The Endless Potential of NFC Technology - Sayfe
Sayfe is an NFC-powered communication tool that seamlessly connects users with restaurants to accommodate dietary restrictions.
By instantly transmitting personalized dietary information to restaurant POS systems in the user’s preferred language, Sayfe eliminates barriers and ensures a stress-free dining experience worldwide.
My Role
Chief Design Officer
Project
Self-Initiated
Duration
3 Weeks
Tools Used
Figma, Miro
Reflection & Takeaways
Pacing the process
Rushing leads to oversights. A structured approach in the design thinking phase sets up success in later stages.
Planning before designing
Jumping into high-fidelity too soon cost me time. Proper mapping prevents unnecessary revisions.
Embracing Failure
Mistakes are part of the process, just like iterating on designs. They help me grow and improve for myself and my team.
Leading under pressure
At the European Innovation Academy, I learned to lead and communicate effectively in high-stakes, fast-paced environments.
From Problem to Possibility
Is it Possible To Go From Problem to Concept in 3-Weeks?
In the summer of 2024, I attended the European Innovation Academy (EIA), a three-week startup accelerator where students worldwide collaborate to develop and pitch innovative ideas to investors. As someone with severe allergies, traveling to a foreign country with language barriers was daunting—I experienced 4 allergic reactions in Portugal due to miscommunication in restaurants. This personal struggle fueled my drive to create a solution.
Midway through the sprint, our Chief of Marketing had to leave unexpectedly due to an allergic reaction, reducing our team from 5 to 4. Stepping up as a leader, I guided our team through intense brainstorming, collaboration, and design, ultimately developing Sayfe—a dietary communication app that uses NFC technology to seamlessly transmit allergy information to restaurants.
On the final day, we pitched to investors and placed in the Top 10 out of 70+ teams, earning the opportunity to present on EIA’s big stage before 400+ industry professionals.
Here is the story of our creation, Sayfe.
60% of the World Faces Dietary Restrictions?!
960 million people have traveled internationally this past year with their top priority to explore new cultures. Food is a major part of many cultures however, the World Health Organization reports in 2022 60% of the world’s population face dilemmas with dietary restrictions and 220 million people suffer from food allergies that can seriously impact their health.
Rigorous & Time-Consuming
Language translation applications have been a useful and innovative tool in dine-in situations in foreign countries but lacks for an intuitive dining experience.
Communication Struggle
The outcome of translating languages can sometimes be misleading and inaccurate. Many have still faced the challenges of miscommunication and will continue to struggle with communicating while in foreign countries.
The Problem at Hand
Problem Statement
Why This Needs To Be Addressed
Strength In Community
I wasn’t alone. I met others facing the same struggles, which reinforced the need for a solution.
I experienced four preventable allergic reactions in Portugal. All due to miscommunication.
A Wake-Up Call
Struggle Into Impact
These challenges motivated me to create a solution so others would't have to face the same life-threatening risks.
User Research
62.5%
Users choose a place to eat based on their allergens
75%
Users say their allergies
have prevented them from
attending an event
Among People Who Do Have Dietary Restrictions
Who Are Taking Care of People With Dietary Restrictions
46.7%
Users have avoided restaurants due to dietary restrictions
40%
Users considered allergies while picking a place to eat out
33.3%
Users sometimes consider allergies while picking a place to eat out
Most responders do not use technology to communicate or navigate their allergies in a restaurant setting. Among those who do use technology 26.7% of them use translation apps in order to communicate their needs.
Therefore, contactless tech adoption is high in general, so pivoting towards a contactless dietary management tool could be beneficial as it may be an untapped market as of right now.
Contactless Tech Is The Future
46.7%
Sometimes struggle to communicate their allergies
20%
Experience this most of the time
While Communicating Their Allergies to Restaurants
User Personas
New Immigrant
Struggles with language barriers and finding clear dietary info.
Needs easy restaurant filtering and communication tools.
Relies on reviews for safe dining choices.
Gregg Zhang
Rebecca Oswald
Balances multiple children while ensuring allergen safety.
Needs quick, reliable food safety verification.
Uses reviews and a “foodie card” to communicate allergies.
Managing Child's Allergy
Competitor Analysis
Pros
Free and accessible for all mobile applications
Supports 100+ languages for translation
Offline-Mode
Cons
Inaccuracy while translating in different languages
Limited for complex-translations such as “no cross-contamination between shellfish”
Lack of formality and local dialects
Think Outside The Box
Our mentor's feedback pushed our creative boundaries.
