GreenCart

Local Goodness, One Tap Away
Team

Personal Project

My Role

Product Designer

Tool

Figma Miro

- Designing a Seasonal, Sustainable Shopping Experience -

Fresh produce, handcrafted goods, and a love for seasonal living—these are the reasons people flock to their local farmers market each week. But shoppers often arrive unsure of what’s available, or too late to snag their favorite items. Meanwhile, vendors struggle to predict demand and manage inventory.

GreenCart was created to bring more clarity, convenience, and connection to the market experience—helping users browse vendors, pre-order items, and stay updated on what’s in season, all in one place.

- Understanding The Challenge -

Shoppers enjoy the experience of visiting local farmers’ markets, but planning their trips can be challenging. They often lack real-time information about which vendors will be present or what products are available, making it difficult to decide what to buy ahead of time. I wanted to understand the full scope of this market-shopping experience before jumping into solutions—examining how users navigate uncertainty, manage timing, and make purchasing decisions—to ensure any concept I designed would truly address their needs.

Shoppers enjoy the experience of visiting local farmers’ markets, but planning their trips can be challenging. They often lack real-time information about which vendors will be present or what products are available, making it difficult to decide what to buy ahead of time. I wanted to understand the full scope of this market-shopping experience before jumping into solutions—examining how users navigate uncertainty, manage timing, and make purchasing decisions—to ensure any concept I designed would truly address their needs.

Shoppers enjoy the experience of visiting local farmers’ markets, but planning their trips can be challenging. They often lack real-time information about which vendors will be present or what products are available, making it difficult to decide what to buy ahead of time. I wanted to understand the full scope of this market-shopping experience before jumping into solutions—examining how users navigate uncertainty, manage timing, and make purchasing decisions—to ensure any concept I designed would truly address their needs.

1. Unstructured Market Experiences Limit Planning

Farmers market shoppers often face uncertainty around vendor availability, product selection, and seasonal offerings. This lack of information makes it difficult to plan visits efficiently or shop with confidence.

2. Fragmented In-Person Interactions Create Friction

From long wait times and crowded stalls to missed purchases and unclear navigation, in-person market experiences can feel disorganized and stressful—especially for time-constrained users.

3. Vendors Lack Tools for Demand Forecasting and Customer Outreach

Vendors often rely on word of mouth or social media to promote their presence, which can be inconsistent and ineffective. Without digital tools to predict customer demand or streamline communication, vendors miss opportunities to optimize inventory and build loyal buyer relationships.

4. Bridging Seasonal Shopping with Everyday Digital Behavior

GreenCart must translate the charm and spontaneity of farmers markets into a structured, repeatable digital experience that supports planning without removing the joy. The design challenge lies in balancing convenience with community, structure with seasonality, and digital habits with in-person traditions.

1. Unstructured Market Experiences Limit Planning

Farmers market shoppers often face uncertainty around vendor availability, product selection, and seasonal offerings. This lack of information makes it difficult to plan visits efficiently or shop with confidence.

2. Fragmented In-Person Interactions Create Friction

From long wait times and crowded stalls to missed purchases and unclear navigation, in-person market experiences can feel disorganized and stressful—especially for time-constrained users.

3. Vendors Lack Tools for Demand Forecasting and Customer Outreach

Vendors often rely on word of mouth or social media to promote their presence, which can be inconsistent and ineffective. Without digital tools to predict customer demand or streamline communication, vendors miss opportunities to optimize inventory and build loyal buyer relationships.

4. Bridging Seasonal Shopping with Everyday Digital Behavior

GreenCart must translate the charm and spontaneity of farmers markets into a structured, repeatable digital experience that supports planning without removing the joy. The design challenge lies in balancing convenience with community, structure with seasonality, and digital habits with in-person traditions.

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- Research -

Upon receiving our prompt, we were cognizant of its complexities. Therefore, we deconstructed the prompt into tangible subproblems, which we tackled by establishing research goals.

Upon receiving our prompt, we were cognizant of its complexities. Therefore, we deconstructed the prompt into tangible subproblems, which we tackled by establishing research goals.

Upon receiving our prompt, we were cognizant of its complexities. Therefore, we deconstructed the prompt into tangible subproblems, which we tackled by establishing research goals.

Research Goal

Understand shoppers' planning behaviors and market visit patterns

Identify key friction points in shopping and navigating the market

Discover how vendors manage inventory, sales forecasting, and communication

Learn how a digital tool like GreenCart can support both parties in context

Understand shoppers' planning behaviors and market visit patterns

Identify key friction points in shopping and navigating the market

Discover how vendors manage inventory, sales forecasting, and communication

Learn how a digital tool like GreenCart can support both parties in context

Methods Used
Local Shopper Interviews

I conducted five interviews with local shoppers to gather in-depth qualitative insights on the key aspects of the project.


Many shoppers struggled with knowing what’s in season and felt frustrated by the lack of visibility into nearby vendors. They also wanted more convenient ways to shop, like pre-orders or curated boxes, to save time and reduce uncertainty.


Insight: We learned that shoppers are seeking both transparency and convenience, which highlights the need for a centralized platform that connects them to seasonal produce and local vendors.

