My Role: Design Manager
Location: Canada and USA
Project Duration: 3 months
Year: 2024
Category: Hospitality (B2B, B2C)
Deliverables: Research, Design Concept, Prototype
Yelp is an online platform where users review and discover local businesses, helping diners make informed choices.
Yelp Design Challenge
How might we enable restaurants to offer more sustainable dining experiences so that diners can make more environmentally conscious decisions on where to eat?
Objective
Explore how to empower diners and restaurants to make eco-friendly decisions through better communication and user engagement.
Research Overview
Our research process combined both secondary and primary research to understand the motivations, barriers, and behaviors of both diners and restaurant owners regarding sustainability.
Research Goals
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Methodology
Secondary Research: We analyzed existing literature on green dining practices, eco-friendly consumer behaviours, and the challenges restaurants face when implementing sustainable options.
Primary Research: We interviewed 5 restaurant decision-makers and 6 diners, focusing on Millennials and Gen Z. These insights helped us understand key factors influencing dining choices and the cost challenges faced by small to medium-sized restaurants.
Interviews
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Interviewed 5 Restaurant owners in GTA, all of them are restaurant decision makers.
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Interviewed 6 diners Gen Z (18-26 years) and Millennials (27-42 years), all of them dine out on weekly basis
To understand restaurants’ motivations and barriers to implementing green practices in food preparation and service and exploring diners' attitudes and behaviours towards eco-friendly dining options.
To identify effective strategies and interventions that can enable restaurants to offer more sustainable dining experiences, thereby allowing diners to make environmentally conscious decisions.
Research Insights:
Our research revealed several key insights that shaped our ideation and design approach:
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Sustainability Is Not A Priority, But A Catalyst For Dining Experiences
Diners prioritize taste and price, but eco-friendly practices can significantly enhance their overall dining experience and influence their future decisions. While sustainability may not be the top priority, it can act as a catalyst for loyalty
It’s Tough To Go Green For Small To Medium-sized Establishments
Small to medium-sized establishments face significant cost challenges in adopting sustainable practices, despite a willingness to align with consumer preferences, especially those of Millennials and Gen Z
Eco-friendliness action is a shared perception
Millennials and Gen Z share a strong perception of the importance of sustainability in dining, valuing actions like using biodegradable materials and offering organic or vegan options:
Use of sustainable materials (e.g. utensils)
Effective food waste management
Provide fresh, organic or vegan ingredient
Minimizing the use of plastic
Minimizing the use of disposable utensils/containers
Subtle promotion is good, but we care more about transparency
Diners expressed a desire for transparency. Instead of vague eco-labels, they prefer detailed explanations about sustainability efforts through visible actions, such as clear labeling on menus or staff providing explanations
Proposed Solutions (Ideation):
Based on our research findings, we proposed several solutions to address the identified gaps between diner expectations and restaurant capabilities:
Proposed Solutions (Ideation):
Developed wireframes and user flows that integrated these solutions into Yelp’s platform, focusing on three key aspects:
Gamification
The Process Flow
The Game Concept
This game leverages interactive storytelling game to educate players on sustainable practices, guided by the 6 criteria:
Level 1
Ingredient Selection Level
Level 2
Eco-Conscious Dining Tools Level
Level 3
Eco-Conscious Dining Tools Level
Level 4
Energy Saving Level
Level 5
Food Waste Management Level
Level 6
Pollution & Chemical Reduction
It aims to inspire real-world behavioural changes by learning about environmental impact throughout the game.
User Interface
Click here for prototype (please note that the project is in progress, iteration are going on)