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Case Study · 2026

MoodBites — order how you feel.

An AI-powered food delivery concept that replaces endless scrolling with emotional curation. Pick a mood, get a meal that fits the moment — never more than a handful of choices.

Role
Lead Product Designer
Timeline
5 weeks
Platform
iOS & Android
Focus
AI · Curation
9:41
Good evening, Maya

How are you
feeling tonight?

Happy
Bright, vibrant flavors
Cozy
Warm, comforting dishes
Energetic
Bold, fresh, fuel up
Need Calm
Light, gentle, restoring
01 · The Challenge

Food delivery has a choice problem.

Open any delivery app and you're handed hundreds of restaurants, thousands of dishes, and zero guidance. The result isn't freedom — it's fatigue. MoodBites starts from a different question: not what do you want, but how do you feel.

01

Decision fatigue

Infinite scroll across 100+ restaurants turns a hungry moment into ten minutes of second-guessing — and often a default reorder.

02

Sorted for the platform, not the person

Rankings optimize for popularity, ad spend, and delivery speed — never for the mood you're actually in tonight.

03

Cold and transactional

Every app looks the same: a grid of thumbnails and a search bar. Nothing about eating — a deeply emotional act — feels personal.

The opportunity

If the app opens with a feeling instead of a search bar, then AI can curate a handful of meals that fit the moment — turning an overwhelming catalog into a warm, single suggestion you can say yes to.

02 · User Persona

Meet Maya.

Synthesized from interviews with frequent delivery users. Maya orders most weeknights, decides fast, and resents apps that make her work for dinner.

Maya Okafor

29 · Marketing Manager · Chicago
Orders 4×/week Decides in seconds Hates "the scroll"
"By the time I've scrolled past fifty restaurants, I've lost my appetite. I just want someone to tell me what's good tonight."
Goals
  • Eat something that matches her evening
  • Decide in under a minute
  • Occasionally discover something new
Frustrations
  • Endless menus and lookalike grids
  • Re-ordering the same thing out of fatigue
  • Promoted listings she didn't ask for
Behaviors
  • Orders while winding down after work
  • Trusts a strong recommendation over a long list
  • Will gamble on "surprise me" when tired
Needs
  • Fewer, better choices
  • A tone that feels like a friend, not a kiosk
  • A fast path from craving to checkout
03 · User Flow

From a feeling to your front door.

One mood sets the tone. From there it's a short, reassuring line to checkout — with "Surprise me" as a one-tap escape from deciding at all.

Open app
good evening
Welcome
01
How do you feel?
5 moods
pick mood
Curated results
02 · ≤8 picks
Dish detail
03
Surprise pick
AI wildcard
spin again
In or skip?
add to bag
Bag
04 · pairing nudge
Checkout
05 · pay
loop
placed
Surprise reveal
full-bleed yes / no
Track order
06 · live ETA
Delivered & rate
07 · save to faves
Entry
Screen
Decision
Success
04 · Design Principles

Five rules behind every screen.

The constraints I kept pinned above the canvas.

01

Start with feeling, not filters

The first question is "how are you?" — never a search bar. Emotion is the entry point, not an afterthought.

02

Curate, don't catalog

Never more than eight picks per mood. The work of choosing belongs to the AI, not the person.

03

Always an escape hatch

"Surprise me" is one tap from anywhere. When deciding is the burden, we remove the decision.

04

One screen, one decision

Mood, then dish, then pay. Each surface asks for exactly one thing and previews what comes next.

05

Color carries the mood

Each feeling owns a hue. The interface re-tints around your choice so the app feels like it's listening.

06

Comfort over conversion

Warm serif voice, generous spacing, gentle nudges. We earn the next order by making this one feel good.

05 · Low-fidelity Wireframes

Structure before flavor.

Layout, hierarchy, and one-decision-per-screen — locked before any color or type entered the picture.

GET STARTED
01 · Welcome
✦ SURPRISE ME
02 · Mood Select
❤ COZY · PICKED FOR YOU
ALL
SOUP
PASTA
MOODBROWSEBAGYOU
03 · Curated Results
✦ SURPRISE PICK
4.9
VEG
I'M IN
SPIN AGAIN
04 · Surprise Pick
COZY · 92% MATCH
CREAMY
25 MIN
$14.00ADD TO BAG
05 · Dish Detail
ORDER IN MOTION
ARRIVES IN
✓PLACED✓COOK●PICKUP
06 · Track Order
06 · High-fidelity Designs

The finished journey.

