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Sifted - A Personalized Ingredient Scanner for Sugar, Carbs & Inflammation

Sifted Health

UX | UI | Usability Testing |Branding

The Challange

Users can’t easily tell which foods align with their health goals

Despite growing awareness of how sugar, carbs, and processed ingredients affect health, the average shopper still struggles to make informed food choices. Nutrition labels are cryptic. Additives are hidden behind dozens of names. Most scanner apps either oversimplify or overwhelm. This is frustrating for users following diets where every ingredient matters. They are unsupported by current tools.

The Solution

An App that simplifies it all

An app that scans any food product and instantly flags inflammatory ingredients then explains why and suggests cleaner alternatives. Designed with personalization at its core, the app tailors guidance to each user’s dietary lifestyle. Unlike others, Sifted delivers ingredients clarity, not just vague health grades.

OVERVIEW

RESEARCH

APPROACH

VISUAL PROCESS

BRANDING

PROTOYPE

BACK TO INDEX

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01 Case Overview

Confusing food labels and lack of personalized dietary guidance make healthy eating unnecessarily difficult.

I wish there was

a single source that

combined everything..

I wish there was a single source that combined everything..

”

“

MICHAEL

Overwhelmed Gym-Goer

Age: 29

Location: Miami, FL

Education: Bachelor

Job: Teacher

Apps

MyFitnessPal

Fittia

Youtube

Yuka

Fig

Background

Knows fitness inside and out but struggles with food consistency.
Uses a supplement stack but isn’t sure if it’s effective or needed.
Tracks macros on one app, reads Reddit for advice, screenshots recipes, Googles vitamins.
It’s all scattered.
Eats clean, but his meal rotation is repetitive and boring.

Knows fitness inside and out but struggles with food consistency.
Uses a supplement stack but isn’t sure if it’s effective or needed.
Tracks macros on one app, reads Reddit for advice, screenshots recipes, Googles vitamins.
It’s all scattered.
Eats clean, but his meal rotation is repetitive and boring.

Frustrations

“I feel like I’m guessing what vitamins actually help, it’s all hype.”
Nutrition info online is contradictory and time consuming to verify.
Cooking is a chore because the meals he finds are either too basic or too complicated, or not related to his diet.
Meal when recipes aren’t aligned with his goals

“I feel like I’m guessing what vitamins actually help, it’s all hype.”
Nutrition info online is contradictory and time consuming to verify.
Cooking is a chore because the meals he finds are either too basic or too complicated, or not related to his diet.
Meal when recipes aren’t aligned with his goals

Goals

Get transparent and streamlined experience connecting food, macros, and supplement choices.

Curated recipes that support fitness goals with simple prep.

Spend less time bouncing between nutrition, fitness sources

Honest supplement education that’s relevant to his body and goals

Get transparent and streamlined experience connecting food, macros, and supplement choices.

Curated recipes that support fitness goals with simple prep.

Spend less time bouncing between nutrition, fitness sources

Honest supplement education that’s relevant to his body and goals

I thought yogurt and granola were healthy, but it turns out they’re full of sugar.

”

“

MAYA

Overworked Professional

Age: 35

Location: NYC

Education: High School

Job: Manager

Apps

MyFitnessPal

Tictok

Facebook

Youtube

Instagram

Background

Knows fitness inside and out but struggles   with food consistency.

Uses a supplement stack but isn’t sure if it’s effective or needed.
Tracks macros on one app, reads Reddit for advice, screenshots recipes, Googles vitamins. it’s all scattered.
Eats clean, but his meal rotation is repetitive and boring.

Knows fitness inside and out but struggles   with food consistency.

Uses a supplement stack but isn’t sure if it’s effective or needed.
Tracks macros on one app, reads Reddit for advice, screenshots recipes, Googles vitamins. it’s all scattered.
Eats clean, but his meal rotation is repetitive and boring.

Frustrations

“I just don’t have the mental energy to research meals at 8pm.”
Confused by food marketed as “healthy” that actually isn’t.
Gets discouraged by extreme diets or overwhelming nutrition advice.
Finds it hard to eat healthy during family gatherings or eating at restaurants.

