The Problem

We were tasked with designing a systemic service that enhances the lives of people in our community. Consumers want to eat local and support local food providers, but don't know where to start. Farmers are always looking for new markets for their products, but can't spend the time required to deliver goods to individual consumers.

Case Studies and Precedent Research

We began by researching existing services across the country. This gave us a knowledge of what solutions exist, what baseline experience customers might expect, and how these services have been perceived and adopted by consumers already.

We reviewed and documented 10 organizations. When reviewing websites, we documented visual language, tone of voice, user flows, and overall ease of use. For the service as a whole, we documented user feedback, level of engagement with the community, level of engagement with food, and the mission of each organization.

Synthesis

These services fell into 3 main categories.Traditional CSAs were focused on bringing food from one farm to a small group of consumers. Consumers were deeply invested in the farm and often had a close relationship. Grassroots Activist Organizations were focused on bringing ideas about food to a large group of people. The people involved in these organizations were passionate, focused, and politically conscious, but the food itself was often secondary to the main mission and vision. "Middle Man" Websites provided a list of resources for an unknown amount of people to connect themselves with the resources provided. They were often robust offerings in terms of capabilities, but lacked the passion and close person-to-person relationships of the other two types.

Local Research and Site Visits

Next, we conducted a similar exercise, focusing instead on the offerings and experiences in our area: Raleigh, NC. In addition to documenting digital presences, we conducted site visits. During these outings, we observed the workings of the organization, observed users engaging with the provided services, and documented the interactions we witnessed.

Synthesis

Farmers Markets were plentiful. They gave young families a chance to spend a day together, and also allowed parents the ability to buy healthy options for their children. For the consumer, the experience was often meandering, and more about the outing than it was about the food. The producers present were often multi-generational and of different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds than the consumers. Grassroots Activist Organizations engaged with students who were passionate about making a difference in the world, and with parents who were interested in educating their children. As before, the food itself was often secondary to the main mission and vision. Higher end grocery stores offered Food-related Events that brought nutrition and cooking skills to participants. Often, these events were populated by couples on a date.

Many of these events had higher costs, and therefore catered to middle and upper-middle class participants. Raleigh has a large student population and a significant young professional family population, so many organizations and services that specifically catered towards these user groups.

Photos by Austin Simmons

Brand Positioning

Based on findings from local research, we identified a gap in the market for convenient, low cost, truly local options. However, we want to maintain the connection and passion observed in both Traditional CSAs and Grassroots Activist Organizations. 

We positioned our service alongside others observed in our local community and area, even going as far as to include other types of food vendors such as grocery stores.

We positioned it along a variety of axes, including local/global, affordable/expensive, engaged/hands off, and individual/community.

Service Diagram

Based on our Brand Positioning, we ideated around a variety of touchpoints and user experiences that could help us achieve our overall mission and vision. From there we were able to draft a diagram detailing the inner workings of the service we would provide to our users. The service consists of four core user experiences: Distribution, Scheduling, Marketing, and Education.

For each of these, we created specific user touchpoints for each core experience, and selected a few words or phrases that could describe the ideal implementation of those touchpoints. We used our knowledge of our users (both food producers and consumers) to decide whether each touchpoint was more appropriate for a digital space, an analog one, or a physical experience.

Scheduling

convenience, variety, quality, customization, flexibility

Scheduling and product delivery would center around an intuitive, efficient digital system for both producers and consumers. Producers would provide information about the availability and quality of their products, while consumers could access that information to customize their product selection and meet their individual food needs. Delivery times and recurring delivery preferences would be incorporated into the system, insuring that customers experience an efficiency that caters to their schedule and their needs. 

Distribution

efficiency, freshness, quality, access, convenience

To accommodate our customers' need for convenience, we would provide a weekly delivery service for any of our available products. After the scheduling portion is complete, delivery and distribution can begin. Products are picked up daily to make sure that consumers are receiving the freshest goods possible. Products are delivered to the staging area where they are sorted and packed into appropriate boxes for each customer. The boxes are then delivered directly to doorsteps, where empty boxes from previous weeks are also picked up for reuse.

Marketing

unification, consistency, credibility, approachability

The identity of our system is defined through our consistent referral back to the origin of our products. To foster a relationship between our customers and providers, we uncover the narrative that brings products from the producer's fields to the consumer's door. This narrative surfaces within every service touchpoint, from packaging to digital experiences, and engages the consumer by increasing their knowledge of the products they consume, as well as their willingness to advocate for local agriculture.

Education

advocacy, engagement, learning, awareness, sustainability

We provide more than just goods to our consumers. Education about the production, preparation, and consumption of food insures that consumers are considering origin, sustainability, and nutrition as part of their lifestyle. To further promote the relationship between producers and consumers, education initiatives would connect professionals with community members who have an interest in knowing more about their own food. Collaboration with schools and community groups would bring local food initiatives to younger generations.

Producers

farm, community garden, bakery, plant nursery, butcher, florist, orchard

Since we are extending the scope of a traditional CSA, it only makes sense that we do that for the types of products we offer as well. In addition to traditional farms, we can also offer a variety of other sustainably crafted, locally sourced commodities.

Staff

webmaster, agricultural liason, warehouse staff, delivery drivers, education coordinator

The staff of The Local's Market help everything run smoothly. Some deal with distribution and scheduling, while others provide coordination and outreach for producers, and others maintain customer-side outreach and experiences. 

