/ continued /

Solution

I narrowed down a set of use cases that covered all the key deliverables from the brief; along with a few that I felt added value. These use cases reflect the range of users OpenTable might serve and helped me design a focused, thoughtful solution.

Use Cases I Solved For

  1. User who don't track their nutrition intakes

    Users who aren’t actively tracking their nutrition can still define their dietary and nutrition goals during onboarding. We guide them through a quick setup flow to understand their needs and preferences.


  2. User who track their nutrition intakes regularly

    Users who already use a nutrition tracking app can connect it to OpenTable and set personalised dietary goals based on their existing data. This helps deliver more accurate and meaningful recommendations from the start.


  3. Tracking progress towards goals

    Users can monitor how well they’re following their dietary and nutrition goals through insights like calorie trends, eating patterns, and daily progress summaries.


  4. Receiving intelligent recommendations

    A user who has already set their dietary and nutrition goals, and is now browsing OpenTable for restaurant and dish recommendations that align with those goals.

Choosing The Right Design Library

I was given the flexibility to use any existing public design library such as Material Design, LinkedIn’s system, etc.


But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense to stay within the visual and interaction patterns that OpenTable already uses.


Using an external system for a product that already has a defined visual identity can quickly feel disjointed. The smallest UI inconsistencies can confuse users, especially when they’re used to a particular way of interacting with filters, search, or booking flows.

x

I looked at a few recent real-world examples. One that stood out was Swiggy’s new app, Snacc. While Snacc has a different brand colour, nearly everything else from search patterns to cart flow works exactly the same as Swiggy. This subtle continuity helps users switch between the two apps with almost zero friction. They don’t need to relearn how to use the product, and that’s what makes it feel intuitive.

Design Library

I chose to use OpenTable’s existing design language. Since the Nutrition Tracker is a new module (not a separate app) it felt important to maintain visual and interaction consistency.


Sticking to the native design system meant users wouldn’t need to relearn UI patterns. They already know how filters work, what buttons look like, and where to expect key actions. That familiarity makes the experience immediately usable.

Identity

I chose green as the primary colour for the tracker because green is widely associated with health, balance, and well-being. OpenTable, on the other hand, leans heavily into red across its platform. Finding a colour that complements red while still signeling something healthy and goal-driven was difficult. But green offered that middle ground. It stands out enough to feel distinct, yet blends well with the overall palette to stay visually cohesive.


Here, I’ve placed a few OpenTable’s existing components side by side with the design language I created for the Nutrition Tracker.

Introducing The Feature

To introduce the Nutrition Tracker, I designed a prominent banner that appears below search bar on the home screen, restaurant listing pages, and individual restaurant pages. The goal was to inform users about the new feature while keeping the experience uninterrupted.


The banner comes with two simple CTAs:


  • Clicking “Show me how” starts the onboarding flow.

  • Choosing “Remind later” collapses the banner. When that happens, we show a setup CTA top-right corner, where it remains accessible. After a few user sessions, the banner gently reappears to prompt the user again.

Onboarding

I designed this screen to support all types of users, those already tracking their nutrition, those who aren’t using any fitness app, and even those looking to get started.


Users with a fitness app can quickly connect and sync their data.

Those without one are reassured and we guide them through a few simple questions to understand their needs.


And for those exploring fitness tools, we provide curated partner recommendations to help them get started easily.

Setup for users who Track their nutrition intake regularly

Users who already track their meals with a fitness app can get started in seconds. Once they click on the connect CTA, they’ll see a simple modal with two quick steps:


  1. Open their fitness app

  2. Use the food logger feature to scan the barcode


This barcode initiates the sync and connects their nutrition data with OpenTable. I chose this approach over a QR code because food logging is one of the most popular features in MyFitnessPal, making it a natural entry point. That said, for different platform we might show QR code as it's more universally accepted in modern interfaces.

Once users scan the barcode to connect their fitness app, we show a short loading screen to keep them informed and engaged. This step reassures them that their data is being securely synced.

Once the sync is complete, the system generates a personalised insight based on the user’s recent nutrition data. Based on this, system highlights diet types that align with the user’s goals, such as low calorie, high protein, or low carb options.


The user can choose their dietary preferences by selecting from common choices like vegan or vegetarian, or by typing in specific food preferences.


Additional options allow the user to specify religious dietary needs or any food allergies and intolerances.

If the user’s app isn’t listed, we prompt them to share which one they use. This helps us consider it for future integrations while guiding them through the same easy setup flow designed for people who don’t use fitness apps, which we are covering next.

