Automated Dietary Guide App
PlateMate
Project
PLATEMATE
Duration
4 months
Team
Samantha Mirabella, Sharon Ou, Yashini Ravindran, Madhushree Ghosh
My role
UX Researcher, Product Designer
Project Overview
Automated Dietary Guide
Many individuals struggle to make confident food choices due to complex ingredient labels, unclear menus, and diverse dietary needs or goals. This often leads to stress, uncertainty, and potential health risks.
PlateMate is an AI-powered companion that provides personalized, real-time dietary guidance. Users can scan foods, log meals, and track health trends, while receiving tailored insights that adapt to their unique needs.
Problem Statement
Identifying Main Challenges
Apps Aren’t Truly Personalized
Most nutrition apps focus on basic calorie tracking and don’t adapt to allergies, health conditions, or real-time changes.
Food Choices Are Uncertain
People with dietary needs often feel confused and stressed when reading labels or menus, making it hard to know what’s safe to eat.
Lack of Guidance Leads to Risk
Without clear direction, users may accidentally follow unsafe diets or consume ingredients that harm their health and dietary goals.
Discovery & Research
Key Insights from Research
>1%
Less than 1% of Americans meet all nutritional guidelines
1/4
1 in 4 Canadians have dietary restrictions or preferences
87%
AI can accurately detect allergens: Up to 87% accuracy
Discovery & Research
Competitor Analysis 1
We analyzed three key competitors to identify valuable strengths to draw inspiration from and uncover the gaps that PlateMate can address.
Noom
Functionality & Usability
Tracks meals and access to coaches and support groups.
Lessons are personalized based on the users health goals and adapt when habits start to change.
Daily check-ins to help form healthy habits
Pain Points
Emphasis on calorie restriction
Some foods aren’t in the database
Confusion navigating between lessons, food logging, and coaching chat
Discovery & Research
Competitor Analysis 2
We analyzed three key competitors to identify valuable strengths to draw inspiration from and uncover the gaps that PlateMate can address.
Fig
Functionality & Usability
Only available in the US as of now
Straightforward product scanning and clear feedback on foods
Quickly determine whether food products are safe to eat or not
Pain Points
Important test results hidden behind paywall
Not all food products or brands are in the database
Focuses heavily on packaged grocery items, limited features for dining out
Discovery & Research
User Persona 1
Jordan Reyes, 33 years
An amateur bodybuilder focused on safely building muscle through precise nutrition and consistent tracking.
User Goals
Use AI to automate meal tracking.
Get personalized meal and recipe suggestions.
Receive reminders to stay healthy and avoid overtraining.
Pain Points
Frustrated with manual meal logging.
Finds it hard to detect hidden sugars or carbs in meals.
Feels most nutrition apps are too generic for bodybuilding needs.
Discovery & Research
User Persona 2
Michael Chen, 43 years
Michael is a father of a 7-year-old daughter who has peanut and shellfish allergies. He is concerned about her food safety and often double-checks every ingredient when cooking at home or dining out.
User Goals
An efficient way to determine safe foods for his daughter and identify safe alternatives.
Reduce the stress of meal planning and eating out.
Keep a history of safe foods and meals for easy reference.
Pain Points
Overwhelmed by constantly reading food labels and cross-checking restaurant menus.
Difficulty finding quick, reliable information in high-pressure situations.
Wants his daughter to eventually develop the habit of managing her allergies independently as she grows older.
Solution Statement
Solution Statement
Personalized Profile
Set up my dietary profile effortlessly with AI-guided onboarding — featuring clickable suggestions and voice interaction for fast, hands-free setup.
Health & Food Tracking
Track my meals and health progress through simple visuals and charts. The AI provides smart insights and suggestions to support healthier choices and prevent dietary risks.
Smart Food Scanning
Use the AI scanner to instantly analyze foods, menus, or ingredients. It rates meal safety, detects risks, and generates recipe ideas tailored to user's diet.
Onboarding
Scanner
Safe Alternatives
Recipes
Recipe Generator
Food Log
Scan History
Health Log
View Insights
Profile
Profile Settings
Information architecture
structure & Design
Wireframe
structure & Design
Profile
Scan
Recipes
Food Log
Health Log
12:00
Scan a meal, product label, barcode, or ingredient list, or restaurant menu to find out how it aligns with your profile.
