Lead Product Designer/Researcher
Designer/Researchers: 2 👫
Figma
Adobe Ilustrator
1. Research & Understanding 🔬
2. Ideating 💡
3. Design 🎨
4. Testing 💬
My Research Plan
This Understanding/Research section of my project lays the foundation for the entire design process, demonstrating the pivotal role that users play in the success of this project. During this first sprint, I prepared three research methods to gain valuable insights on my users and the current market.
1. Competitive Analysis
2. User Surveys
3. User Personas
What results do I hope to yield?
Conducting competitive analyses of what is currently available on the market is essential to examining what users are getting out of these softwares and what they're lacking. From the user surveys, I hope to gain quantitative and qualitative insights, unveiling user preferences, pain points, and expectations. User personas allowed me to organize data collected about my target audience, breathing life into them and their thoughts, concerns, and desires. This section will delve into the significance of utilizing user personas and surveys, elucidating their collective power in shaping a UX journey that resonates profoundly with the target audience.
Competitive analysis is a big part of the research that I do for my projects. I wanted to make sure that there was no existing interface out there like ReciMe. I also wanted to identify the shortcomings of existing platforms that are similar to my app so that I could capitalize on areas that they are lacking in.
What I learned:
- Most apps have a very limited selection on diverse ethnic cuisines
- The UI of these same apps lack engagement with crowds that have less financial resources
- None of these apps had a "Planner" feature where you could track your meals and plan them out throughout the week
- None of these apps had specific nutritional value available, only total calories
Direct Competitors
Indirect Competitors
Wanting to know more about what my target audience actually want to see in my app, I sent out surveys to gain a better understanding of their needs and yielded 32 responses.
Questions (in order)
1. How do you identify? (gender)
2. On average, how many meals do you eat a day? (FULL, nutrient dense meals)
3. How do you feel about your eating habits?
4. What are some meal limitations that you experience?
5. If you had an app that could help you with your meal planning, what features would you prefer?
I asked these specific questions to get a much better idea of people's eating habits and what they would do to change them. These questions allowed me to gain insight and affirmations on which features users actually want to see within a nutrition-focused mobile app.
Main Feedback Gathered
- Users want to know the total nutritional facts of their meals
- Having filters for different types of recipes is important
- Ingredient selections search was almost unanimously agreed upon
From my user surveys, I gained valuable insight on the core demographic that took most interest in my app. From my results, I believed that there were two main types of individuals that struggled with nutritional and meal-tracking deficiencies: Young Professionals and college students/teens. Although living two very different lives, Krispin and Laura share one common struggle. Neither of them have the time to plan their meals throughout the week. With work and school flooding their schedules, ReciMe provides a solution for their struggles.
Target Audience - College students and young professionals with limited cooking resources or scheduling restrictions, catering to the ages 18-30 years old.
Setting the Visual Foundation
In the ideation phase of the project, I embarked on a transformative journey, leveraging insights from user research to shape the foundation of Recime's identity and functionality. Guided by the diverse needs of our target audience, I meticulously crafted brand guidelines, task flows, and wireframes to ensure alignment with their preferences and behaviors.
From conceptualizing wireframes to refining user interface elements, every decision was driven by the goal of creating an intuitive and delightful user experience. As we navigated through iterations, feedback loops, and design explorations, I was committed to maintaining unwavering excellence, resulting in a cohesive and user-centric design framework poised to revolutionize meal planning and cooking experiences.
In the pursuit of crafting a seamless and consistent user experience for ReciMe, a comprehensive design system was established to serve as the foundation for the app's visual identity and interaction patterns. This pivotal step in the development process aimed to elevate user engagement, maintain brand coherence, and streamline the design-to-development workflow.
Visual Identity
The design system begins with a thoughtfully curated color palette that reflects the essence of ReciMe. Vibrant and inviting hues were selected to evoke a sense of culinary delight, ensuring a visually appealing interface. This palette extends to various components, providing a cohesive and recognizable look throughout the app.
Logo Design
At the heart of ReciMe's visual identity is a distinctive logo that encapsulates the essence of the app. Crafted in the Poppins ExtraBold font, the word "ReciMe" stands out with a bold and modern aesthetic. Notably, the "i" in "ReciMe" cleverly incorporates a fork, symbolizing the culinary focus of the app. This logo serves as a memorable representation of ReciMe's mission, offering a visually striking and thematic introduction to the brand.
Typography Harmony
To enhance readability and maintain a modern aesthetic, a carefully chosen typography system was implemented. The combination of clean, sans-serif fonts communicates a sense of clarity and professionalism, ensuring a pleasant reading experience for users as they navigate through the app's content.
Component Library
A robust component library was meticulously crafted to encapsulate reusable UI elements. From recipe cards to interactive buttons, each component adheres to the established design principles, fostering consistency and expediting the development process. This library serves as a dynamic resource, evolving with the app's growth and updates.
