Spotlight: Eating Patterns.” Food Insight, International Food Information Council. 4 “The Top Food Industry Trends to Expect in 2022.” Food Manufacturing.
SOLUTION
Make ordering food less stressful, more personal, and even… enjoyable.
HIGH FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
Meet Food’s Fortune Teller
Intelligent menu item suggestions based on individual user preferences. Stop wasting time deciding what to eat – let Fortuna work her magic instead.
Tap the crystal ball for a suggestion
Fortuna recommends a specific dish from a nearby restaurant
Tags indicate if dietary preferences are met
Connect to restaurant or ordering platform
Skip the Endless Menu Scrolling
Save time with a Home Page that suggests dishes nearby within the user’s diet based on behavior, local weather, and other data.
Ordering Food, Made Magical
Fortuna uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to find a perfect dish so perfect, users will think we read their minds.
Find Food, Not Menus
Search results show menu items from restaurants, so you don’t have to read through restaurant menus to find what you’re really searching for.
the LESSON
Fortuna. The first app I ever created (yes, really). This project came with so many lessons, from learning how to use Figma and other prototyping tools to learning the human-centered design process. When sharing the idea of “a fortune teller for food” and my progress with those around me, everyone was always so excited about it and how it would make their lives better. This showed me that when you think about people from the very beginning, and focus on solving their problems, you’re on your way to a winning idea. And by working on something that you yourself would use, you end up being more passionate about the project and thinking of creative solutions that you otherwise might not have. I hope to bring the creativity and passion I had for Fortuna to every project I work on in the future.