“I just don’t have the mental energy to research meals at 8pm.”
Confused by food marketed as “healthy” that actually isn’t.
Gets discouraged by extreme diets or overwhelming nutrition advice.
Finds it hard to eat healthy during family gatherings or eating at restaurants.

Goals

Make fast, healthy decisions after work without using multiple tools.

Learn to spot inflammatory foods and take small daily steps toward better eating.  
Get support that feels realistic, not idealistic.

Get trustworthy guidance on which foods support better health and end goals.

Learn to be more consistent with eating healthy.

Make fast, healthy decisions after work without using multiple tools.

Learn to spot inflammatory foods and take small daily steps toward better eating.  
Get support that feels realistic, not idealistic.

Get trustworthy guidance on which foods support better health and end goals.

Learn to be more consistent with eating healthy.

Target Users:

Health-conscious shoppers like busy professionals, people on keto or anti-inflammatory diets, and those managing conditions like PCOS or autoimmunity.

Why it Mattered:

This group is highly motivated but underserved. They don’t want another calorie-counting app. They want clarity, control, knowledge and peace of mind.

How Sifted Helps:

The app empowers users with immediate, customized insights on scanned foods, offers AI food and meal guidance, and integrates pantry-based recipes, reducing decision fatigue.

My Role:

End-to-end UX/UI designer responsible for research, ideation, wireframes, visual design, prototyping, branding, and testing.

Timeline:

10-week project

02 Research

Methods

Qualitative Interviews: (1:1 remote interviews with 5 participants):

This set scope around eating behaviors & ingredient confusion and revealed knowledge gaps, struggles with labels, and dealbreakers.

Affinity Mapping: Synthesized pain points into clear themes

Competitor Audit: Evaluated Yuka, Bobby Approved, MyFitnessPal, Fooducate, and others.

Some of the Questions Asked:

“What ingredients are you actively avoiding?”

“How do you usually decide if a food is ‘healthy’?”

“Have you ever felt misled by a food label?”

Insights

100% of users were unsure about hidden sugars like maltodextrin or tapioca.

Many users tried other food scanners but found them “too generic” or “not personalized”.

4 out of 5 felt misled by packaging (e.g. “organic” or “natural” claims).

Users wanted ingredient-level clarity, clear risk flags, and AI-driven support.

Insights

Research and analysis of competitors Apps revealed a gap in the current market of health apps. Analyzing their features gave us a benchmark of what exists in the market and revealed where users’ needs were met and still unmet.

Research plan + User interviews: Set scope around eating behaviors & ingredient confusion. Revealed knowledge gaps, struggles with labels, and dealbreakers.

03 Approach

We took an iterative approach to define > test > refine.

We then translated all of our insights into design actions that guided our path into prototyping

We took an iterative approach to define > test > refine.

We then translated all of our insights into design actions that guided our path into prototyping

Each major milestone was tested and refined using user feedback, helping us:

Ensure our goals remained in tune with both user needs and business goals

Frame How Might We questions.

Shape feature sets from user needs.

Validate structure through card sorting.

Map user flows to key tasks.

Build and refine prototypes.

Ensure our goals remained in tune with both user needs and business goals

Frame How Might We questions.

Shape feature sets from user needs.

Validate structure through card sorting.

Map user flows to key tasks.

Build and refine prototypes.

We Flipped Bad Ideas to Good Ideas

Hide Sugar Info

Reward sugar eating

Label all food as “healthy”

Use chemical names only

Paywall ingredients

Recommend dessert with every meal

Let influencers override info

Automatic Reveal Hidden Sugars

Reward low-sugar choices or swaps

Use honesty tags

Simplify labels into plain language "added sugar"

Free and instant access to all ingredient info

Offer healthy swaps for dessert cravings

Fact-check influencer claims and expose misinformation

MUST-HAVE FEATURES

Our research enabled us to define and prioritize the features that users considered most essential.

Barcode and OCR

Smart Food Scanner (Barcode, Ingredient List, Menus, images) A quick, easy tool for busy users to detect unwanted ingredients.

Accurately parse recipes from links, screenshots, or typed input to identify ingredients. And map them to a nutritional/inflammatory values based on user profile preferences.

Misleading Health Claims Detector

Flags hidden sugars, high-carbs, seed oils, and inflammatory additives. And further explains short, personalized, educational insights about flagged ingredients.

