Fribee: Community Food Sharing

Themed “Harvesting Health,” the RSA Student Design Awards 2019 was a seven-week studio project completed collaboratively with a team of classmates. At the end of the project, our work was shortlisted by the teaching team as one of six projects selected for submission to the international competition. While the project did not progress to the final shortlist at the global stage, the experience provided valuable exposure to working within a competition brief, developing ideas collaboratively, and translating research and strategy into a considered design outcome.

Fribee is an independent, self-sustaining system designed to help communities share surplus fresh food with their neighbours. Through a combination of digital and social touchpoints, residents can make use of communal fridges located on the ground floors of their neighbourhood to give and receive food that might otherwise go to waste.

Beyond reducing food waste, Fribee explores how the simple act of sharing food can strengthen connections within a community, encouraging neighbours to participate in a more collaborative and sustainable way of living.

The project was informed by extensive research during its early stages, including market research, site visits, interviews and observations to better understand food waste, existing behaviours and the needs of the community.

One of the most important considerations when designing a mobile application is the user experience. For Fribee to be intuitive and approachable, the interface needed to communicate its functions clearly while providing appropriate feedback throughout the user journey — creating an interaction that feels responsive and conversational.

The design process began with quick wireframe sketches to map out the onboarding experience and establish the key interactions before moving into Adobe XD for interface design and prototyping.

This project was also my first experience using Adobe XD. Despite being new to the software, its familiar Adobe interface allowed me to quickly adapt and focus on translating the initial wireframes into a functional digital experience.

I was initially fascinated by how quickly wireframing and prototyping tools could bring an interface to life. Using Adobe XD, I was able to build an interactive prototype and preview the experience directly on my iPhone 7, allowing me to better understand how the design would feel on an actual device.

A consistent system of colours, typography and visual forms was established to ensure that the interface remained cohesive with the wider Fribee brand identity. Careful consideration was also given to the selection of imagery, using photography that complemented the brand and helped establish a warm, approachable and community-focused experience.

Find out more in detail about this project via my Creative Process Journal