Northeastern Dining Rating Platform

Bridging the feedback gap between students and dining services

Northeastern's current dining feedback system only allows students to rate their overall dining experience, not individual food items. I identified this gap and designed a concept for a rating platform that enables students to give feedback on specific dishes, aimed at improving how feedback is collected and used by dining services.

The goal was to create a simple, intuitive system that encourages participation and provides actionable insights. The prototype includes a searchable menu, quick rating options, meal and station filters, and an optional comments section.

From concept to pitch

Creating structured feedback for unstructured dining experiences

Northeastern students currently have limited ways to share detailed feedback about their dining experiences. Existing platforms only collect overall ratings for entire dining halls, providing little insight into which specific dishes succeed or need improvement.

Students wanted a faster, more engaging way to share feedback, while dining services needed more structured data to inform menu updates. The challenge was balancing ease of use with data richness.

The existing system only supports general dining hall feedback, not item-specific ratings. Third-party tools lack integration with campus dining data, creating a gap in actionable insights.

What students really want

Through user research and analysis of the current system, I identified key user needs:

• Students want to rate specific dishes and view average scores
• They prefer minimal steps and optional anonymity for honesty
• Transparency: seeing the impact of feedback motivates engagement
• Mobile-first design for on-the-go rating while eating

Simple, intuitive, and actionable

The visual style emphasizes simplicity, clarity, and trust. I used clean layouts, accessible colors, and rounded elements for friendliness, combining Northeastern's red palette with neutral tones for balance.

Core Features

• Searchable Menu: Find and rate specific dishes easily
• Quick Ratings: Tap-to-rate interaction for fast feedback
• Filters: Sort by meal type, dining hall, or station
• Comments: Optional section for written feedback
• Responsive Design: Optimized for mobile and desktop

From concept to pitch

The project successfully demonstrated the value of item-level feedback systems for campus dining operations.

• Designed a responsive UI optimized for both mobile and desktop experiences
• Outlined technical architecture including front-end interactions and back-end data model
• Pitched to leadership: Presented the concept to the Associate VP of Business Services at Northeastern
• Identified implementation path: Proposed integration with existing campus dining systems

Connecting user needs with institutional goals

This project taught me how to identify design gaps and translate them into actionable solutions. It strengthened my ability to communicate design strategy, propose technical feasibility, and create experiences that connect user needs with institutional goals.

Pitching to university leadership helped me understand how to frame design solutions in terms of business value and operational impact, not just user experience improvements. This experience bridged my design and development skills with real-world implementation considerations.