Welcome to
Nutritutor
Nutritutor was my senior capstone project for my Emerging Technology in Business and Design degree. The challenge was to solve a real-world problem through research, interviews, iterative design, and a go-to-market strategy. I focused on nutrition and found a lack of tools centered on education and user autonomy. The workflow moved from initial sketches and wireframes to prototypes and full development. This work culminated in a launch at the ETBD expo, where I presented the complete build, design iterations, and a 25-minute breakdown video.
objective
Build a nutritional app using US government data to teach users their daily macro ranges, giving them the framework to read any standard food label and understand how it fits their needs.
strategy
Run user research focusing on college students and conduct a competitive analysis across digital and physical nutritional tracking systems to find functional gaps and user friction points.
outcome
Built a fully coded application slated for a future App Store release, which earned top marks from faculty and won the Excellence in Emerging Technology award at graduation.
My research showed a widespread problem with misinformation online. At the same time, separate behavioral data proved that structured education fundamentally improves how people manage their diets. This combination made me realize the best method for helping people, a true tailored educational experience.
I let these core trends establish my path: the app needed to focus entirely on nutritional education and consumer autonomy rather than automated tracking. For a deeper look at the exact data and studies backing this decision, watch the full project breakdown video at the bottom of this page.
This simple, slightly silly GIF shows a small snippet of the research process. I had to look through this data to ensure the app was pulling factually accurate information from US government sources and serving verified data to the users.
To validate my research, I interviewed a personal trainer and five college students from varying nutritional backgrounds. The interviews delivered two insights: finding a reliable data source is deeply frustrating, and the trainer advised focusing strictly on macronutrients rather than overwhelming users with minor micronutrients like vitamins.
With these insights, I began sketching user flows. Working with my advisor, Artie Kuhn, I explored ideas like a barcode scanner and a searchable database. The goal was to give users digestible data showing their healthy macro ranges and how those nutrients function in the body. However, this immediately presented a core UX problem: how do we share this much educational data without overwhelming the user?
To solve the data density problem, I focused heavily on wireframing and data visualization. I needed to display macro ranges, nutrient data, and educational definitions without overwhelming the user. Balancing design and development required making strict layout choices early on.
I designed collapsible card folders that users can fold and unfold to toggle information blocks on demand. This approach kept the main screen clean while giving users immediate access to sub-nutrient breakdowns they needed. To elevate Nutritutor from a simple app to business, I integrated a referral layout designed to connect users with verified external nutrition resources and specialized tracking apps. This gives Nutritutor another avenue of income.
Initial Figma build. Here you can see a earlier idea of the app and how the information would be displayed. It is clunky and overbearing.
Screenshot of a build in XCode. Shows the initial builds for the folder system.
One of the interactive data visualization graphs I made. Allowing for users to learn about their body at zero, minimum, optimal, and maximum for each nutrient.
Another screenshot of a data visualization chart.
I launched the app at the ETBD student expo, providing a live testing ground with peers, faculty, and industry professionals. The app received overwhelmingly positive feedback, particularly for shifting away from automated tracking toward consumer education. Attendees appreciated the simplicity of the manual nutrient report.
The primary critique was a need for clearer transparency regarding the math behind the interface. Users wanted a way to see exactly how their personal macro ranges were calculated from the official data sources. This feedback was engrained into the app as a key feature.
My most researched most technical largest in scale project. Now done!
Finally after the app was finished, I put together a 25-minute video that serves as the accumulation of the entire project, breaking down everything from my initial research to the full functional demo. In the video, I explain how Nutritutor would market itself and generate revenue through the integrated referral system, alongside a deep dive into my complete dataset.
Nutritutor was easily my most research-heavy project, but I am proud to have designed and coded a functional product that solves a real-world problem. If you want to see the full breakdown and see the app in action, watch the video below!