Consumers

family, couple, individual, student, restaurant, food bank, soup kitchen, food truck

Consumer-users are potentially the most diverse user group. Some, like restaurants, have business needs that are solved by accurate and coordinated delivery, while others like a family or individual, may be more interested in participating in a variety of experiences.

Farm

quality, variety, consistency

From the field to our hands, we care for your food before it gets to you. We maintain a rigorous selection process for our producers, ensuring you get the best food on your table, and all of our farmers, bakers, butchers, and artisans can expect consistent orders and courteous service. By engaging our customers in the narrative of the products they consume, we strengthen the relationship between producer and consumer.

Market

efficiency, freshness, customization

When it comes to picking your products, we’ll make it easy to find what you’re looking for. By providing a seasonal product catalog as well as an online marketplace, we make sure that our customers have the information they need to pick the products they want. Our intuitive system remembers your order history as well as dietary restrictions. Delivery preferences ensure that your weekly drop-off works for your schedule.

Garden

advocacy, renewal, sustainability

You can get your hands dirty, too! We’d love for you to join us in our community garden for a workday or attend a nutrition or food preparation event. The focus of the garden is to engage people in the processes that make local food production possible, as well as encouraging younger generations to take initiative in the continuation of this movement. Volunteering in the garden also gives you credits towards your weekly basket.

Kitchen

utilization, creation, engagement

We don’t just stop at the doorstep, The Local’s Market follows our products all the way to your table. Our website and app feature seasonal recipes catered to your weekly product selection. Cooking classes and our nutrition-tracking mobile app also help you actively engage in making healthy and conscientious choices. Let us write your shopping list so you can focus on enjoying your food!

Colors and Typography

The colors and the typography choices reflect the friendly yet earthy brand of The Local's Market. They are muted enough to be used in a variety of contexts, from illustration to UI design to print marketing material, but remain friendly enough to hint at the tight-knit community that The Local's Market establishes.

We started from a base palette of muted primary colors, and then extended the palette to accomodate digital illustrations, data visualizations, and sub-brand identities such as The Local's Garden.

The primary typeface is Malaga, designed for Emigre by Xavier Dupré in 2007. It is a typeface that offers weights suitable for extended reading and for bold headlines and display. Its quirky details and slightly unorthodox character make it a good choice for the slightly quirky yet friendly and approachable dynamic of The Local's Market service.

All designers contributed to the colors and typography.

Iconography

Much like the colors and typography, the iconography does double-duty. It maintains a sense of place and communicates meaning, while simultaneously showing a laid-back and fun side.

Functionally, the icons are used for larger graphic applications and are therefore not meant to be used at small sizes. They communicate the four user-facing facets of The Local's Market: Farm, Market, Garden and Kitchen. Additional iconography communicated ideas that are central to sustainable food consumption. Namely, the seasons and the type of food. Many of these icons tread the line between illustration and icon.

Iconography by Austin Simmons and Zoë Symon.

Logo by Garnet Fisher.

Illustration

Where iconography can communicate meaning as well, digital illustration is primarily used for decoration and brand expression. The illustrations utilize the color palette of the brand, and also communicate the user-facing sections of the brand. They depict landscape representation of the Farm, Market, Garden, and Kitchen concepts.

Illustrations by Zoë Symon.

Photography

The majority of the photography was captured during local site visits, with a focus on documenting detailed shots of produce and products, rather than people and environment.

All designers contributed to the photo archive.

Service Video

The service video is a marketing tool used to showcase for consumers how food and products would get from our distribution center to their door.

The Service Video was conceptualized, storyboarded, and filmed by Austin Simmons, with minimal help from Garnet Fisher and Zoë Symon.

Experience User Flows

User flows document the ways in which any given user would move through the various service touchpoints and within individual touchpoints. They included user flows for both digital experiences, such as the website, and in-person experiences such as cooking classes.

Tablet Recipe App

an iPad app for those who like to eat locally and seasonally.

The Local's Kitchen is a recipe app for use in the kitchen, and is used to facilitate the cooking of local, seasonal, enjoyable meals. It works with the other touchpoints of The Local's Market to allow consumers to utilize the ingredients they've purchased through the subscription service to cook nutritious meals and practice cooking skills.

The app is an exploration of iPad design. It utilizes GUI elements (circa 2011) in the creation of the app, and considers inherent iPad gestures alongside digital user experience best practices.

Subscriber Magazine

a seasonal magazine for CSA members.

This magazine is a seasonal magazine for subscribers. It is split into the four sections of the service: Farm, Market, Garden, and Kitchen. Each section includes recent articles pertaining to the topic and the season.

The magazine is an exploration in type designed for sustained reading, and explores the taxonomy and hierarchy of a traditional magazine by pulling together feature-length articles as well as shorter articles, interviews, and advertisements. It considers what information users would need in a subscriber magazine, such as recipes and directions for using their food products, while also considering what users would want out of a magazine, such as further education on specific topics pertaining to sustainability and profiles of the farms that are producing their food.

The magazine is a pamphlet bound booklet of 32 pages, with a perforated insert allowing less technical users to subscribe to The Local's Market in a way that is comfortable and accessible to them.