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These designs will focus on the efficiency of the server, allowing them update and create menu items with ingredients. They will also address safety issues, making sure the ingredients are labeled correctly.
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Design for adding a daily special
This UI element allows for the server/menu owner to upload a daily special to the menu. Clickable photo area allows the server to search their personal photo drive to upload a picture taken in the restaurant. Combobox of known ingredients is used to populate an ingredients listbox of known ingredient types, and a separate combobox is used to annotate substitutions. Text entry input is included for the food name and food description.
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- As the size of the ingredient list grows, the efficiency of the combobox input drops.
- Menus and forms approach used for data entry might affect the learnability of the interface
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Consistent view design for adding menu items
In this design, we try to mimic the view of the patron on the server side. This way, the server knows exactly how the menu items and ingredients will be presented to the user. A new item is created with a template, with its contents editable, and layout exactly the same as it would appear for the patron. Note that this is only a concept at this point, because we have not settled on a particular patron's design, and would have to mimic differently depending on that. 
Pros:
- High feedback and consistency between the server and the patron. The server can best present the menu item/ingredients.
Cons:
- The server will perform more actions than just displaying the menu item, the metaphor won't completely follow.
Individual UI Designs for Patron
These designs will address the safety concerns of the patron, and make the exploration of safe items accessible.
Design for searching restuarants
Upon login to our application, the user is presented with a list of participating restaurants with specials in the area. Only daily specials are shown for each participating restaurant. A dual list box is populated in the bottom right that either shows the diet restriction itself, for example the "South Beach Diet" or the list of ingredients in the special
Pros:
- Efficient design to both advertise and explore food options in the area.
- Focus is to showcase the food item with as much display area as possible to show the menu item
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- Limited ability to provided to peruse an individual restaurant menu in lieu of displaying "specials"
Menu inspection with focus on "Safety"
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Yewen
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- c
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Patrick
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- b
- c
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