Sustainable Seafood

Sustainable Seafood

Empowering consumers with accessible, trusted sustainable seafood guidance.

Sustainable Seafood

Empowering consumers with accessible, trusted sustainable seafood guidance.

Company

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Industry

Non-profit/Conservation

Role

Product Designer

Responsibilities

UI / UX
Competitive Analysis

About Seafood Watch

About Seafood Watch

Seafood Watch, an initiative of Monterey Bay Aquarium, is the leading authority on sustainable seafood. Trusted by consumers, chefs, and businesses worldwide, the program provides guidance on making ocean-friendly seafood choices.

Problem

While brand trust and awareness were high, Seafood Watch’s website and tools were difficult to navigate, leaving consumers uncertain about how to act on sustainability information. Leadership needed clear, consumer-focused design concepts to showcase how Seafood Watch could modernize its digital experience.

Audience

• Consumers seeking sustainable seafood guidance

• Chefs and restaurants making menu decisions

• Shoppers navigating grocery and dining options

My Role

My Role

Leveraging Research

I translated in-depth user research and competitive analysis into three high-impact design solutions. By identifying the most critical user needs from the findings, prioritized MVP features that would make sustainable seafood choices accessible: a scanner for instant sustainability ratings, location-based recommendations, and a guided shopping experience that removes decision friction.

Data into Insight

Seafood Watch's web platform contained comprehensive sustainability data (pictured below), but consumers struggled to access and quickly find what they needed. Complex taxonomy and dense recommendation systems created significant usability barriers.

The app transformed this inaccessible information into clear visual hierarchies, making sustainability ratings instantly understandable and helping users grasp not just what to buy, but why it matters for their health, ocean ecosystems, and the quality of seafood they bring home.

Opportunity Areas

Seafood Scanner

A camera-based tool using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to read packaging, certifications, and UPCs (Universal Product Code). The scanner extracted key attributes to surface real-time sustainability ratings, eliminating manual searches while shopping.

Seafood Near Me

A location-based discovery tool that surfaced nearby locations committed to sustainable seafood. Users could filter by venue type and see at-a-glance certifications and ratings. Venue detail pages included reviews, directions, and available sustainable species, making it easy to plan shopping trips or dining around verified sustainable options in their community.

Guided Shopping List

The guide adapted existing web data into a streamlined mobile experience. Location-based filtering surfaced locally available seafood, while visual scoring systems highlighted key health and sustainability attributes at a glance.

Detailed species pages preserved critical information like toxin levels and overfishing risk, but simplified the presentation to help users quickly understand what matters most for their decisions.

Results

Results

Delivered an app proposal that was met with excitement from stakeholders. The project was paused due to budgeting constraints prior to design refinement, testing, and development.