This work is the result of a month-long project for a digital illustration class at Sacramento City College.

 

In November of 2014 I visited the Davis Farmers' Market in search of problems to solve. I walked around the market area interviewing shoppers and vendors and recording their comments and complaints. I snapped photos of the problems I encountered and composed a report of my observations.

For my project I decided to address the problem of traffic flow at the Farmers' Market. I observed multiple situations where shoppers would slow down or stop in the middle of the walkway to converse and compare purchases. This obstructed the flow of traffic, frustrating the more hurried shoppers, who wanted to finish their shopping and get on with their day.

 

In my initial brainstorming, I focused on solutions that would keep the more leisurely shoppers moving so that the hurried shoppers could complete their shopping without interruption. I realized however, that while this approach would improve the user experience of the hurried shoppers, it would create a negative user experience for the shoppers who enjoy taking their time. I re-examined the problem and came up with a solution that would help the faster shoppers without disturbing the slower, more relaxed shoppers.

 

My innovation, which I named "Early Bird" allows users to plan their Farmers' Market shopping trip online in advance, eliminating the time spent browsing vendor stalls and comparing prices at the actual market. View the high-resolution storyboard here.