Project type: University Project (Parsons School of Design)
Role: Product Designer
Tools: Figma
Duration: 4 weeks
Product Design | Reducing Food Waste by Fostering Community Connections.
Introduction
During an exchange semester at Parsons, I was challenged to design a solution for a potential issue facing New York City in 2070. Within the brief’s constraints, I applied the Double Diamond process to develop a digital solution for the future city I envisioned. In the Discover phase, I used speculative thinking, future wheels, and world-building to explore how climate change, population growth, and resource scarcity might shape the city. In the Define phase, I synthesized insights to identify key challenges emerging from these scenarios. During the Develop phase, I brainstormed and iterated on digital solutions to address the city’s evolving needs. Finally, in the Deliver phase, I refined my concept into a high-fidelity mockup, ensuring feasibility and alignment with the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing urban environment.
Discover
Since reliable interview or questionnaire participants from 2070 were unavailable, I explored alternative design methodologies, using future wheels and world-building to identify potential challenges future NYC residents might face.
I used a Futures Wheel early in the design process to anticipate the potential impacts of expanding farmland and deforestation:
Futures Wheel
I used world-building to envision a future where key outcomes from my futures wheel have become reality:
By 2070, climate change's devastating impacts have become undeniable. Rising sea levels have displaced people, leading to mass immigration to cities like New York and London, while smaller coastal communities have been abandoned due to flooding and bushfires.
Urbanization has surged, and cities have invested heavily in climate-adaptive infrastructure. However, skyrocketing energy costs, driven by wars and taxes on unsustainable energy sources, have made basic necessities like heating and cooking unaffordable for lower-income groups.
Traditional farming has declined as arid land expands, leading to the rise of vertical farming. However, high transportation costs, driven by gasoline taxes, have pushed food prices even higher. Despite the advancements in our farming systems, we continue to generate significant food waste, worsening the climate crisis.
Define
World Building
Through my futures wheel and worldbuilding workshops, I identified three key needs of my future NYC residents:
Affordable Food Access: Low income residents are unable to afford necessities.
Food Waste Reduction: Food waste continues to cause environmental strain.
Local Solutions: High transportation costs mean that residents require a solution that is within walking distance.
Idea 1 | Divert food waste to community gardens.
Description: An app that reduces food waste by redirecting it to community gardens instead of landfills. Users drop off compost at designated bins, scan a QR code, and track their contributions to earn discounts on locally-grown produce.
Pros: Lowers food costs for New York residents while reducing landfill emissions from household food waste.
Cons: Limited availability of community gardens selling produce, potential concerns about urban pollution affecting crops, and future climate and energy challenges making cultivation less viable in 2070.
Idea 2 | Track behaviours and suggest improvements.
Description: A tool that tracks food waste by requiring users to scan receipts weekly and log discarded items. It provides a visual breakdown of waste patterns and shopping suggestions based on past habits.
Pros: Helps users save money by purchasing only what they need.
Cons: Requires consistent user effort and attention to be effective.
Idea 3 | Allow grocers to sell items approaching expiration at discounted prices.
Description: A platform that lets grocers sell aging products at discounted prices instead of discarding them, making food more affordable for the community. Prices decrease as items get closer to expiration, increasing accessibility.
Pros: Lowers food costs for low-income New York residents while reducing grocery store food waste and landfill emissions.
Cons: Relies on grocery store participation, which may be challenging due to the lack of strong financial incentives for grocers.
Idea 4 | Connect small businesses with surplus food to individuals in need.
Description: A platform where small businesses, like restaurants and cafés, list discounted food that would otherwise be discarded. Users can browse a city map to find deals, with darker red dots indicating areas with higher food availability.
Pros: Increases access to affordable food within walking distance while reducing landfill waste. Also helps small businesses profit from surplus stock.
Cons: Uneven distribution of food businesses in low-income areas may limit accessibility, though this could change with the city's $10 million initiative by 2070.
To learn more about New York’s ‘food deserts’ and what the Government is doing about it, click here.
Idea 5 | Encourage households to list surplus food at low cost.
Description: A platform where households list surplus food at low cost, making food more accessible to those in need while fostering community connections.
Pros: Expands food accessibility and strengthens community relationships.
Cons: Surplus food may be unevenly distributed, with wealthier areas having more excess than lower-income areas. However, the platform could help bridge this gap by leveraging the proximity of affluent neighborhoods to underserved communities. Rising wealth inequality in the U.S. may further impact this dynamic by 2070.
Refine
After presenting my low-fidelity prototypes to my classmates and integrating their feedback, I refined my best ideas into a single solution: a mobile app that reduces food waste by enabling users to sell leftovers or host paid dinner parties. The app promotes community engagement by connecting neighbors through food sharing while offering a financial incentive to minimize waste.
Develop
To create a high-fidelity mockup addressing the needs of New York residents in 2070, I began by ideating and developing low-fidelity prototypes for various solutions. Recognizing the transactional nature of the United States, I aimed to incentivize sustainable living through monetary rewards while fostering community engagement. My solution was designed to be both impactful and enduring, taking into account future societal constraints, particularly the heightened economic and environmental instability I envisioned for 2070.
Deliver
Finally, I prototyped a high-fidelity mock-up of the app.
Kibb is a mobile app that helps cut food waste by connecting communities and offering affordable meals within walking distance. Users can share leftover food, host dinner gatherings, or find low-cost meals nearby. Inspired by the communal spirit of a kibbutz, Kibb fosters resource-sharing and strengthens local connections.
As climate change reshapes daily life, Kibb makes sustainable living both easy and enjoyable. By sharing food locally, the app reduces waste, lowers transportation emissions, and helps ease the burden of rising food costs. More than just a food-sharing platform, Kibb builds stronger neighborhoods, promotes a greener future, and makes sustainable living an accessible and fun choice.
The two primary user flows of Kibb are detailed below, each accompanied by a video prototype.
Introducing Kibb!
Flow 1: Receiving food.
Users can filter meal options using the filter menu next to the location search or by selecting from the frequently used filters above the map. This helps them quickly find meals that match their preferences for affordable, sustainable dining.
Each meal listing includes key details such as price, distance, images, and user reviews. If a user is interested, they can message the meal poster to coordinate details like pickup time and exact location.
As food prices continue to rise, Kibb makes sustainable eating the affordable and convenient option by connecting people to meals in their own neighborhoods.
Flow 2: Giving Food.
Users can share leftover food by selling individual meals (e.g., $4 for a curry) or hosting dinner gatherings (e.g., $8 per person). With a quick form and a few photos, they can create a post and start receiving messages from interested neighbors.
Kibb makes selling leftovers easy and appealing for both residents and businesses, turning excess food into extra income instead of landfill waste.
Future Steps
This project gave me the opportunity to explore a meaningful solution to food waste while promoting community engagement. Through the design and prototyping process, I created an app that not only addresses sustainability, but also connects neighbours, encourages social interaction, and provides financial incentives.
If I had more time, I would have conducted more extensive usability testing—specifically observing how strangers interact through the prototype and exchange food in real-life scenarios. This would have helped me identify opportunities to enhance the user experience, with a focus on safety, trust, and enjoyment.