Jiwa
Inspired by Singapore’s growing focus on health, Jiwa is a dessert brand that reimagines traditional kuih for all generations. Every treat is customizable to suit different dietary needs, celebrating inclusivity, heritage, and the joy of sharing.
DURATION
2 Weeks
ROLE
User Research Designer
User Interface Designer
Graphic Designer
TOOLS
Figma
Illustrator
Photoshop
The Challenge
In Singapore, traditional kuih is often not perceived as a healthy option. Consumers lack guidance on customisation for dietary needs, while businesses struggle to address these requirements and provide clear information on packaging, nutrition, and portion sizes.
The Objective
My objective is to explore how people with specific dietary needs can easily find and customize cakes and desserts for their loved ones, ensuring a smooth experience without relying on vendors or risking human error.
Our
Process
01
Empathize
Starting with research helps uncover user pain points, motivations, and behaviors. This way, the design is grounded in evidence.
02
Ideation
Turning research into structured ideas (IA + flows) ensures the product experience is logical, intuitive, and aligns with user goals.
03
Phototype
Created branding from scratch, prototyped a design system, and built a fully interactive prototype.
04
Test
Iterating with real users validates the design and improves usability, ensuring the final product is functional.
Research
I conducted market research to uncover the key challenges vendors face in creating diabetic-friendly kueh, including ingredient limitations, operational constraints, and cultural expectations, to understand why few traditional desserts offer healthier versions.
Ingredient and Product
⚠️ CHALLENGES
-
Customers expect traditional taste and texture.
-
Cultural resistance: desserts tied to heritage/rituals.
-
“Diabetic-friendly” labeling may require regulatory compliance and affect trust.
✅ OPPORTUNITIES
-
Clearly label as “Light Sugar” or “Healthier Choice.”
-
Offer tastings to build trust.
-
Promote health benefits while preserving traditional heritage.
Business and Operational
⚠️ CHALLENGES
-
Customers expect traditional taste and texture.
-
Cultural resistance: desserts tied to heritage/rituals.
-
“Diabetic-friendly” labeling may require regulatory compliance and affect trust.
✅ OPPORTUNITIES
-
Clearly label as “Light Sugar” or “Healthier Choice.”
-
Offer tastings to build trust.
-
Promote health benefits while preserving traditional heritage.
Consumer and Cultural
⚠️ CHALLENGES
-
Customers expect traditional taste and texture.
-
Cultural resistance: desserts tied to heritage/rituals.
-
“Diabetic-friendly” labeling may require regulatory compliance and affect trust.
✅ OPPORTUNITIES
-
Clearly label as “Light Sugar” or “Healthier Choice.”
-
Offer tastings to build trust.
-
Promote health benefits while preserving traditional heritage.
User Interviews
To better understand the challenges in online dessert ordering, I conducted interviews with 10 users. Through these conversations, I uncovered their pain points, expectations, and personal preferences. These insights became the foundation for shaping a solution that not only met user needs but also enhanced the overall ordering experience.
✨ Aesthetics
To better understand the challenges in online dessert ordering, I conducted interviews with 10 users. Through these conversations, I uncovered their pain points, expectations, and personal preferences. These insights became the foundation for shaping a solution that not only met user needs but also enhanced the overall ordering experience.
🔒 Assurance
Users want assurance in terms of packaging, delivery, sizing of the desserts they are ordering and wants comparison with
common-items.
🎨 Customization
Users wants to select different flavours and customised their cakes easily without having to
reach out
to the vendor.
❤️ Health
Users want clear ingredient info for themselves and the people they’re buying for. It helps them make safe, informed choices around allergies and dietary needs.
To better understand our target audience, I developed a persona that captures key insights gathered from user interviews.
Persona
Farah, the Family Gifter
Age 29, Career Woman
Farah just wanted to surprise her dad with his favourite cake for his birthday. But because he’s diabetic and there were no diabetic options, she had to settle for a cake he didn’t even like. It broke her heart a little.
Behaviours
-
To find diabetic-friendly desserts that offer a variety of interesting cake flavours, so she has a go-to place to buy from for future celebrations.
