My Role
Product Designer
User Research, Interaction, Visual design, Prototyping & Testing
July 2024
Overview
GourmetGuide is a culinary app designed to help food enthusiasts discover new recipes, plan meals, and connect with fellow food lovers. The app targets users who enjoy cooking at home and are looking for inspiration and community engagement.
The goal of this project was to enhance user engagement and learning outcomes by redesigning the app’s user interface and introducing new features that foster personalized learning and collaboration.
The Problem
Many users struggle with finding new recipes that align with their dietary needs, cooking skills, and available ingredients. Existing recipe apps often lack personalization, easy navigation, and clear organization, leading to frustration and abandoned searches. GourmetGuide aims to solve this by offering a tailored recipe discovery experience with user-friendly features and intelligent recommendations.
🎯
Lack of Personalization
Users receive generic recipe suggestions that don’t align with their dietary preferences, cooking skills, or available ingredients.
🤔
Overwhelming Interface
Cluttered layouts and inefficient search functions make it difficult for users to explore and save recipes effortlessly.
🔄
Inconsistent User Flow
Disjointed navigation and unclear pathways cause users to drop off before finding what they need.
Research & Discovery
Understanding the Users
To better understand user behavior, we conducted user interviews, surveys, and competitive analysis. This helped us identify pain points and opportunities for improvement.
📊 Key Insights from Retail Managers (Surveys)
74%
of users found it frustrating when recipes had missing or unclear steps.
68%
of users wanted an ingredient-based search to match what they already had at home.
85%
Mentioned inventory mismatches due to outdated tracking methods, causing overstocking or stockouts.
User Personas
Emma - The Busy Professional 🏙️
Age - 28
Marketing Manager
Challenges:
🔹 Limited time to cook, often looking for quick and easy meal ideas.
🔹 Struggles with meal planning and often resorts to takeout.
🔹 Finds recipe apps overwhelming due to cluttered interfaces.
Needs
✅ A streamlined way to find quick and simple recipes.
✅ Personalized suggestions based on available ingredients.
✅ A minimalist and easy-to-navigate interface.
Liam - The Health-Conscious Foodie 🥗
Age - 34
Fitness Trainer
Challenges:
🔹 Difficulty finding recipes that align with specific diet plans.
🔹 Frustrated by the lack of nutritional insights in most recipe apps.
🔹 Wants customized filtering for macros, calories, and meal types.
Needs
✅ A nutrition-focused recipe database.
✅ Smart filters to refine searches based on dietary preferences.
✅ Clear caloric and macronutrient breakdowns for every recipe.
Sophia – The Home Chef 🍳
Age - 42
Stay-at-Home Parent
Challenges:
🔹 Loves experimenting but struggles to organize saved recipes.
🔹 Needs better ways to categorize and retrieve favorite meals.
🔹 Prefers a community-driven experience with user reviews and tips.
Needs
✅ A bookmarking system with folders and tags.
✅ A space for user-generated content like cooking tips and ratings.
✅ An interactive community to exchange recipes and ideas.
Competitive Analysis
We analyzed leading recipe apps like Tasty, Yummly, and AllRecipes, identifying gaps in the market:
Understanding the Users
GourmetGuide can carve out a niche by blending expert-curated content with community-driven recipes.
The app should emphasize user experience, simplicity, and clean design, while avoiding the clutter often found in competitors' apps.
Focus on personalization without overwhelming the user with too many features. Providing clear instructions, visually appealing recipes, and an easy-to-navigate interface will set GourmetGuide apart in the competitive recipe app market.
Wireframes
Branding & UI Design
We established a modern and warm visual identity to create an inviting experience:
Color Palette: Earthy tones with vibrant accents to highlight call-to-actions.
Typography: Clean, readable sans-serif fonts for clarity.
Iconography: Custom illustrations for a friendly and engaging feel.
High fidelity design
Results & Takeaways
✅ Through in-depth research and iterative design, we developed GourmetGuide to address real user pain points. The final design provides: ✅ Enhanced discovery through smart filtering and recommendations. ✅ Intuitive navigation that improves user engagement. ✅ A community-driven experience to foster interaction and sharing.
GourmetGuide stands out by combining functionality, personalization, and aesthetics, ensuring users can find, cook, and enjoy recipes effortlessly.