iCook
Using Technology To Enhance The Experience Of Cooking A Recipe Dish.
Student Project
This project was part of the GA curriculum and served as a prelude to my path of becoming a full-fledged UX designer. It was our very first project and we were all tasked to come up with a prototype of an app based on a topic of our choice.
Being a foodie and a techie (in that order, by the way), it didn’t come as a surprise that my first project was going to be about food, or food preparation to be more precise.
_ Project
Introduction
SCOPE OF PROJECT
User Research
Data Synthesis
Ideation
Storyboarding
User Flows
Wireframes
Prototype
OUTCOME
A new mobile app which will allow users to search for recipes created by users; create shopping lists by exporting ingredients to external apps for easy access; cook by following instructions of recipes without interrupting the cooking process. Thus allowing any users, regardless of skill level, to have a more enjoyable experience while making food they love.
CHALLENGE
How can we make a cooking app which stands out from a plethora of similar applications existing in the market? How can a smartphone make cooking a meal easier and more enjoyable for everyone?
The Process
I first came up with a short list of questions which focused on finding out more about the habits and the use of technology in the process of cooking. Four of my fellow classmates were recruited as participants for the interview. Once the data was documented, they were plotted onto an affinity diagram for analysis.
It was revealed that most of the research participants faced similar pain points and can be summarised in the adjacent diagram. Some other insights were also found during the analysis. For instance, timers were often used during cooking, and many interviewees mentioned they would like to have audio instructions while they are preparing new recipes.
User Research
Ideation
During the brainstorming sessions which followed, I tried to gain a better understand of the user’s needs by asking ‘why’ for each of the pain points. This eventually led to the realisation that most users prefer to have the right information given to them at the right time, especially when they are engaged in time-bounded activities. Keeping this in mind, I was able to come up with a few features which may help to address this problem.
To understand the thought and behavioural processes of potential users, a storyboard was made to illustrate how a user would interact with the app. The user in this scenario, Karen, wishes to make a new dish, then proceed to use iCook to find the recipe, save it to her Favourite, and later use the app to help her create the dish.
Design
I created low-fidelity wireframes using Adobe Experience Design and used the Marvel App to create a simple prototype for testing.
Wait! There's More!
Check out my other cool projects in the Portfolio page. Or if you like to chat, just email me here.