Project overview
Personal staple price log. Not national CPI dashboard.
- Platform
- Mobile app · Android-first · portrait
- Screens
- 11 screens + 1 unhappy path (12 frames)
- Features
- 3 core features
- Bottom navigation
- Basket · Log · Trends · Profile
- Prototype
- 4 linked flows
Build order: Auth (screens 1–4) → nav tabs (5–8) → core flow (9–11) → unhappy path → link prototypes.
Problem & primary user
Food inflation hits household planning hard. US/UK use CPI dashboards; Nigerian families track prices mentally at different markets.
Primary user
"Amina, a 38-year-old teacher in Kaduna who buys the same staples weekly."
Geographic scope: National-level
Goals
User goal: Log prices of her regular items and see week-over-week change.
Business goal: Data insights for FMCG brands; premium household budgeting features.
Success: User logs price and sees item trend.
Market context
- Question
- Answer
- Who pays
- FMCG brands buy basket trend data; premium household insights.
- Why not WhatsApp
- Households track prices mentally or in notebooks. No personal inflation view.
- Design focus
- Personal basket log with simple week-over-week change per staple.
Competitors to check:
- NBS CPI reports (national, not personal basket)
- Notebook at market (default)
- General budget apps (not market item trends)
Validate before you design
Interview 3–5 people who match your primary user. Update this brief if interviews contradict it. Do not start hi-fi until you complete the confirmation below.
- Validated user (name, age, city)
- Problem in one sentence
- One interview quote
- Success metric for your test
- Primary colour and tone
- One competitor you checked
Interview prompts
- "Walk me through the last time this happened."
- "What did you use instead? WhatsApp, paper, or nothing?"
- "What would make you trust this on a cheap Android phone?"
- "What would stop you from using this every week?"
Features & scope
v1 · three features
- Add items to a personal market basket
- Log price each shop visit with market name
- See trend chart per item over 4 weeks
Out of scope
- Investment advice
- Automatic supermarket sync
- Every item in Nigeria
Screens
Design every row in wireframe, high-fidelity UI, and prototype (where the flow applies).
| # | Layer | Screen | What to show |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auth | Splash Screen | App logo, name, and tagline for Inflation Basket. |
| 2 | Auth | Onboarding (1 screen) | Explain the app in one sentence. One Get Started button. |
| 3 | Auth | Sign Up Screen | Name, phone number, state, and PIN. No email required. |
| 4 | Auth | Sign In Screen | Phone number and PIN. Forgot PIN link. |
| 5 | App shell | Basket (tab) | Items with last price and up/down change arrow. Show bottom nav with Basket active. |
| 6 | App shell | Log (tab) | Quick form: pick item, amount, market name. Save button. Show bottom nav with Log active. |
| 7 | App shell | Trends (tab) | Simple line chart for one selected item over 4 weeks. Show bottom nav with Trends active. |
| 8 | App shell | Profile (tab) | Name, home market, and basket item count. Show bottom nav with Profile active. |
| 9 | Core flow | Log price · Saved | Item, amount, market saved quickly. Show bottom nav on post-sign-in screens. |
| 10 | Core flow | Item trend | 4-week line chart for one item. Show bottom nav on post-sign-in screens. |
| 11 | Core flow | Basket · Week compare | This week vs last week total. Show bottom nav on post-sign-in screens. |
Layers: Auth = 1–4 · App shell = 5–8 · Core flow = 9–11
Prototype flows
Link these in Figma. Examiners should click through without your voice-over.
Flow 1 · App entry
Flow 2 · Core task (all three features)
Core flow screens: Log price · Saved · Item trend · Basket · Week compare
Flow 3 · Navigation
Link every nav tab so examiners can tap each bottom nav item. Tabs: Basket · Log · Trends · Profile
Flow 4 · Unhappy path
Trigger the unhappy path edge case and link to that screen.
Unhappy path
Design this as its own screen state (frame 12):
User logs zero naira. Show: Enter a valid amount in naira.
Link in Flow 4.
Design system
- Colour
- You choose. Keep it simple and readable.
- Type
- You choose. Keep body text easy to read on a phone.
- Tone
- Design for your user, not for a tech audience.
Reuse on every screen:
- Primary button (active and disabled states)
- Input field (empty, filled, and error states)
- Card or list item used across the app
- Navigation bar with correct labels and icons
- Empty state: what the screen looks like with no data
Submit & defense
Deliverables
| # | Deliverable | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wireframes | Every screen in this brief, plus the unhappy path. Layout and labels clear. |
| 2 | High-fidelity UI | Same frames polished. You choose colour and type. Bottom nav on every post-sign-in screen. |
| 3 | Prototype | Four linked flows (entry, core task, navigation, unhappy path). Examiners can use the app without your voice-over. |
| 4 | AI prototype | Figma Make: at least 2 screens. Share link. |
| 5 | Case study (1 page) | Problem · User · Who pays · Competitors · Solution · One design decision |
| 6 | Presentation (6–8 slides) | Name · Problem · User · Solution · Key screens · Flow demo · One decision |
Before you present
- Every screen designed in wireframe and hi-fi
- Unhappy path screen designed and linked in the prototype
- Four prototype flows linked end to end
- At least one empty state on a list tab
- Shared components reused: button, input, card or row, bottom nav
- Case study names who pays and one competitor you checked
- You can explain one design decision in critique (why, not what)
- Completed 5 user interviews or 1 usability test
- Checked at least one competitor listed under Market context