Objective

To empower users by providing a tool to adjust their diet to meet personal needs, whether for balance or budget, and simplify recipe selection by tailoring recommendations to their preferences.

Overview

I aim to create a recipe app that combines the best features from existing ones. Current apps have limitations, and I want to integrate missing elements to better serve home cooks like my family and friends. This was a personal project for the Career Foundry Course and demonstrate my mastery of creating a responsive web app.

Hypothesis

As inflation climbs, more people cook at home for affordable, balanced meals. Many choose meal planning and bulk cooking for time efficiency. An app with simple, top-notch recipes and easy browsing serves both seasoned cooks and beginners, offering clear instructions for all skill levels.

Design Process

For this project, I was in charge of the strategy and the visual design.

Discover

User Research

User Interview

Competitive Analysis

Define

User Personas

Ideate

Brainstorming

User Flow

Design

Wireframes

Visual Design

Prototype

Test

Checking Usability

Implementing Feedback

User Research

Who are you design for?

Home cooks, students (18+), and anyone seeking new recipes or dishes, especially those focusing on using specific ingredients at home.

What tasks and goals will your audience aim to achieve while using your website or app?

A user-friendly app enabling filtering based on specific needs, including ingredient preferences and dietary restrictions.

When will the audience use the app?

For event/holiday menu planning, meal prep, and daily breakfast/lunch/dinner inspiration.

Where will your audience be using the app?

At home, at the store, or on the go.

What motivates your audience to use your design and drives their behavior?

For convenience of inventory checks at home or while shopping.

How will your user accomplish their goals?

Utilize a tailored app for personalized recipe recommendations.

Discovery Phase

Three individuals were interviewed the following questions over the challenges that they encounter when looking for a recipe app. The sample questions included the following:

Synthesis

  • Approximately how many times do you cook at home per week?

  • Do you use any recipe apps? How often do you use them?

  • What are some of your favorite features in a recipe app that you find useful? Why?

  • What are features that you dislike in these recipe apps? Why?

  • What features would be relevant to you when searching for recipes?

  • Do reviews/ratings on the app influence what recipes that you use? Do you enjoy being part of a community through forums, reviews, and comments?

Frustrations

  • Recipes at the bottom of the recipe details

  • Not providing calorie counting

  • Tedious menu "meal plan" creation

  • App paywall for better functions (prefer minimal ads over paying)

Needs

  • Proper recipe element hierarchy

  • Calorie Counting

  • Searches based off of cuisine or ingredients available

  • Recipe uploading/bookmarking

  • EASY customizability of meal apps and such

Define Phase

With the data collected from the user interviews, I have crafted three personas to gain a better grasp on solutions made for their frustrations and needs identified in the user interviews.

MINERVA BLOOM
Project Manager | Masters in Business | Resides in Colorado
42 | Female | Mother | Swedish

Straightforward

Leader

“I mostly look for healthy ideas to cook for my family and adjust to use whatever I have at home. As long as it’s on a budget and nutritious, I’m happy.”

Hardworking

Biography

Minerva, a dedicated leader with clear work-life boundaries, prioritizes quick decision-making and adheres to a strict schedule. As a hardworking mother of two, she prepares most meals six days a week and enjoys exploring new recipes for her weekly meal plans. Open to various cuisines, she values family time, often engaging in activities like park outings, zoo visits, and shopping when she's free.

Focus

  • Likes to guided through the app

  • Enjoys pantry function

  • Prefers simple, easy on the eyes designs

  • Loves recipe reviews

  • Dislikes bulk texts prefacing a recipe

MIMI VU
Data Analyst | B.S. in Computer Science | Resides in Georgia
26 | Female | Single | Vietnamese

Active

Adventurous

“Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’ll get. I don’t see why I have to eat the same thing every week when there are so many new things to try!”

Energetic

Biography

A recent college graduate launching her career as a data analyst, she enjoys a stable 9-5 job and frequently dines out. Living with roommates, she strives to maintain a balanced diet by cooking healthy meals using available ingredients at home. An active individual who loves tennis and hiking, she prioritizes getting protein and nutrients through home-cooked meals. To avoid meal repetition, she relies on recipe apps to discover new and appetizing dishes.

Focus

  • Enjoys pantry function/recipe catalogues/shopping lists

  • Prefers highly rated apps

  • Doesn’t mind paying money for a better app functions

  • Dislikes required input fields for meal plans

ERIC KALU
Teacher | B.S. in Mathematical Biology |
Resides in Washington
35 | Male | Father | Nigerian

Patient

Curious

“The more the better. I get easily overwhelmed so I like it when I only have to use one app that has everything.”

Friendly

Biography

Eric, a passionate traveler, enjoys exploring the world during breaks from his teaching job. He also finds joy in knitting, pottery, and cooking. As a dedicated teacher, he often stays late for club activities. A father of one, he strives to help his wife with household chores by cooking half of the week. While not overly adventurous with cuisines, he prefers sticking to familiar dishes and often searches for specific ingredients or cuisines when planning meals for the upcoming week.

Focus

  • Enjoys an app that has a large database of recipes

  • Searching by cuisine/ingredients

  • Easily motivated by reviews

  • Wants as many functions possible in a single app

Ideate Phase

Here you will find how the user will navigate through the application.

Design Phase

A challenged I faced while designing the low fidelity wireframes was taking too long to make a single sketch and overthinking the layout. By practicing the crazy 8s method, I was able to quickly create various solutions and increasing my productivity in the design phase. I’ve been incorporating this method to each new project I tackle.

After conducting a preference test and receiving feedback, I progressed from low-fidelity paper wireframes to high-fidelity using Figma. Through the use of Usability Hub when conducting user tests, I was able to see the expected user flow and identify what led people astray. Pinpointing missing wireframes to streamline the user flow.

Low Fidelity

Mid Fidelity

Typography & Colors

SugarSpice Mock Ups

Test Phase

By now there has been several iterations of the high fidelity wireframes, due to the implementation of feedback given by my fellow peers.

Suggestions to make the experience better

  • Change the double stroke design makes it look less heavy and more clean

  • Move the location of the recipe description to make it more in line with the other device formats

  • Move the location or redesign the icons to make them more visible

  • Make the radio buttons purpose on the recipe details more obvious.

Future Steps
1. Run user tests post creation of high fidelity wireframes that implemented the feedback from other designers to see the interactions of everyday users.

2. Based on those user tests, make revisions and create new solutions. Various solutions can be tested via a preference test.

3. Lastly, ready deliverables to send off to developers.

Thank you for your time!
Feel free to provide valuable feedback, suggestions, and comments.