Setup for users who Don't track their nutrition

When users tap Get Started, we open a short questionnaire to understand their nutrition needs and gather just enough data to start offering meaningful recommendations.


This flow is intentionally brief. I studied popular trackers in the market and chose to ask what’s essential to avoid drop-offs. It takes less than 15 seconds to complete.

Once done, users are shown a personalised insight screen, just like users using a fitness app.

Manage

Users can access this section from the profile menu to manage their goals with ease. The page contains;


  • Manage Food Preferences

    User can see all existing dietary preferences: both selected during onboarding and suggested by the system. User can add or update nutrition goals and food choices, including religious dietary needs and allergy or intolerance information.


  • Manage Integration

    User can view their currently connected fitness app, disconnect it and/or switch to a different one.


When a user makes any changes on this page, a Save Changes button appears at the bottom to confirm and apply the updates.

Progress Tracker

User can track nutrition trends, understand their habits, and take meaningful action: all in one place. Users can quickly access this section anytime via the Progress button at the top right corner of the interface.


The progress view is divided into three parts:

This section is designed as a scalable framework. While only a few examples are shown, it sets the stage for deeper tracking and smarter guidance in the future.


Here’s how the progress page is structured to help the user stay informed and take action effortlessly.

Progress Overview

Users can toggle between different timeframes (today, this week, this month or select a custom date range) to view their nutrition progress.


We highlight key metrics like calorie, protein, fat, and carbohydrate intake, alongside an interactive chart to visualise trends.


The section also displays the last sync status with the fitness app to help users understand how recent their data is.

While the current view showcases key metrics like calorie intake and nutrient trends, I kept it scalable. As users connect new tools or as we support more integrations like Apple Health, the dashboard can dynamically expand to include new data points such as step count, energy burned, and exercise minutes.

Understanding The Pattern

This section provides a short AI-generated summary of the user’s eating habits over the past week. The summary is written with positive reinforcement in mind: acknowledging progress while suggesting simple areas for improvement.

Taking Action

Based on their trends and goals, users receive tailored suggestions for what to eat next. Each insight is paired with relevant restaurant and dish recommendations.

For example, if a user is consistently over their calorie target, we suggest lighter dishes from restaurants that align with their dietary needs.


At the bottom of the progress tracker page, I placed a CTA banner showcasing tools users can use to make smarter choices. We will cover those shortly in upcoming sections.

Smart Recommendations

The final part of the design experience focuses on delivering actionable insights and recommendations to helps users make smarter choices.


OpenTable already surfaces helpful context, such as how many times a restaurant has been booked today or how many slots remain. Building on this, I designed a way to surface nutrition-aligned insights directly within this familiar flow.


Users now see:

  • The number of dishes that align with their goals.

  • Food reviews from people pursing similar goals


These additions make it easier for users to evaluate restaurants not just by popularity or price; but also by how well the menu supports their nutrition goals. All without adding friction to their existing decision-making flow.

Why No Community Feed?

I considered adding a community feature, but quickly realised the limitations. Users tracking their nutrition often have very different goals; some aim to lose weight, others to gain it, and many are managing specific health needs. In a typical social feed, trending dishes or popular choices might not align with a user’s personal goals, and could even introduce noise or confusion.


Instead, I chose a more meaningful reference point: users pursuing similar goals (a niche yet important user group). By surfacing data based on shared nutrition patterns and outcomes, OpenTable can highlight what’s working for people just like you. It’s about what’s both popular and right for the user.

If users click on the “12 dishes meet your goals” insight, we follow OpenTable’s default behaviour by opening the restaurant listing in a new tab,  jumping straight to the menu section. There we highlight how many dishes align with the user’s goals above the header. At the dish level, users also see smart tags like “Goal-friendly” and “3 reviews”, giving a quick sense of relevance and popularity.

If users click on the second insight “8 reviews from people chasing similar goals”, we follow the same, this time jumping straight to the reviews section. There, users can explore a curated summary of reviews from others with similar dietary goals, along with a subtle tag next to each reviewer’s name to indicate goal alignment.

When a user opens a restaurant’s detail page, we highlight a goal-friendly dishes' count within the to menu tab title.


This tag includes an icon and a number showing how many dishes at the restaurant align with the user’s nutrition goals. Clicking on it instantly scrolls the page to the Menu section. This helps users with a clear intent skip the clutter and jump straight to relevant options.

The Incentive

To keep users motivated and engaged in their nutrition journey, I introduced a simple incentive: Reward points for healthy dining decisions. Here, I thought of leveraging OpenTable's existing and extensive rewards program.