Six screens that take Maya from "I don't know what I want" to a meal on the way — in under a minute.

9:41
M

Food that
matches your mood.

No more scrolling 100 restaurants. Tell us how you feel — we'll do the picking.

01 · WelcomeA warm hello, four moods as a preview.
9:41
Good evening, Maya

How are you
feeling tonight?

Happy
Bright, vibrant flavors
Cozy
Warm, comforting dishes
Energetic
Bold, fresh, fuel up
Need Calm
Light, gentle, restoring
02 · Mood SelectionOne tap sets the tone. Surprise is always near.
9:41
Picked for your mood
❤ Cozy
AllSoupsPastaCurries
$14
Mushroom Risotto
Trattoria Sole · 0.6 mi
4.8 · 25 min · $$
$12
Mac & Three Cheese
Hearth & Hen · 1.1 mi
4.7 · 22 min · $
Mood
Browse
Orders
You
03 · Curated ResultsAI-matched to your mood — never more than eight.
9:41
Surprise Pick

A new little
adventure.

Highly rated · 92% match to your taste · You've never tried it.

Saag Paneer Bowl
Spice Route · 22 min · $13
★ 4.9creamyvegetarian
04 · Surprise PickFull-bleed reveal. Big yes, or spin again.
9:41
Cozy · 92% match

Mushroom Risotto

Trattoria Sole · 0.6 mi · ★ 4.8

Slow-stirred arborio rice, wild mushrooms, parmigiano. The dish people order when it's raining.

creamyvegetarian25 min
Total
$14.00
05 · Dish DetailOne photo, one story, one tap to add.
9:41
Order in motion
Arrives in
22min
✓ Placed
✓ Cooking
● Picked up
○ Delivered
D
Diego is on the way
Your courier · 4.9 ★
06 · Track OrderA calm countdown, not a nervous map.
07 · Design System

A system that feels, then serves.

Five mood hues do the emotional work; a warm neutral base and an editorial type pairing keep everything calm and legible.

Mood palette

5 emotional accents
Happy#F4A261
Bright, vibrant
Cozy#8B4F47
Warm comfort · primary
Energetic#E63946
Bold, fueling
Calm#5A8C7B
Light, restoring
Surprise#7B4B94
Wildcard moment
Canvas
#F2EDE4
Paper
#FFFDF9
Ink
#1A1410
Ink 2
#5C544A
Line
#E5DFD2

Typography

Fraunces · Inter · JetBrains Mono
Display — Fraunces
How are you feeling?
A soft, high-contrast serif for headlines and dish names. Carries the warm, personal voice that sets MoodBites apart from clinical delivery grids.
Text — Inter
Tell us how you feel — we'll do the picking. Clear, friendly UI copy at every size.
Inter handles body, labels, and controls: neutral, legible, and quiet so the serif and the food can lead.
$14.00 · 25 min · 92%

Core components

The reusable kit
Cozy
Warm, comforting
Mood Pill
$12
Honey Cornbread
4.7 · 18 min
Food Card
Buttons
HappyCozyCalmSurprise
Mood Chips
Icon Button
Progress
08 · Outcomes & Reflection

Fewer choices, faster yes.

A concept project measured against its own promise: would emotional curation actually feel faster and warmer than the scroll? Early prototype testing said yes.

≤3
taps to order
From open to checkout in three decisions
8
picks, max
A curated set per mood vs. 100+ listings
5
mood states
Each with its own hue and tone of voice
9/10
testers preferred it
Over their current delivery app, in a 10-person test

What worked

  • Leading with a feeling removed the "where do I even start" freeze testers described in current apps.
  • "Surprise me" became the most-loved feature — a pressure valve for the nights people couldn't decide.
  • Re-tinting the UI to the chosen mood made the product feel like it was responding to them.

What I'd explore next

  • Letting moods blend ("cozy but light") instead of forcing a single choice.
  • Learning a household's mood patterns over time to pre-warm the right palette.
  • Accessibility pass on the mood emojis — pairing each with a clear text label and icon.
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