He encouraged limitless idea generation.
Outrageous concepts sparked creativity and innovation.
Ideation Process
The Unexpected Ideas That Led to Our Final Solution
1
Universally known symbols across all countries
2
Using image scanning, AI highlights potential dietary risks on the restaurant menu
3
Device that alerts people when you have an allergic reaction (senses your vitals change)
4
Use of image scanning to see what the dish may have based on historic records of what the dish usually contains.
User Flow
Once we established our solution, I created a user journey flow to show my team what the application could look like.
Primary color: Green, conveying calmness and reliability.
Fun and comfortable images: Add a pop of personality to the design.
Welcoming feel: Designed for users who don’t want to worry about dietary restrictions while dining.
Target audience: People seeking an effortless dining experience.
Feeling The Vibe
The Font - Inter
Clean and modern
Easily readable by all ages
Friendly, not stiff or formal
Direct and clear communication
Appeals to the supportive nature of Sayfe
Visual Appeal
Minimal design: Keep the interface simple.
Content should breathe: Avoid cluttered or tight spacing.
Non-overwhelming: Ensure a calm and approachable feel.
Reflects a helping hand: Supports users in a gentle, inviting way.
Design TL:DR
Font: Clean, modern, friendly, and clear.
App: Minimal, with space to avoid overwhelm.
Color: Green for calmness, with fun, vibrant images.
Target: Welcoming to users who don’t need to worry about dietary restrictions.
Mockup
The Mid-Fidelity Mockup
Introducing Sayfe
Sayfe aims to eliminate these barriers to ensure that anyone can dine with confidence no matter where they are in the world.
My team’s solution was designed to bridge the gap between the user and dine-in restaurants seamlessly without interrupting the user’s day-to-day lifestyle by utilizing what many user’s always carry in their pocket… smartphones.
For that we created an informative communication tool associated with NFC technology. The application allows the user to create a personalized digital card with your dietary information similar to Apple’s Medical ID Card. Once the user has set-up their account information, they’ll have the ability to select Sayfe certified restaurants to accommodate restrictions. The user will need to simply tap their application onto a NFC card reader. The information regarding your dietary restrictions is directly transmitted to the restaurant’s POS system in their preferred language.
By delivering communication in an intuitive, quick, and effective manner. Sayfe ensures the user has a pleasurable dining experience.
The MVP
Create A Profile: Allows users to create their profile and assign what dietary restriction to their account
Profile & Edit Dietary Restrictions: Allow users to change their personal information and dietary needs
Restaurant Section: Allows users to view recommended restaurants based off of their dietary restrictions
Recently Viewed Restaurants: Allows users to keep track of recently viewed restaurants
NFC Card: Similar to ApplePay or GooglePay, allows users to tap their information onto an existing NFC reader to display their information.
Location Map: Allows users to view nearby restaurants that adhere to their dietary restrictions and/or Sayfe certified.
Saved Restaurants: Allows users to keep track of restaurants they’ve tried or wanting to try.
The Solution at Hand
Features
Feedback & Impact
234 Sign-Ups &
13 Letter of Intents
To understand the receptivity of our idea, like many other teams within the competition, we sent out sign-up forms on Instagram and to the academy’s public WhatsApp chats to help validate our final solution before beginning the mockup phase.
By the end of the week we garnered 234 sign-up responses and 13 letter of intent from established local businesses and chains.
Where we Placed in the Competition
What Happened?
During the final day of the competition, we presented our final idea to a small group of investors. If they loved our idea enough, our team would be nominated for a potential place in the top 10 by a panel of mentors and would be forced to present on the big stage.
We wouldn’t know until the big grand reveal during the final pitch in-front of a live-streamed event and 400+ like-minded innovators and investors. It took us by surprise, and our team was called up to the stage for our big pitch.
By the end of the pitch, the feeling was surreal. It had felt like all of our long-days and hard-work had paid off. It was a momentous step in my UX career, and honestly life-lasting memories I won’t forget.
Highlights
Top 10 nomination: Our team made it into the top 10, advancing to the live-streamed pitch event.
Big stage moment: We presented in front of 400+ innovators and investors.
Significant career milestone: It was a huge step in my UX journey, creating life-lasting memories.