Bite Buds

Healthy eating, turned into a game.

Background

Bringing balance to students’ plates.

At the University of Notre Dame Hackathon, I explored how technology could foster healthier habits through design and behavior change. I turned research into prototypes, crafted the app’s concept, and designed the virtual pets.

Results

Hackathon Winner

2nd Place & Best UI Award

Secured Grant Funding

Received funding for further development

Expanded to Young Learners

Adapted for Goleta Elementary’s program

OVERVIEW

PROBLEM STATEMENT

College students know what to eat but still struggle to eat well.

Despite understanding basic nutrition, students found it hard to build consistent healthy eating habits.

THE WHY

What do students do instead?

A slice of pizza

Late-night study sessions often end with a greasy fix instead of a balanced meal.

Instant ramen

Instant noodles are cheap, fast, and always there. Convenience wins.

Skipping Meals

Between classes, work, and stress, students skip meals entirely, out of burnout.

PROBLEM QUESTION

How can we make healthy choices feel rewarding?

We want to know what would make balanced eating easier, more intuitive, and even enjoyable for busy students?

SOLUTION

Bite Buddies: A fun, gamified way to care for your health.

Feed and nurture your virtual pets by feeding yourself balanced meals.

Easy Nutritional Tracking

Snap a photo of your meal & get instant analysis.

Gamification with Pets

Feed five virtual pets that represent the five food groups.

Easy Nutritional Tracking

Earn coins & decorate your garden.

Personalized Progress Tracking

Monitor your consumption of each food group.

RESEARCH

LITERATURE REVIEW

We looked for proven ways to make healthy eating stick.

We gathered behavior change, gamification, and psychology research to learn what actually motivates better eating through digital tools.

“Immediate feedback encourages healthier eating without feeling preachy.”

Digital Health Interventions for Nutrition

“Gamified, personalized systems drive lasting diet improvements.”

Gamification for Health Behavior Change

“Apps that support autonomy and connection keep users engaged.”

Self-Determination Theory and Gamified Apps

“Small, actionable steps help users build momentum and confidence.”

Behavioral Strategies for Lifestyle Change

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

We learned what other apps offer and what they missed.

We found that most apps were focused on data and lacked engagement, personalization, and fun.

Fooducate

Helpful education,

slow payoff.

MyFitnessPal

Great for tracking, terrible for engagement.

Yazio

Personalized goals but overwhelming setup.

Noom

Strong behavioral science, takes too much time.

Pokemon GO

Addictive engagement, but not tied to health.

Habitica

Behavior change gamified, but heavy setup.

USER INTERVIEW

Even a few voices revealed patterns about eating behavior.

Due to limited time, we interviewed a small group of students, but were able to identify patterns with time pressure, stress eating, and engaging support.

Application Gap

Students understand what healthy eating looks like.

Turning that knowledge into daily action was where they struggled.

Busy Student Trap

Between classes, work, and life, convenience foods win.

Students often feel guilty afterward but don’t know where to start changing.

Fun vs Functionality

Some students craved fun, engaging tools to stay motivated.

Others just needed quick advice to get through the day.

Stress Eating Cycle

Stress pushed students toward emotional eating.

What felt good in the moment often left regret and low energy behind.

AFFINITY MAPPING

Our insights narrowed into four clear design themes.

From our insights, we grouped possible app features under the four design pillars of: gamification, education, simplicity, and personalization.

User Engagement & Gamification

Pets that grow with you

Challenges that reward streaks

Badges for trying new foods

Friendly competition with classmates

Nutritional Education

Quick tips after logging meals

Mini guides on labels & macros

“Did you know?” ingredient facts

Short quizzes to reinforce learning

Personalization & Sensitivity

Meals that fit your culture

Filters for dietary needs

Bookmark your favorites

Local picks that match your taste

Simplicity & Effortless Logging

Snap a photo, skip the typing

One-tap logging for repeat meals

“Same as yesterday” shortcuts

Progress rings made simple

DESIGN

CORE FUNCTIONALITIES

We chose key features from the themes to ideate our app.

We narrowed the most effective ideas from each design theme from the affinity map and decided which features our app should employ.

Gamification

Pets, coins, decorations

Education

Instant analysis, pop-ups

Simplicity

Photo-based meal logging

Emotional Support

Non-judgmental feedback

DESIGN CONCEPTS

One pet? Or five pets?

We explored two different concepts for our app, and found the five pets model made the experience more educational and rewarding.

Concept 1

Concept 2

Feed one, personalized pet for simplicity and bonding.

Cognitive Load
Very low - one simple goal

Tracking Focus
Overall quality of meal

Emotional Bond
Deep bond with one pet

Educational Value
General health guidance

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

We created a simple information architecture that fit the five-pets model.

We created an information architecture that emphasized fast logging, instant feedback, and visible progress. Each step connected students' meal choices with nurturing their pet.

WIREFRAMES

Wireframes tested how well our flow supported real tasks.

We developed low-fidelity wireframes to translate the user flow into clear, intuitive screens. The early design prioritized functionality and user-friendly navigation.

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