Goals
-
Accommodate dietary needs for her parents and elders (e.g., diabetic or lactose-intolerant relatives).
-
Wants to buy a cake suitable her big family.
Pain Points
-
No quick icons for diabetic friendly or healthy alternative.
-
Worry if the cake is too small. Doesn’t understand cake size in inches, wants common-item comparison (A4 paper, hand).
Problem
Satements
🔍
Users struggle to find desserts that match their preferences easily
Research revealed that users need a platform that provides direct access to relevant information. They value clarity and convenience, expecting key details such as dietary preferences to be visible on the homepage and product pages.
⚠️
There is a lack of transparency between buyers and vendors
Buyers seek honesty and clear product information, while vendors fear that too much transparency may reduce sales. This creates a gap between what users need to make confident decisions and what sellers feel comfortable sharing.
Ideation
Following the identification of the problem statements and HMW statements, I structured the product page based on insights derived from card sorting activities. The resulting information architecture categorizes offerings into Bestsellers, Cakes, Kuih, Pastries, and Customization, with each category further organized by dietary preferences, including Diabetic, Vegan, Gluten-Free, and Lactose-Free options.
This structure made it easier for users to find products that matched their dietary needs without unnecessary scrolling or confusion. It also improved product discoverability and created a smoother, more enjoyable browsing experience across all categories.
The Rationale
behind the brand
“Jiwa” means “soul” in Malay, and the logo is designed to capture that essence. By integrating a heart into the design, the logo not only symbolizes emotion and connection but also brings a deeper impact that resonates with the true meaning of Jiwa.
Phototype
Jiwa makes dietary needs easy to spot by showing Keto Sugar, Vegan-Friendly, Diabetic-Friendly, Gluten-Free, and Lactose-Free options right away.
Categories
To ensure users don’t miss important categories or dietary options, the tabs are placed in a fixed position on the side. This placement raises awareness of healthier alternatives while still giving users the freedom to browse. Additionally, showing portion sizes and the number of people each item serves helps users make more informed choices.
Product Page
Users often struggle to visualize or estimate the actual product in real life. To make this easier, an A4-sized shape is provided as a dimension guide, helping them better understand the size.
Customization
Users can personalise their orders by choosing dietary options, portion sizes, and packaging without having to reach out to the vendors.
Userbility
Tests
I was able to test 5 users remotely. I sent them the prototype link, explained the project background and presented them with a few tasks for them to complete.
I have created a tasks for the users as follows:
Task 1
Finding and Ordering a Health-Conscious Product
Scenario
Farah’s father loves croissants, but he is diabetic.
Tasks
-
Find a suitable croissant option for him on Jiwa’s platform.
-
Farah’s father particularly enjoys the Banana Almond flavor from Jiwa. She plans to order 4 pieces as a gift for him.
-
Show how you would complete this action.
100%
success
80%
success
Task 2
Customizing and Gifting a Product
Scenario
Farah wants to customize a product from Jiwa.
Task
-
Find where he can customize a product on Jiwa’s platform.
-
Darren decides to get the Kaya Flavour Roll as a whole cake, using a healthier sugar option, and send it as a gift.
-
Demonstrate how you would do this.
Iterations
For Task 2, users were unsure whether the buttons were clickable under the "Customisation" page. Some mistook them for key ingredients of the cakes, so most either didn’t click them at all or tried clicking through trial and error.
Before
The dietary preference options were perceived as static text rather than clickable elements, leading to low interaction.
After
Added borders around category elements to increase their affordance and make them visually identifiable as buttons.
Outcome: Post-test results showed a 100% success rate, confirming that users immediately recognized the elements as interactive.
My takeaway
This project was both fun and fulfilling to work on. Designing a platform that accommodates a wide range of dietary preferences while keeping the experience organized and easy to navigate was a meaningful challenge. What I found most rewarding was being involved from start to finish, understanding user needs, testing, iterating, and ultimately creating an interface that helps users find and order cakes for their loved ones with ease. It reminded me why I love UX/UI design, creating experiences that make people’s lives simpler and more delightful.