Intercepts & Field Observation

I conducted on-site visits at local farmers' markets in New York and Toronto to observe shopper behaviors and vendor interactions. The goal was to understand how people navigate markets, make purchasing decisions, and engage with seasonal produce in real-world settings.

|| Shopper Observation & Intercept Chart
“I wish I knew what was organic before I walked all the way here.”
“They sold out of eggs by the time I got here.”
“I only found out about this vendor through a friend.”
|| Vendor Observation & Intercept Chart
“The lines get too long, we lose customers.”
“People ask for items we stopped carrying.”

Insight: Shoppers require more effective guidance and real-time updates to feel confident and efficient in their shopping experience. Vendors need tools to better forecast demand and communicate availability to improve efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Online Survey

To broaden our understanding of shopper needs beyond field visits and interviews, we conducted an online survey targeting local market shoppers. The intention was to capture a wider range of behaviors and preferences, focusing on how people currently plan their farmers market visits, what challenges they face during shopping, and how technology might support them. The survey allowed us to collect both quantitative and qualitative insights, validating patterns observed in earlier interviews.


Insight: Shoppers expressed strong interest in a centralized tool with vendor schedules, product info, and pre-ordering, confirming a clear opportunity for GreenCart.

Competitve Analysis

Now that I had gathered insights into shoppers’ challenges and expectations, I wanted to examine how existing platforms address these needs. I focused on three leading solutions in the local food and farmers market space: Farm to People, Local Line, and FarmDrop. I analyzed their strengths, weaknesses, and key gaps to understand where GreenCart can differentiate and provide a stronger experience.


Strengths:

✅ Strong UX
✅ High brand trust
✅ Polished packaging and delivery system


Strengths:

✅ Values transparency and storytelling
✅ Mobile-optimized for users
✅ Appeals to values-driven shoppers


Strengths:

✅ Robust backend for vendors
✅ Inventory + fulfillment tools
✅ Scales for multi-market operations

Weaknesses:

❌ Less flexibility (subscription focus)
❌ Not tied to physical farmers' markets

Weaknesses:

❌ Limited regional availability
❌ Not deeply focused on market-day experience
❌ Limited app presence

Weaknesses:

❌ Too vendor-oriented; not shopper-friendly
❌ Steep learning curve for casual users

Key Gaps (vs GreenCart):

🔍 No physical market integration
🔍 Not suited for spontaneous purchases

Key Gaps (vs GreenCart):

🔍 Lacks real-time vendor updates
🔍 No vendor mapping or in-person pickup scheduling

Key Gaps (vs GreenCart):

🔍 Not designed for in-person markets
🔍 No visual discovery experience

Opportunities for GreenCart

  1. Focusing on the in-person market experience, with maps, vendor locations, and pre-order pickup flow.

  2. Combining vendor-side logistics with shopper-facing simplicity

  3. Appealing to both casual browsers and meal planners

  4. Providing hyperlocal real-time availability and updates, which none of the competitors do seamlessly.

- Empathize -

Affinity Map & Task Priorities

To synthesize the insights gathered from shopper, vendor, and expert interviews, I created an affinity map to cluster recurring themes, pain points, and needs. By grouping participant quotes, I was able to surface patterns that highlight both practical challenges and emotional frustrations with the farmers' market experience. This process allowed me to move from scattered individual comments to structured categories such as navigation, transparency, personalization, and vendor tools. From there, I framed “How Might We” questions to reorient each challenge as a design opportunity, helping guide Greencart’s product direction with clear priorities.


Persona Development

I identified two core groups whose needs shaped the direction of this project: shoppers and vendors. For shoppers, the recurring challenges centered on uncertainty, such as not knowing which vendors would be present, whether their favorite items would sell out, or how to plan meals without reliable information on seasonal produce. These frustrations highlight the importance of transparency and planning tools in their market experience.

On the other side, vendors frequently expressed difficulties with demand forecasting, customer communication, and inventory management. Many felt that the risk of bringing either too much or too little produce each week often led to lost potential sales due to long lines, sold-out items, or the inability to reach customers efficiently.

By clustering these themes and aligning them with goals, frustrations, and motivators, I developed two representative personas: Jessica, the shopper, and Maria, the vendor, to capture the perspectives of both sides of the market.


Journey Map

To better understand the shopper experience, I mapped the current journey of visiting a farmers market without the aid of a digital solution. This journey highlights the highs and lows of emotions shoppers encounter, from the excitement of arriving at the market to the frustration of long lines or sold-out produce. By visualizing these stages, I was able to uncover key opportunities where Greencart could step in to reduce uncertainty, improve convenience, and enhance the overall shopping experience.

- Ideation -

In this phase, the goal was to explore solutions that address the key user pain points by structuring a clear information architecture and testing early concepts through paper wireframes, ensuring the foundation for a seamless and intuitive experience.

In this phase, the goal was to explore solutions that address the key user pain points by structuring a clear information architecture and testing early concepts through paper wireframes, ensuring the foundation for a seamless and intuitive experience.

