Fork & Found: Turning Foodie Dreams into a Personalized Dining App

From Idea to Innovation

Have you ever wished for an app that doesn’t just list restaurants but actually remembers your dining experiences, helps you discover hidden gems, and personalizes recommendations based on your tastes? That’s the idea behind Fork & Found, a food adventure companion that makes every meal an experience worth savoring.

The Spark of an Idea

My boyfriend and I love trying new restaurants, but we kept running into the same problem: forgetting where we’ve been, what we loved, and where we still wanted to go. Traditional review apps felt cluttered, filled with biased opinions, and lacked a personal touch. We needed something more tailored to our own preferences, a tool that didn’t just help us find places but let us track our culinary journey.

Ideation: Developing the Concept

To refine this idea, I used two key brainstorming techniques: Mind Mapping and The Worst Possible Idea. These methods helped define the features of Fork & Found while ensuring a seamless and enjoyable user experience.

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Mind Mapping: Structuring the App’s Features

By visually mapping out the app’s structure, I identified the core elements that would make Fork & Found stand out:

• Customizable Lists – Users can categorize restaurants into lists like “Date Night Spots”, “Brunch Goals”, or “Best Tacos in Town”.
• Personal Reviews & Ratings – Instead of standard stars, users can leave detailed, personal feedback.
• Seamless Reservation & Waitlist Integration – Book a table or check real-time wait times.
• Photo Uploads – Document meals visually, either for personal reference or to share with others.
• Smart Suggestions – AI-powered recommendations based on past visits and reviews.
• Follow Friends & Foodies – See recommendations from trusted people, not random internet users.

Full MindMap:

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Worst Possible Idea: Turning Bad into Brilliant

The “Worst Possible Idea” technique helped challenge assumptions and improve design choices. For example:

• Bad Idea: The app deletes all saved restaurants every 24 hours.
• Fix: Users should be able to save restaurants permanently and organize them into meaningful lists.

• Bad Idea: The app forces users to watch a 5-minute ad before accessing reviews.
• Fix: A clean, ad-free experience to keep users engaged.

By flipping flawed ideas into functional features, we ensured Fork & Found would be user-friendly, intuitive, and frustration-free.

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Moving Forward

This ideation phase was crucial in shaping Fork & Found’s core mission: helping users discover, save, and share their food experiences effortlessly. The next step is refining the user interface, testing prototypes, and making sure the app feels as seamless as the dining experience it enhances.

Fork & Found isn’t just about finding good food; it’s about curating a personal food diary, making every meal count, and connecting with fellow food lovers.

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Full Fork & Found Ideation Techniques Presentation: