Revo case study (Small Version)
Revo – Smart Food Waste Tracker & Meal Kit Planner
Overview
What is Revo?
Revo is a mobile and web-based platform designed to help users reduce food waste, track pantry items, discover recipes, and join a community focused on sustainable living. The app empowers individuals to manage their food better and engage in eco-conscious habits through intuitive tools and social motivation.
My Role: UI/UX Designer — Led the end-to-end product design including user research, flow creation, wireframes, high-fidelity UI design, interactive components, and overall visual direction.
Year: 2024
Platform:
- Mobile App (iOS & Android)
- Responsive Web Version
Problem Statement
Food waste is a growing global issue — households often purchase more than they consume, leading to unnecessary waste, financial loss, and environmental impact. Many people lack awareness of what’s in their kitchen, don’t plan meals effectively, and miss out on using items before they expire. Moreover, there’s a lack of community-driven platforms that motivate users to adopt sustainable habits through shared goals and encouragement.
Goal / Objective
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Reduce Food Waste: Provide users with smart tracking tools to manage pantry inventory and set reminders for expiry.
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Encourage Smarter Cooking: Suggest recipes based on what users already have at home.
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Build a Conscious Community: Motivate users through challenges, shared success stories, and leaderboards.
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Offer Seamless Experience: Ensure intuitive navigation, clean design, and a smooth experience across mobile and web platforms.
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Educate and Empower: Promote sustainability through tips, waste logs, and progress visualization to drive behavior change.
Research Summary
To better understand user behavior around food waste and kitchen management, I conducted user interviews and online surveys targeting home cooks, students, and small families. The goal was to uncover pain points in meal planning, pantry tracking, and sustainable habits.
Key Findings
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Low Awareness: Many users forget what’s in their pantry or fridge, leading to expired or spoiled food.
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Meal Planning Gaps: Users often cook impulsively, not based on what’s already available.
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Desire for Guidance: People want recipe ideas that match their current ingredients.
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Motivation Through Community: Users expressed interest in being part of a movement or community where they could share progress and learn from others.
These insights helped shape core features such as the pantry manager, smart recipe suggestions, and community challenges. It also emphasized the need for simplicity and visual clarity to reduce user effort.
The challenge was clear: how can we help users manage their food waste in a way that feels simple, effective, and rewarding? Revo isn’t just an app; it’s a tool for everyday change. With a sharp focus on user behavior and empathy, I designed a solution that makes reducing food waste effortless and meaningful. Here’s how:
1. User-Centered Onboarding
The journey begins with a seamless onboarding experience that introduces the app’s core functions without overwhelming the user. By guiding users step-by-step, I ensured that they understood how to track their food, get recipe recommendations, and stay on top of expiry dates—all in a few easy taps.
2. Smart Expiry Tracker
The cornerstone of the app is its expiry tracking feature, designed to make users aware of their food’s lifespan. Not only does this prevent spoilage, but it also provides suggestions for using items before they expire. The tracker allows users to take control of their food, minimizing waste and maximizing utility.
3. Recipe Logic & Suggestions
Understanding that many people struggle with figuring out what to cook with leftover ingredients, I integrated an intelligent recipe recommendation engine. This feature suggests meals based on what users have left in their kitchen, making it easier to use ingredients before they go bad. The result is reduced food waste and a more sustainable approach to meal planning.
4. Eco-Score for Sustainability
The eco-score system empowers users to see the environmental impact of their choices. Each action—whether it’s saving food, choosing eco-friendly recipes, or tracking waste—contributes to their score. This gamified approach motivates users to take sustainable actions and feel good about reducing their carbon footprint.
5. Personalized Reminders & Nudges
Through tailored notifications, I designed reminders and nudges to help users stay on track. From reminding them about expiring food to suggesting ways to use leftovers creatively, these subtle prompts encourage users to engage with the app regularly and make responsible choices.
7. Insights & Progress Tracking
Revo’s analytics dashboard provides users with visual insights into their progress. It tracks their food waste reduction over time, celebrates milestones, and encourages them to improve. These data-driven insights help users see the tangible results of their actions, fostering a sense of accomplishment and reinforcing the benefits of sustainable habits.
6. Social Sharing & Challenges
To further amplify the impact of Revo, I included social sharing features. Users can share their eco-scores and waste-reducing achievements with their friends, sparking friendly competition and community. By incorporating challenges like “7 Days of Zero Waste,” users are encouraged to stick to sustainable practices in a fun and engaging way.
Conclusion: A Smarter, Greener Way to Live
With Revo, I aimed to build more than just an app; I wanted to create a system that truly connects users with the environmental impact of their food choices. By designing an intuitive, easy-to-use interface with personalized, actionable insights, I believe Revo can lead the charge in the fight against food waste—one meal at a time.
User Flow & App Structure
UI Design & Visual Language
What I Learned from This Project
Revo wasn’t just a UI/UX challenge—it was a wake-up call about designing for real human behavior. I learned how easily good design can fall flat without understanding what motivates users to act. Through user interviews and feedback loops, I realized that users don’t just want features—they want clarity, ease, and purpose. It forced me to move past just “looking good” and focus on making sure each decision had a user-first reason behind it. The process of mapping out expiry tracking, recipe logic, and eco-score flows helped me understand how even micro-interactions shape trust and usability.
On a deeper level, this project taught me the emotional side of design. People don’t open apps to reduce waste—they do it because they want to feel less guilty, more in control, or part of a solution. Revo helped me sharpen that empathy. I now design with sharper questions: Why now? Why this screen? What’s the smallest, clearest action they can take? Those are lessons I didn’t learn from tutorials—I earned them through mistakes, testing, reworks, and real insight.
This project is part of my college final assessment work, and it made me a more conscious and honest designer. It was a journey of growth, not just as a designer but as someone who now designs with a clearer understanding of the human experience.
