Calories Counter AI

Year: 2026
Role: Lead product designer
Services: MobileAIUser testingWidgetsApple Watch

Snap a meal and know its calories in seconds.

View live website Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

The app home: the daily streak, calories left, macros left, fibre and an Add meal button

A salad being analysed: the photo inside a green scan frame while the AI works out its ingredients

The first meal result people tested: a plate of pasta bolognese, its 650 calories, protein, carbs and fat, and its ingredients

—Overview

Calories from a photo

Point the camera at a meal and AI works out what's on the plate.

I took Calories Counter AI from that first idea to launch, shaped it through three rounds of user testing, and designed its iOS widgets in every size and its Apple Watch app.

01Process

The core interaction

It started with a single interaction: scan a meal, get its calories.

From that one scan I designed the complete flow around it: recognising the meal, reviewing what the AI found, adjusting the portion and logging it to the day. Then, before adding anything else, we put it in front of people.

02Process

First round of user testing

We tested the flow with 25 people from every segment of our audience.

From relaxed, now-and-then trackers to people who weigh everything, each session ended with a wall of notes: what worked, where they hesitated, and what they expected to be able to do but couldn't.

Affinity mapping

Every comment from the 25 sessions went on a sticky note, coloured by how strictly that person tracks. Then we moved them around until the patterns showed.

Relaxed trackers
Balanced trackers
Strict trackers

it added cheese to my salad and I couldn't take it offP01 · Strict

ok it's logged… but am I doing well?P02 · Relaxed

I eat the same oats every single morningP03 · Balanced

no fibre?? that's half the reason I trackP04 · Strict

'about 200g' isn't good enough, I weigh everythingP05 · Strict

I want a number to hit every dayP06 · Balanced

why scan my lunch again, it's the same lunchP07 · Relaxed

my doctor told me to watch my fibreP08 · Balanced

where do I put the olive oil??P09 · Balanced

how much do I have left for dinner?P10 · Relaxed

I meal prep. same 4 meals all weekP11 · Strict

I use a 2nd app just for fibreP12 · Strict

I'd rather type it all in than fix the photoP13 · Strict

by day 3 I forgot why I was loggingP14 · Balanced

can I just save my usual breakfast?P15 · Balanced

show fibre next to protein & carbsP16 · Balanced

it missed the dressing. that's like 150 calP17 · Balanced

let me set my own target plsP18 · Strict

logging the same thing daily = I'll quitP19 · Relaxed

is this high in fibre? no ideaP20 · Relaxed

I checked every item twiceP21 · Strict

a little 'well done' at night would be niceP22 · Relaxed

protein shake, every day, same scoopP23 · Strict

fibre matters as much as calories to meP24 · Strict

Precise tracking6

A goal to aim for6

Repeat meals6

Fibre tracking6

→ Ingredient editing

→ Daily goal

→ Recipes

→ Fibre tracking

Editing the ingredients of a scanned meal of spaghetti bolognese

The daily goal screen: 2,320 calories a day split into protein, carbs and fat, with a fibre target

04Process

Patterns into features

Each pile on the wall became a change to the product.

Strict trackers can now add or remove any ingredient from a scanned meal. A personal daily goal keeps everyone on track. Recipes turn the meals people eat again and again into a single tap. And fibre sits right next to calories and macros.

05Process

A daily goal

A goal to aim for, so every meal counts toward something.

People choose what they're working toward, and the app turns it into daily calories, a protein, carbs and fat split and a fibre range. Every meal they log then shows how far along the day they are.

Second round of user testing

We went back to 25 people from the same segments to measure what we'd changed, and ended every session with one question: what would you love to see next, that would add value if it existed? Their answers went on a new wall.

Relaxed trackers
Balanced trackers
Strict trackers

logging lunch took me like 5 secondsP01 · Relaxed

finally I can fix the grams myselfP02 · Strict

what about stuff in packets?P03 · Balanced

I forgot to take a photo at lunchP04 · Relaxed

I actually open it every day nowP05 · Balanced

I know exactly what's left for dinnerP06 · Relaxed

let me scan the barcode on my yogurtP07 · Strict

how do I log my coffee?P08 · Balanced

my usual breakfast is one tap. love thatP09 · Balanced

fibre next to calories, that's what I neededP10 · Strict

protein bars already have the numbers onP11 · Strict

drinks don't really photographP12 · Relaxed

it got my whole plate right, even the sauceP13 · Relaxed

I deleted my spreadsheetP14 · Strict

a photo of a wrapper doesn't help muchP15 · Relaxed

let me just type 'two eggs and toast'P16 · Balanced

fixing an ingredient is so quick nowP17 · Strict

a number to hit keeps me goingP18 · Balanced

half my snacks come in a bagP19 · Balanced

I ate out and the plate was goneP20 · Relaxed

watching the day fill up is weirdly funP21 · Balanced

I don't have to guess anymoreP22 · Relaxed

scanning the label would be fasterP23 · Strict

the wine at dinner counts tooP24 · Strict

What users valued6

Needs addressed6

Request: packaged food6

Request: logging without a photo6

→ Keep it

→ Validated

→ Barcode scan

→ Log by text

06 · Second round of user testing

User feedback

Reviews people left after the second round: what they loved, and the need it met.

The AI's accuracy impressed me: it even recognises mum's home cooking! Finally, logging that doesn't wear me out.

Giorgos P.Thessaloniki

I love the daily charts. I can see when I go over on carbs or fats and balance my next meal.

Eleni S.Patra

It helped me keep a calorie deficit without counting everything by hand. The weekly summary is a game-changer.

Petros L.Kerkyra

5 stars from me! Finally an app in Greek that doesn't complain when the plate has… a Greek salad.

Katerina F.Ioannina

An easy, practical app. Finally I can track exactly what I eat.

Dimitris R.Athina

01 / 05

The barcode scanner, with a frame to place the barcode in and an example of what to scan

Adding a meal with text: a sheet over the home screen where a bowl of cereal with yogurt and honey is described in words

07Process

Barcode scan

From the first ask on the wall: anything in a packet, logged in a second.

Point the camera at the barcode and the nutrition on the label is logged straight away, no photo of the food needed.

08Process

Log by text

From the second ask: for everything a photo can't catch.

Type a few words, the coffee, the drink or the meal you ate out and forgot to photograph, and the AI works out its calories and nutrients.

09Process

Pre-launch testing

One last, smaller round of testing before going public.

Eight people checked the whole experience, from the first scan to the daily goal, before the app went live on the App Store and Google Play.

LaunchA month later

A month after launch, new requests emerged. Users wanted to stay on top of their day without opening the app. Widgets brought information to their Home Screen and Lock Screen, and the Apple Watch let them check progress at a glance.

Widgets & Apple Watch

So I designed Home Screen widgets in two sizes, a Lock Screen layout, quick controls and an Apple Watch app, each in light and dark, so the day's progress is always a glance away.

Home Screen