End to End · Food · Tourism · Translation
Menumate offers menu translation, visual aids, and dietary guidance, making dining abroad easier and more enjoyable—a must-have for food lovers seeking new flavors while meeting dietary needs.
Sign up and onboarding process
THE CHALLENGE
The project's goal was to make foreign dining easier by helping diners confidently order unfamiliar menu items. Key objectives included:
1. Standing out from OCR-based translation tools
2. Boosting user confidence in trying new foods
3. Crafting a personalized user experience for deeper engagement
I led the design of MenuMate from July to August 2023, collaborating with Praveen Naga and seven food-loving travelers, including product managers, a recruiter, a customer education manager, a waiter, and a chef.
KICKOFF
To identify user pain points in foreign dining, I developed a questionnaire to understand how people navigate restaurant experiences abroad.
I interviewed five participants to uncover challenges and workarounds in foreign dining. Using an affinity map, I identified patterns and created a user persona to represent insights from the study.
What challenges do you face when browsing menus and making dining choices?
How important is detailed menu information (ingredients, nutrition, allergens) when choosing a restaurant?
Have you used any app for menu recognition or analysis? If yes, what was your experience? If no, would you consider trying one?
Which features would you find most useful in a menu recognition app?
How comfortable are you with sharing location or dietary preferences for personalized recommendations?
What additional features would enhance your dining experience in a menu recognition app?
Do you have any concerns about using a menu recognition app? If so, what are they?
What factors would make you choose a menu recognition app over traditional methods or similar apps?
KEY TAKEAWAYS
A common pain point among interviewees was decision fatigue when faced with numerous unfamiliar dish options in foreign settings, leading to feelings of overwhelm.
To go beyond standard OCR in our design, we focused on minimizing cognitive overload, especially for travelers dealing with a vast array of unfamiliar dishes. Research revealed opportunities to relieve cognitive overload for travelers.
Nearly 30% of diners report food allergies or sensitivities, a risk compounded in foreign settings due to inconsistent allergen labeling [1]. For those with dietary restrictions, deciding what not to eat is as crucial as deciding what to order. A significant portion of anaphylactic reactions happens outside the home, with 25% occurring during restaurant meals [2].
This insight shaped our guiding vision: a product that proactively supports safe, confident dining by simplifying information access and decision-making for diverse dietary needs.
Endres, B. A., Endres, R., & Nižić, M. K. (2021). Restaurant disclosure of food allergens: analysis and economic implications. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 21(2), 202–15.
Boyd, M. (2018). Serving up allergy labeling: mitigating food allergen risks in restaurants. Oregon Law Review, 97, 109–82.
USERS AT THE FOREFRONT
The interviews revealed two types of food enthusiasts: those with strict dietary standards and those who, though unfamiliar with foreign cuisines, are eager and open to trying new flavors.
Robert is an adventurous traveler who dives into diverse cuisines, balancing his pescatarian diet and peanut allergy along the way.
Melissa enthusiastically explores New York’s vibrant culinary scene, embracing new tastes and traditions with an open mind.
DEEPER INSIGHTS
Before beginning the design, I compared existing menu translation products to identify unique features that could differentiate my product from the competition.
Comparing competitor products with user interview insights revealed key opportunities to enhance the foreign dining experience.
The product should provide visual, text, and auditory guidance, along with a profile builder tailored to each user’s preferences. By consolidating features like pronunciation assistance, visual aids, dish descriptions, and personalized dietary alerts, the product can boost order confidence and create a uniquely supportive dining experience.
REFRAMING THE PROBLEM
Ordering food involves both selecting and eliminating options. This raised the question: how can we help diners efficiently rule out unwanted dishes? By offering images and a personalized dietary profile, diners can swiftly and easily filter out unsuitable menu items.
For instance, a user allergic to shrimp but otherwise pescatarian could record this in their profile. When scanning menus, they’d be automatically alerted to pescatarian-friendly items and those containing allergens.
The next step was to map out the main user and task flows for the product:
HOW WE GOT THERE
Three questions informed my design strategy:
How do you design for a variety of diners?
