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INFO 200 Foundation of Informatics
TomoEat! Passion Project
Timeline
Oct 2023 - May 2024
My Role
User Interviews
Prototype
Storyboarding
Interaction Design
A passion project where I practiced UX Research & Figma variant animation.
A supportive artifact that facilitates the recovery process of eating disorder and encourages digital minimalism.
Problem
Eating disorder patients are troubled with relapses, misinformation, stigmatization, and isolations.
Online misinformation like #thinspo promotes harmful beliefs and behaviors, trapping eating disorder patients in an Echo Chamber with unhealthy expectation of food, weight, and body image.
How might we facilitate the recovery process of eating disorder patients in an enjoyable, sustainable, and a non-triggering way?
Solution
Food Diary
A lightweight visual and audio diary that records and visualize users’ recovery progress and memories.
Users can nurture a virtual pet to foster a healthy relationship with food.
Solution
Journal Integration
Users will revisit their food diary, reconnect with their emotions, and engage in reflection.
The journal includes stimulating questions and doubles as a creative outlet for processing negative emotions.
Literature Review
Why Not Just Make Another APP?
Eating disorder patients need a mobile-free solution.
Excessive smartphone use, especially for social media, is significantly linked to body image distortion and unhealthy weight control in adolescents, with the effect notably higher among females and even present in non-obese individuals.
User Research
And… Physical objects foster a lasting emotional attachment & reflection.
Through my survey and analysis of 55 young adults in Eating Disorder communities, I identified a strong preference for organic, reflective coping strategies, which guided my design approach.
“In an ideal world, what type coping strategy would you find most helpful during recovery?”
Q1: What feelings arise when your disordered eating habits are more prevalent?
Shame, anxiety, lack of self-control, guilt, pressure, anger, weak, hopelessness, loneliness… a strong combinations of negative feelings.
Meditation/mood checker/food logging apps (I Am Sober, Recover Record, Brighter Bite, Rise Up)
Pro-recovery Reddit communities, YouTubers, and influencers.
Q2: What apps or online resources have you used to support your recovery?
Q3: What strategies, information, and/or resources would you recommend?
Journaling > apps, as it's more effective in addressing the root causes of ED behaviors and sustaining motivation for recovery.
Eating with people to be held accountable and being educated about relapse behaviors.
Qualitative Research
Mitigating Assumptions
4 face-to-face interviews with eating disorder veterans revealed why they chose physical objects over mobile solutions.
“I tried some food tracking apps, but ultimately found they triggered me more. I don't like having numbers that represent the food I am eating.”
“Find your “why” for recovery and make it strong. Question small habits or thoughts you unintentionally engage in. You need to heal your root first.”
Competitive Analysis
Analyzing Existing Coping Strategies
Though we’re creating a non-mobile solution, we can still incorporate many proven, effective features from successful Apps and Platforms.
After close examination of existing applications suggested by survey respondents, I found that helpful facilitators alleviate negative emotions with —
Recovery Record
Brighter Bite
I am Sober
Reddit Forums
Journal Entries for Mood and Behaviors
Chat interface with provider or therapists
Visual representations of food rather than calories
Non-clinical & friendly interface
Pre-defined choices that reduce decision paralysis
Inspirational quotes, milestones & rewards
Data Visualization of how many days they have been "Eating Disorder Free"
Fact-Checking Information Sources
Actionable coping strategies
Real-time interactions
Accountability from community members
Key Insights
01. Food != Calories
The act of calculating food calories reinforces harmful behaviors & keep users in a unhealthy feedback loop.
02. Clinical Interface
A clinical, cold interface worsen eating disorder patient's shame, anxiety, and lack of control.
03. Echo Chambers
ED stem from misinformation about body image - encourage patients to explore diverse information sources.
04. Self-Reflections
Recovery is contextual & requires self-directed actions. What helps journaling easy to turn into a habit?
Ideation
Mindmap & Wireframing
I branched out key insights and identifies opportunities and connections.
Final Solutions
Visual & Voice Diary
Accessible visual library that visualize the recovery progress and memories.
Binged
Purged
Restricted
None!
Record a voice memo or enter manually to describe users’ mood and behavior (e.g. binge, purge)
Flexible interface allowing users to log both regular meals and compulsive eating.
When “C” key is clicked, TomoEat will replay user’s voice memo to provide more context.
Take AR pictures to contextualize users’ eating patterns without numbers.
Users can revisit their food diary while doing journal entires.
Final Solutions
Journal Integration
Journal encourages users to interact with the physical reality and focus on the presence.
Remind users of their recovery goal when they start the device, practice mindfulness.
Random motivational quotes and Tamagotchi-like interactions to inspire users.
Users reflect on carefully designed journal prompts and perform easy actions.
Users can choose to take more if they're in a better mood.
Earn accessory rewards upon completion of each journal reflection.
Storyboarding
Interaction Flow
Below is a simplified user flow for demonstrative purposes.
Visual Design
Non-clinical Interface
I pursed a muted, organic colors palette and illustrations to foster positive emotional connection with users.
Key Takeaways