Picky is a website design that, while informational, communicates a message to those that have ARFID: you aren’t alone. There might be varying degrees to it and many that have it have different foods that they consider “safe”, but there are people out there that have it. I grew up thinking that I was alone. A couple years ago when I began to search the Internet for explanations for my strange eating habits, I was absolutely amazed to find out about ARFID. The first thing that I found was an article that The Wall Street Journal wrote about it, and the woman that they describe in it sounded exactly like me. To me, that article was a relief; it told me that I wasn’t alone. With Picky, I aim to give people that same feeling.
Spring 2018.
I researched ARFID extensively, and that research led me to forums where people that have or suspect that they have ARFID tell their stories. In these stories, many describe what their diets look like. I found is that while there are some foods that most seem to deam “safe” (bread products and grilled cheese being the main two), many people have differences. For example, some people talked about being able to eat some types of meat, while some (like myself) won’t touch any of it with a ten-foot pole. I found it was the same with vegetables. I looked towards forums and websites that I found that focused around mental health issues and connecting with others with similar experiences. From there, I decided that a website would be a good way to condense information and get the message across.
I decided to create a visual for the main homepage to accompany the profiles below. The profiles were taken from forum postings where the writer gave their name, age and "safe foods". These foods were then placed where they would fit on the current USDA nutritional standard, MyPlate, and given an opacity depending on how many individuals named that item as a safe food. I chose to incorporate MyPlate to show how many with ARFID have trouble maintaining a healthy, balanced diet.
The website was mocked up using Adobe Muse.