In this phase, the goal was to explore solutions that address the key user pain points by structuring a clear information architecture and testing early concepts through paper wireframes, ensuring the foundation for a seamless and intuitive experience.

Crazy 8s

To quickly generate a wide range of ideas, I applied the Crazy 8s method introduced in the Google UX course. This exercise challenges designers to sketch eight distinct ideas in eight minutes, encouraging rapid thinking and pushing beyond the most obvious solutions. By exploring multiple variations under time constraints, Crazy 8s helps uncover creative possibilities and ensures that promising directions are not overlooked.


User Flow

To better understand the shopper’s experience and organize the app’s functionality, I developed a site map and user flow that map out the key screens and possible paths within the app. This process allowed me to visualize the overall structure, identify gaps, and ensure that core features such as search, product browsing, and checkout were seamlessly connected. By translating research insights into a clear architecture, I created a foundation that supports both user needs and future design iterations.


- Iteration -

The Iteration phase aimed to validate my initial concepts and refine the design based on real user feedback. By testing mid-fidelity wireframes and workflows, I identified usability issues and gathered insights to improve layout, navigation, and hierarchy. These changes ensured the design better met user needs and aligned with project goals.

The Iteration phase aimed to validate my initial concepts and refine the design based on real user feedback. By testing mid-fidelity wireframes and workflows, I identified usability issues and gathered insights to improve layout, navigation, and hierarchy. These changes ensured the design better met user needs and aligned with project goals.

The Iteration phase aimed to validate my initial concepts and refine the design based on real user feedback. By testing mid-fidelity wireframes and workflows, I identified usability issues and gathered insights to improve layout, navigation, and hierarchy. These changes ensured the design better met user needs and aligned with project goals.

Mid-fidelity wireframes & Workflow

In this section, I outlined the four main user workflows of the app and translated them into mid-fidelity wireframes. These workflows illustrate how users navigate through key features and complete essential tasks. By mapping out each flow, I was able to define the structure, interactions, and information hierarchy more clearly before moving into high-fidelity design.

Shopper Flow

Vendor Flow

User Testing Insights

To evaluate the usability and accessibility of the mid-fidelity prototype, I conducted a user test focusing on task completion, comprehension, and navigation. The key findings are summarized below:


  • Completion of Task: 5/5 participants were able to complete the assigned tasks successfully, indicating a clear and functional user flow.

  • Understanding the Site: 5/5 participants recognized the app as an e-commerce platform for local farmers’ goods, showing that the core concept was communicated effectively.

  • Navigating the Site: 3/5 participants mentioned difficulty using the app with one hand—especially on the search page, where some accidentally tapped the wrong items.

|| The Single-Hand Operation

I updated the trending search section to include product images alongside text suggestions, allowing users to scroll horizontally without moving their fingers across the whole screen. The recent search history was changed from a horizontal to a vertical layout, reducing selection errors and improving readability. I aligned the interactive map and filter buttons with the search bar for easier access, and enlarged the shop by category buttons to minimize finger movement. Together, these changes create a more intuitive, efficient, and user-friendly experience.

- Final Solution -

Shopper Experience

01.

Shopping fresh becomes a seasonal journey—discover what’s in season, connect with nearby vendors, and curate or customize boxes for any occasion

02.

Searching fresh becomes a guided journey—explore by category, refine by detail, and uncover exactly what you need

03.

Checkout becomes a seamless finish—review, confirm, and await freshness at your door

04.

Your profile becomes a personal hub—orders, favorites, and preferences at a glance
Vendor Experience

01.

Every detail becomes control—inventory, sales, and customer connections at your fingertips

02.

Every conversation becomes insight—connect, respond, and build relationships with your customers seamlessly

- Future Steps -

I’m proud of how Greencart has evolved, but this is just the beginning. There are several opportunities to expand its functionality and refine the experience for both shoppers and vendors.

|| Deepen Feature Development
While the core flows like search, seasonal highlights, and vendor dashboards have been designed, there’s room to expand features such as community interactions, recipe integrations, and real-time vendor updates. These additions can make Greencart not only a shopping tool but also a daily resource for local food lovers.

|| Explore Advanced Technologies
Integrating features like AI-driven personalized recommendations and predictive vendor inventory tools can bring the platform to the next level. Leveraging real-time data could help users plan their purchases more efficiently while enabling vendors to forecast demand and minimize waste.

|| Design a Thoughtful Onboarding Experience
First impressions matter. A streamlined onboarding process for both shoppers and vendors will be key to adoption. For shoppers, onboarding can highlight personalization and seasonal offerings. For vendors, clear guidance on setting up inventory and managing orders will help build trust and confidence.

- Key Learnings -

User Research Shapes Meaningful Solutions
Conducting interviews and synthesizing insights helped me deeply understand both shoppers’ and vendors’ real pain points, guiding the direction of my design decisions.


Iterative Design is Essential
Testing wireframes and refining flows showed me how small usability changes—like simplifying navigation or adjusting layouts—can make a big difference in overall user experience.


Balancing User Needs and Business Goals
Designing for two user groups (shoppers and vendors) taught me to find a balance between creating intuitive experiences and meeting operational goals like inventory management and upselling.