How to design intuitive, streamlined flows?
What other features would diners like besides the primary scan to translation feature?
Keep it simple: one primary feature. Ancillary features should enhance, not distract from, the main function.
Primary feature: menu scan
Ancillary feature: profile page
Ancillary feature: history and favorites
Sign up process
I brainstormed 30 product names, then narrowed it to 15. Focusing on names that were captivating, descriptive, and self-explanatory, I shortlisted four. I ultimately chose "MenuMate" for its ease, friendliness, and approachable sound.
MenuMate's logo began with a fork and spoon to signify dining. To enhance visual appeal, I curved them to suggest a dinner plate, creating a central empty space. Initially, I added a globe to emphasize international focus, but it looked cluttered and resembled a basketball. After experimenting with a translation icon and refining it, the final logo took shape.
MID-FIDELITY PROGRESSION
For this food-focused app, I applied a popular color theory in food advertising. Together, yellow and red are known to capture interest and stimulate appetite. Rather than the bold primary colors typical of fast food, I chose softer shades of red and yellow for a more inviting feel.
After finalizing the color palette, I chose Noto Sans as the typeface for its extensive language support, ensuring global accessibility and readability. The card design drew inspiration from food apps, using pops of color and clear black text on neutral white backgrounds. Rounded card corners add a soft, approachable feel to the app's look.
Creating an intuitive footer was essential, so I took inspiration from Venmo's transaction-focused footer. Here, the scanning feature is central, flanked by the homepage and profile buttons. For a friendly, inviting look, I used cartoon sets to illustrate product use. After refining colors for the logo, buttons, and illustrations, I finalized a cohesive visual scheme that enhances the product’s appeal.
After creating basic wireframes, I advanced to mid-fidelity mock-ups, integrating the color scheme, icons, and logo to bring the design closer to the final look.
FROM PROTOTYPE TO FINAL PRODUCT
After completing the prototype, I conducted a moderated usability test with six participants. Four tasks were assigned to observe user navigation, leading to valuable observations.
1. Sign up and onboard
2. Complete profile, including dietary information
3. Scan and translate a menu. Select a dish for further details
4. Save a dish from a prior scan
Most users found the experience straightforward and user-friendly. However, the back and exit icons were confusing due to their placement over unrelated content. The following chart outlines additional pain points:
KEY IMPROVEMENTS
Before
After
PROFILE COMPLETION
An extra onboarding screen was added to guide users in completing their profiles. A camera-enabled avatar replaced the confusing large plus icon, and the completion status bar was changed to yellow for a friendlier appearance.
Before
After
dietary details
Initially, dietary preferences combined diet categories and allergies, causing the allergy section to be overlooked. To improve this, two separate tabs were created, and allergy icons were styled to match diet icons. Testing revealed the original red buttons were too prominent, prompting a redesign.
Before
After
SCAN LEGIBILITY
The back and favorite icons blended into the scanned information, so a black gradient was added to the top, improving icon visibility. The favorite icon was replaced with a save icon, and a saved icon was added next to previously saved dishes to cue users when a favorite is available.
Before
After
ICON PLACEMENT
Key food card edits included moving the exit icon to the top outside the image space and relocating the like/dislike/save icons to the center. To clarify, the favorite icon was replaced with a save icon, which users found more self-explanatory.
The design
In busy travel moments, MenuMate simplifies dining out by guiding you according to your personal diet. With visual aids and pronunciation assistance, it boosts your confidence in exploring new dishes.
Recalling saved dishes and menus
Scanning and translating a menu, followed by selecting a specific dish
FINAL THOUGHTS
All observations from the frequency-severity diagram were reviewed, though not every usability suggestion made it into the final version due to time and scope constraints. For example, adding restaurant names to food cards was deemed non-essential to the product's core purpose. With additional development time, I’d consider a home prompt for users returning to the app, asking where they last dined and what they ordered, transforming the product into a food chronicle to boost engagement. Eventually, a map feature recording dining locations and dishes could also enhance the experience.