Identifies deceptive labels like “low fat,” “whole grain,” or “organic” to distract users from sugars or processed content.

Flags hidden sugars, high-carbs, seed oils, and inflammatory additives. And further explains short, personalized, educational insights about flagged ingredients.

Identifies deceptive labels like “low fat,” “whole grain,” or “organic” to distract users from sugars or processed content.

Account Creation

User registration, sign in, and onboarding questionnaires so the user can have a personalized profile and have access all their relevant and specific data such as previous searches and saved recipes and items.

Recommendation System

Learn from user behavior / profile settings to provide smarter suggestions: better swaps, common triggers, and safe go-to meals.

AI/ML Personalization

Leverage machine learning to tailor insights sympathize with user and asks questions to gather more insights about mood and symptoms after meal log / question / search.

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY...

We were able to visualize the exact steps personas would take to

accomplish key tasks early on in the app.

We were able to visualize the exact steps personas would take to

accomplish key tasks early on in the app.

04 Visual Approach

Having task-flows and user-flows helped us explored different structural design options at the Lo-Fi stage, allowing us to create wireframes to test layout variations quickly and decide which best supported clarity and usability before adding detail or visual polish.

V.3 Ingredient Decoding

V.2 Ingredient Decoding

V.1 Ingredient Decoding

From Mid-Fidelity to Hi-Fidelity

We selected the most user-friendly design versions and developed hi-fidelity wireframes around our task flows to prototype. This ensured that each step in the user journey was simple, logical, and aligned with how users actually accomplish their goals.

Mid-fi helped us validate the functionality and interaction logic before investing in high-fidelity design and branding.

Once validating structure and flows in mid-fidelity, we moved into high-fidelity wireframes to bring the product closer to its final form.

Mid-fi helped us validate the functionality and interaction logic before investing in high-fidelity design and branding.

Once validating structure and flows in mid-fidelity, we moved into high-fidelity wireframes to bring the product closer to its final form.

05 Branding

Sifted is...

Transparent, Supportive, Sustainable and Rooted in Science.

Sifted Mission Statement:

Our goal is to bring clarity to food and make wellness a sustainable, daily habit

We explored color palettes, typefaces, and logo designs to create the essence of the brand and a name that represented our core values.

The bowl with a sifted powder cloud subtly suggests the act of sifting ingredients, which mirrors the app’s core function of scanning and clarifying foods.

We explored color palettes, typefaces, and logo designs to create the essence of the brand and a name that represented our core values.

The bowl with a sifted powder cloud subtly suggests the act of sifting ingredients, which mirrors the app’s core function of scanning and clarifying foods.

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BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY...

We translated the final design direction into high-fidelity screens, applying the full visual identity and branding system to bring the experience to life.

06 Prototype

Scan

Instantly scan food labels or barcodes to uncover hidden sugars, and inflammatory ingredients before you buy or eat.

Meal Plan

Get personalized, anti-inflammatory meal plans crafted around your dietary goals, pantry items, and lifestyle.

Ai Nutrition

Chat with Sifted AI to get smart ingredient swaps, meal suggestions, and nutrition insights tailored to your health needs.

Tailored Insights

Customize your dietary needs, sensitivities, and goals so Sifted can deliver personalized food feedback and recommendations.

Track

Monitor your daily intake of sugar, carbs, and foods. Track what you eat and how it impacts your health and mood over time.

Learn

Browse bite-sized, science backed articles that help you understand food, and inflammation, and help you make better food choices.

These high-fidelity frames brought Sifted’s vision to life. It help refine branding with the essential user flows that guide people from scan to insight.

I encourage you to explore the interactive prototype and see how thoughtfully designed interactions can solve real nutritional challenges.

These high-fidelity frames brought Sifted’s vision to life. It help refine branding with the essential user flows that guide people from scan to insight.

I encourage you to explore the interactive prototype and see how thoughtfully designed interactions can solve real nutritional challenges.

These high-fidelity frames brought Sifted’s vision to life. It help refine branding with the essential user flows that guide people from scan to insight.

I encourage you to explore the interactive prototype and see how thoughtfully designed interactions can solve real nutritional challenges.