The ReciMe Icon Library plays a crucial role in enhancing the user experience by providing a set of thoughtfully selected and designed icons. While I didn't personally design them, the curated collection follows principles of clarity and consistency, ensuring an intuitive interface for users.
These culinary-inspired icons, though crafted by a talented design team, contribute to a seamless navigation experience, maintaining a cohesive visual identity across different platforms and aligning with ReciMe's overall design aesthetic.
Gathering insights from competitor feedback and understanding the needs of our target audience, I embarked on defining the features and their functionality within the context of a mobile application for ReciMe. Delving into the intricacies of each feature, I carefully evaluated their effectiveness in meeting user demands and enhancing user experience. After thorough consideration, I selected the features that align best with ReciMe's objectives and user expectations.
To provide users with a seamless navigation experience, I decided to create task flows for specific tasks within these features. These task flows serve as a visual representation of the user journey, akin to a site map. Each task flow delineates the start and end points of a task, along with all the decisions and interactions users encounter along the way. By visualizing these user flows, we gain valuable insights into the user experience and can optimize navigation paths for maximum usability and engagement.
Within the ReciMe section of my portfolio, the spotlight is intentionally placed on the ingredient matching and recipe search wireframes. This strategic decision is driven by a desire to emphasize the core functionalities that define ReciMe's unique value proposition. By showcasing this specific aspect of the design, I aim to provide a concentrated and in-depth exploration of how ReciMe addresses user needs in the culinary domain.
These wireframes offer a glimpse into the precision and thoughtfulness applied to the challenges of ingredient matching and recipe search. Focusing on this critical functionality allows viewers to grasp the intricacies of user interaction, problem-solving strategies, and the seamless integration of design thinking. This approach ensures that the showcased wireframes align with the essence of ReciMe's purpose, allowing for a more immersive and insightful exploration of the design's core features.
In ReciMe's latest iterations, the spotlight shines on the Ingredient Search feature—a game-changer for busy young professionals, students, and teens residing in "Ingredient Households." Recognizing the time constraints and limited resources of our target audience, this feature streamlines the cooking process by allowing users to select a key ingredient, preferred cook times, and additional filters like dietary preferences and cuisines.
With just a few clicks, users unlock a curated collection of recipes perfectly tailored to their available ingredients and tastes. By simplifying meal planning and maximizing kitchen creativity, ReciMe empowers users to confidently whip up delicious meals without the stress of recipe hunting or ingredient shortages, making cooking an enjoyable and hassle-free experience.
To ensure the robustness and user-friendliness of ReciMe, I conducted five comprehensive rounds of usability testing after finalizing what I believed to be the last iteration of the app. This approach allowed me to gather invaluable feedback from potential users who had never encountered the app before, ensuring impartial and unbiased insights.
Conducting Usability Testing:
During each round of usability testing, participants were provided with the app and given specific tasks to perform. These tasks ranged from browsing recipes to creating meal plans and utilizing various features within the app. Participants were encouraged to think aloud, expressing their thoughts, frustrations, and preferences as they navigated through the app. This qualitative approach provided rich insights into the user experience and highlighted areas for improvement.
Desire for Additional Features
Testers expressed a desire for more features to enhance their interaction with the app. While the existing features were appreciated, testers felt that additional functionalities would enrich their experience and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the app's capabilities.
Nutrition Filters for Accessibility
Several testers highlighted the importance of nutritional accessibility, particularly for individuals with dietary restrictions due to medical conditions. They suggested adding more nutrition filters to accommodate various dietary needs, such as those caused by diseases or allergies. Enhancing the app's ability to cater to diverse nutritional requirements emerged as a priority for improving user satisfaction and inclusivity.
Meal Planning Convenience
Testers identified a need for a more streamlined process for adding recipes to their meal plans. They suggested incorporating an "add to meal plan" option directly within the recipe interface, allowing users to seamlessly integrate chosen recipes into their meal planning activities. This enhancement would improve the efficiency and convenience of meal planning within the app, facilitating a smoother user experience.
Building on invaluable user feedback, ReciMe is currently in the process of implementing several enhancements to further elevate the user experience. Inspired by user insights, we're expanding the range of nutrition filters to accommodate diverse dietary needs, ensuring inclusivity for all users. Additionally, we're streamlining the meal planning workflow by integrating an intuitive "add to meal plan" option directly within the recipe interface, making meal planning a seamless and efficient process.
These enhancements not only address user needs but also reflect our commitment to continuous improvement and user-centric design. Stay tuned as we continue to refine ReciMe based on your feedback to create a more intuitive and enjoyable cooking experience for all.
Feature Expansion
Nutritional Accessibility Enhancements
Streamlined Meal Planning Workflow
Personalization and Customization
Continuous Iteration and Improvement
Accessibility Compliance
and User Support