When users choose a restaurant that aligns with their dietary goals, they earn extra points. These points are highlighted on the final checkout page, encouraging positive reinforcement at the moment of booking.

Goal Filters

To help users make healthier choices while applying filters, I introduced a new filter section "Goals" within the filter column. This section showcases the same nutrition preferences user previously setup during onboarding.

Smart Tools

Once users personalise their plan, we introduce a smart toolbar that highlights key features to help them plan, search, and stay aligned with their nutrition goals while dining out.

To keep the experience unobtrusive, the toolbar is collapsible. Users can choose to hide it anytime, and unhide with a simple click when they need it.

Smart Search

To make food discovery more intuitive, I designed Smart Search as a natural, open-ended interface. When users click the Smart Search option, a modal opens with a prompt to start typing or use voice input.


Below the input, we surface smart suggestions. These serve both as examples and quick-insert prompts, helping users learn how to search in natural language. The feature adapts to both specific intent and casual exploration.

Behind every Smart Search is a set of intelligent filters. Now that we have indexed all data: from customer reviews and dish names to ingredients and cuisine type, when a user enters a prompt, our system breaks it down into structured, actionable filters. This allows the platform to translate free-form input into precise recommendations.

Plan My Day

Users can switch from Smart Search to Plan My Day with a single click. The feature shares the same smart filtering logic as Smart Search.


Let’s say I’m flying to Tokyo next Monday and staying in Shibuya. As a foodie, I’d love to try some of the city’s most talked-about restaurants. But the best spots often get booked out early. That’s where planning ahead really helps.


With Plan My Day, users can simply use a prompt like “Plan my day in Shibuya for Upcoming Monday. No meat, Please”. Smart Search understands the intent, breaks it down, and helps map out a full day of meals aligned with the user’s preferences and goals.

Plan My Day breaks down your meals into three simple slots: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Users can toggle between these to decide their plans, and we use past behaviour and preferences to suggest the best times and nearby restaurants for each. For example, if a user typically eats breakfast around 9 AM, we factor that in to show timely, goal-aligned recommendations. The same logic applies across lunch and dinner.


To keep things fresh, users can use Shuffle option to generate a new set of suggestions. Filters can always be applied on top to refine the results further.


During ideation phase I explored a feature for auto-booking reservations, I chose not to implement it. Dining is a personal experience, and I believe users prefer to stay in control of final decisions: especially when it comes to booking.

What's Buzzing

What’s Buzzing is a smart way to surface trending restaurants among people with similar goals as the user.


We use a custom sort operation that ranks restaurants based on how frequently they’re visited, reviewed, or engaged with by diner with similar goals. The more traction a restaurant gets within that segment, the higher it appears, giving users a quick look at what’s popular and relevant right now.

Roll The Dice

Roll the dice is a fun way to keep recommendations fresh while staying aligned with the user’s nutrition goals.


When triggered, it randomly applies a set of filters informed by the user’s dining history and preferences, while always including at least two health-forward tags like "High Fiber" or "Balanced" that support the user’s weekly targets.


Users can click Roll Again to instantly shuffle the suggestions and discover new options every time.

Staying On-track Without Data

Many users don’t track their meals daily, and that’s perfectly normal. For people who aren't using a nutrition app or simply haven't logged food consistently, I thought of a low-effort way to keep them engaged and supported.


A smart insight banner checks in by asking: “Are you on track with your nutrition goals this week?”

If the user selects Yes, we offer encouragement and show two supportive filters like Low Carb or Balanced that help maintain momentum.

If the answer is No, we respond with empathy and suggest helpful filters such as High Fiber or Low Calorie to make a quick recovery easier.

Users can apply these filters in one tap and immediately start exploring meal options tailored to their status.

Maybe?

What if we make use of user's recent health reports to provide personalised dish suggestions?

For instance, if the report indicates a B12 deficiency, OpenTable will highlight B12-rich dishes directly on the menu. This ensures that recommendations are aligned with nutrition goals as well as actual health needs. Just a thought.

Conclusion

This project began with a clear goal: help users set dietary goals, track progress, and find the right food. But the real challenge was designing for two very different groups: those who regularly track their nutrition and those who don’t.


I built flexible flows to support each group, introduced smart tools to reduce friction, and made sure users could act on insights without being overwhelmed. The result is a scalable system that supports healthy decisions, adapts to user habits, and fits naturally into the dine-out experience.


Grateful for this opportunity. It pushed me to think critically about how dining choices, health goals, and user behavior intersect. I thoroughly enjoyed translating those ideas into meaningful product experiences.

Thank you

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Reach me at panchalraj1000@gmail.com