Projects > Case study
Nyu·me
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Zero-waste natural treatments. 78% give up when they don't have what they need
An information architecture built around one constraint: what you already have
OVERVIEW
App that helps create face, body and hair treatments using ingredients already at home.
Project born while living in London, where enthusiasm for homemade treatments was widespread in my work and social environment.
A common behaviour had emerged, many people searched for natural remedies online, but rarely followed through.
The design process
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
The market ignores what's in your pantry
Daily Beauty Care (1M+ downloads)
BBeautiful (500K+ downloads)
Beauty Care (10K+ downloads)
These represent the direct competitors in-app.
Findings
0 out of 3 apps offer search by ingredient
All are organised by beauty category, none starts from "what I have in my pantry".
Gap in the online natural beauty market
Blogs and social media are organised by problem to treat, ignoring the constraint of what the user already has at home.
USER RESEARCH
The goal was not to validate interest in natural beauty (already known) but to quantify constraints and surface preferences.
Method: Quantitative research
Survey of 93 participants aged 20–44.
Objectives
Quantify search time and drop off causes
Validate dual mental model: ingredient vs problem
Understand constraints: available ingredients, complexity
Key data
44%
52%
Wants to use max 1–2 ingredients.
Users abandon recipes that are too complex
48%
Chooses based on what they already have.
Search is constrained by available ingredients.
78%
Gives up due to missing ingredients.
The main cause of drop off.
PERSONAS
Two profiles emerged from the research:
Emma: looks for a beauty hack starting from ingredients she already has.
Kate: looks for a specific treatment.
DESIGN IMPLICATIONS
3 decisions built around one constraint
Dual flow based on opposite mental models
start from an ingredient (Element)
start from a Treatment
Reduces search time from 10 minutes to 60 seconds.
1+1 Remedies
1 main ingredient
universal bases (oil, sugar, flour, etc).
Prevents abandonment, user can always make the remedy.
Contextual filters in the Treatment flow
Show only ingredients compatible with the selected problem.
Guarantees a problem-ingredient match.
FLOWMAP
The app's hierarchical structure with the 2 flows.
WIREFRAMES
WIREFLOW
The Element and Treatment flows.
USABILITY TEST
5 users, 5 tasks, no errors
Target
5 users aged 25–32 who participated to a "Hallway Test".
Metrics
Average time per screen / action
Task completion time
1st tap
Heatmap
Task scenario 1 - Element flow
You realise you bought too many lemons and they'll expire soon if you don't use them. You've decided to use them to make a hair mask. Which path would you choose to see what you can do for your hair with lemons?
Task scenario 2 - Treatment flow
You're a woman and you've just done a treatment for yourself. Now you'd like to find a treatment for your partner. Where would you go to find remedies to soften a man's beard?
The tests validated the dual-access architecture and navigation flows.
NAMING & LOGOTYPE
The name echoes the English pronunciation of "new me" and is paired with phonetic symbols that emphasise its sound.
The drop represents the purity of water, evoking naturalness and care.
UI DESIGN ITERATION
One tap less and a screen to explain why
DESIGN KIT
Soft UI for a balance between aesthetics and accessibility
Components use distinctive natural colours that stand out against a monochromatic, neutral background.