Generate a recipe
Search for recipes
Recent recipes
Poke bowl
Poke bowl
Poke bowl
Poke bowl
Cuisine
Pastry
Pastry
Pastry
Pastry
High Protein Breakfast
Poke bowl
Poke bowl
Poke bowl
Poke bowl
Profile
Scan
Recipes
Food Log
Health Log
12:00
Recipes
Profile
Scan
Recipes
Food Log
Health Log
Share Health
Week
Month
Year
All Time
Current Goal:
Insights
Muscle Gain
Your average sodium intake has been above recommended limits for 2 weeks.
Fibre intake improved by 15% compared to last month.
Macronutrient
Micronutrient
Fat
Carbs
Protein
45%
20%
30%
12:00
Health Log
Lose weight
Maintain health
Gain Muscle Mass
Plan Meals
Lower Sugar
Optimized Nutrients
Support Training Recovery
Diabetes
Personalized User Profiles
Onboarding Screen
A simple and fast onboarding gathers essential information about the user’s dietary goals and health conditions to create a tailored nutrition profile.
AI Voice Chat
Through voice conversation with AI, users can easily set up their profiles hands-free, making the process intuitive and effortless.
Scan
Recipes
Food Log
Health Log
Health Log Screen
Health Overview
Users can view their goals and weekly progress through clear, engaging visuals.
Aim for 8-10g fibre daily — try adding a green smoothie or side salad with each meal.
Generate High-Fibre Recipes
Insights & Recommendation
AI-generated insights and trend suggestions guide users toward healthier daily habits and help prevent potential dietary risks.
Scan
Recipes
Food Log
Health Log
Scan Anything Instantly.
Scanner Screens
An AI-powered scanner analyzes packaged foods, restaurant menus, and home ingredients.
The scan results rate meal suitability for your diet, highlight potential risks with colour-coded indicators, and provide a detailed nutrition breakdown.
Stay on track with your daily meals.
Scan
Recipes
Food Log
Health Log
Scan
Recipes
Food Log
Health Log
Add food log
Edit food log
Delete food log
Generate recipes
Daily Nutrition Log
Food Log Screen
A scan-based food tracker summarizes nutrition details from what users eat each day.
The calendar view helps monitor meal times, and users can add, edit, or delete entries anytime to keep records accurate.
Scan
Recipes
Food Log
Health Log
Discover Meals Made for You.
Recipes Screens
Users can explore a range of recommended recipes tailored to their dietary needs and goals.
Recipes Detail
Each recipe includes prep time, ingredients, and full nutrition info, along with AI-generated video tutorials for easy step-by-step cooking.
Paprika Chicken Quinoa Bowl
520 kcal
| 25 min
High Protein
Balanced Meal
Quick Prep
Recipes Card
Each recipe card displays calories and cooking time along with key insights such as high protein, balanced meal, or quick prep to help users choose the best fit.
12:00
I’m listening...
I want something quick, comforting, and Italian with meat.
Smart Recipe Generator
Recipe Generator Screens
The AI creates personalized recipes that match the user’s dietary goals and needs. It reduces food waste and inspire creative cooking.
Users can tell the AI what kind of meal they want or scan what ingredients they have. Both features create a more intuitive and conversational experience.
Description
Your ingredients, auto-planned.
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Body Text
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Typography
Design System
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Brand Secondary
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Brand Primary
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Colour Palette
Design System
This project strengthened my understanding of how thoughtful UX design can simplify complex tasks like nutrition management and support healthier daily habits. I gained practical experience in applying human-centered design principles to real user needs, especially for individuals with dietary restrictions or health conditions. Designing features such as AI-guided onboarding, smart scanning, and voice-based interactions taught me the importance of reducing cognitive load and creating intuitive, anxiety-free experiences. Using branch mark analysis and personas, helped ensure the solution reflected users’ behaviors, motivations, and challenges. This process reinforced the value of clarity, accessibility, and personalized support when designing for health-related contexts.
A key takeaway was the impact of continuous iteration and user feedback. If I were to expand this project further, I would conduct more extensive usability testing across a wider demographic to better understand unique dietary needs and cultural food patterns. Longer testing cycles would also offer deeper insights into user behavior over time, such as how consistently they log meals or engage with AI-generated suggestions. Overall, this experience strengthened my perspective as a designer who prioritizes empathy, simplicity, and adaptability—not only to improve usability, but to promote sustainable long-term habits. It also reinforced how AI-driven features, when designed responsibly, can enhance user confidence and make everyday decisions feel more supportive and approachable.
Reflection & Learnings
PlateMate