back over the past two weeks and mark on a map the places they
had eaten; to indicate where they might want to see nutritional
information in restaurants; to play a guessing game to see if they
could accurately gauge the caloric content of a meal from a photo
alone; and to consider a series of reflective questions the next
time they were at a restaurant. While our goal was to distribute
these kits to the public who matched our target group criteria of
bodybuilders, dieters, and mature adults with health conditions,
due to time constraints, we were limited to asking people we knew
personally (friends, family, and fellow Emily Carr students) who fit
these criteria.

To gather additional information, we interviewed general
practitioner Dr. Denise McLeod, owner of the McLeod Family
Medical Clinic. This discussion gave us a better understanding
of which nutrients matter most to a person’s well-being, and how
doctors use this information in their medical practices (D. McLeod,
personal interview, November 2, 2014).

Next we conducted a competitive analysis of several apps that
provide nutritional information. The apps we chose to analyze
were Argus, Moves, SparkPeople, Edomondo, Fitbit, and MyFit-
nessPal. As we used the apps, we noted each app’s ability to convey
information clearly, function simply, be visually dynamic, and
provide an overall pleasant user experience.

PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS

We found that partnered establishments did not widely advertise
the availability of nutritional information; many of the restau-
rants did not prominently display the 1D signage. As well, existing
nutritional pamphlets and booklets were made available only upon
request or at the till, making the process inconvenient for most

customers. The printed information itself was not laid out in an
approachable or accessible manner. We also discovered that some
staff members were not aware of their business’s participation in
the program, leading us to believe that the ID initiative is of periph-
eral concern to some of these establishments.

RESPONDENT INSIGHTS

Responses gathered from the ethnographic probe kits indicate
patterns in participant thought processes. We noted that people,
while interested in having nutritional information available, are
unwilling to go to great lengths to retrieve that information; they
do not want this service to interrupt their dining experience.

We also found that although people make meal selection based
primarily on food images and descriptions, they are unskilled at
accurately estimating nutritional content using this information
alone. Additionally, responders expressed an interest in having
information available in a way that allows for casual, pre-emptive
decision-making. Several of the target groups already use smart-
phone apps to track their food intake, often in relation to already
established food-related goals, which gave us an unexpected
opportunity to explore.

CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT

First, we laid out all of the information we had gathered, includ-
ing the client’s desires and needs of the target users, and grouped
similar findings and information together. Next, we took these
ideas and arranged them hierarchically according to our stake-
holders’ priorities. We came away from this exercise with a list of
primary concerns to address:

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