Foodle

Foodle is a mobile app concept designed to unite adventurous food enthusiasts via shared dining adventures. It merges intuitive swipe-based matching mechanics with tailored food preferences to foster exciting culinary connections and experiences.

Year
2022

Team
Carolyn Milton,
Nirkhunan Kuppuram

Sector
Social

Discipline
UX/UI
Strategy

Foodle is a mobile app concept that aims to connect adventurous food lovers through shared culinary experiences, blending swipe-based matching with personalized food preferences. Foodle is a mobile app concept that aims to connect adventurous food lovers through shared culinary experiences, blending swipe-based matching with personalized food preferences. Foodle is a mobile app concept that aims to connect adventurous food lovers through shared culinary experiences, blending swipe-based matching with personalized food preferences. Foodle is a mobile app concept that aims to connect adventurous food lovers through shared culinary experiences, blending swipe-based matching with personalized food preferences.

Conceptual app idea

Foodle addresses the gap in social food discovery apps by making it fun and easy to find dining buddies for trying new cuisines. This need was found during conversations with friends post COVID-19 pandemic, as a need for people living away from families in isolation for a companion and food seemed to be the universal connector.

Ideation

Eating out is pretty awesome. But finding someone who appreciates food for adventures can be troublesome.
- heard during conversation

People crave new culinary experiences, but solo dining or mismatched companions often hold them back. How can we make discovering shared food adventures more seamless and exciting?

Research

What is so hard to match with someone?

From user interviews and surveys, key challenges emerged (repeated for emphasis)

Discovery

To better understand user behaviors in food discovery, we surveyed 25 enthusiasts aged 22-35 and audited apps like Yelp, Tinder, and Meetup. This uncovered a four-stage process for shared culinary adventures: Planning (brainstorming cuisines or spots), Matching (finding compatible partners), Dining (the shared experience), and Reviewing (reflecting for future outings). The linear flow exposed inefficiencies, like switching platforms, highlighting the need for an integrated solution like Foodle.

A core insight was users' demand for quick personalized suggestions, frustrated by juggling Yelp for ratings, Instagram for visuals, and chats for coordination. Foodle's swiping mechanism addresses this by consolidating features into one interface, enabling concepts like "food compatibility scores"—algorithmic matches based on dietary restrictions, spice tolerance, and adventure levels—for more accurate, engaging pairings and fewer mismatches.

Models and Vision

Analyzed findings with graphs and mind maps to structure the app.

Goals on a timeline

Information architecture

Persona

Scenario

Navigation Overview

The bottom navigation bar features a launch screen with profile setup for food preferences and dietary needs, a Swipe tab for discovering matches, an Explore tab for curated restaurant spots and recommendations, a Chat tab for real-time planning and conversations, and a Profile tab for viewing personal logs, points, rewards, and safety settings.

Comprehensive match information

The match profile card provides essential details for quick, confident swipes. The displayed information is simplified and accessible, making it easy to read at first glance, with prominent cuisine badges, dietary icons, adventure level tags, and basic bio highlights. Additional details, such as interests, past dining experiences, and ratings, are organized further down the hierarchy, offering a deeper look into compatibility without overwhelming the initial view.

Planning and coordination

With the in-app chat and sharing features, users can easily coordinate dining plans with their match. They can share restaurant ideas, preferences, availability, and even export the full plan (including spot details, date/time, and buddy requirements) to invite additional friends or post on social media, increasing the chances of building a perfect foodie group.

Design Details

Branding

Why “Foodle”?

"Foodle" combines "food" and "doodle" for playful exploration, or nods to "noodle" for fun eats—symbolizing casual, adventurous connections. Memorable and tied to joy in sharing meals.

Previous Project

Conceptual app idea

Foodle addresses the gap in social food discovery apps by making it fun and easy to find dining buddies for trying new cuisines.