Project Overview
The Problem:
In today’s digital age, managing and sharing recipes is more complex than ever. Traditional methods of preserving recipes can’t keep pace with the need for organization, personalization, and collaboration in our fast-paced, tech-driven lifestyles. Diverse dietary preferences, evolving food trends, and a strong desire to preserve family recipes further highlight the need for a streamlined solution. Existing platforms often lack efficient tools to adapt recipes to personal needs or allow users to collaboratively document culinary heritage, leaving many frustrated in their search for an all-in-one platform to meet these needs.
The Opportunity:
The goal of this project is to create an intuitive, comprehensive platform that empowers users to organize, customize, and share recipes seamlessly. By offering features for dietary personalization, collaborative sharing, and heritage preservation, this solution aims to enhance how people interact with recipes, making cooking more accessible and meaningful for everyone.
Understanding The Competition
Research Goal
The goal of this research is to identify gaps in current recipe management platforms and understand user needs for better organization, personalization, and collaboration. This study aims to provide insights for designing a solution that enhances recipe interaction, customization, and preservation in the digital age.
Methodologies
Immersion
Competitive Analysis
Interviews
Personas
Surveys
Competitive Analysis
-
Yummly
Strengths
Provides personalized recipe recommendations based on user preferences and dietary restrictions.
Offers advanced search and filtering options.
Integration with smart kitchen appliances.
Personalized Recommendations.Weaknesses
User interface may feel cluttered or overwhelming to some users.
Lack of social and community features found in other platforms. -
Tasty
Strengths
Engaging recipe videos, which have garnered a large following on social media platforms.
Visually appealing recipes with step-by-step instructions, making cooking more accessible and entertaining.Weaknesses
Prioritizes visual appeal over nutritional value or culinary authenticity.
Lack of personalized recommendations .
Lack of social interaction features found in other platforms. -
All Recipes
Strengths
Vast collection of user-generated recipes.
Strong community of home cooks.
Users can upload their own recipes easily.Weaknesses
Outdated compared to newer platforms.
Quality and consistency of recipes can vary. -
Pinterest
Strengths
Popular destination for discovering and saving recipes.
Easy-to-use platform
Allows users to organize recipes into boards.Collaboration with others
Weaknesses
Not exclusively focused on recipes.
Lack of filters when looking for recipes.
User Interview Debrief
Overview:
I was able to conduct 10 interviews that provided valuable insights into the preferences and challenges faced by individuals when managing recipes and cooking routines. Users expressed a need for a more organized and personalized approach to meal preparation, with an emphasis on health-conscious cooking and easy-to-use platforms.
User Goals & Needs
Easy organization and storage of recipes
Customization options to adjust recipes to personal taste or dietary needs
Access to nutritional information, including macros and serving sizes
Pantry management tools to minimize food waste and use excess ingredients
Simple, intuitive interface with minimal ads
Ability to save personal adjustments and modifications to recipes
User Pain Points
Lack of community engagement options or the need for privacy in cooking activities
Limited features for tracking recipe modifications or customizing ingredients
Struggles with managing a pantry and finding ingredient replacements
Frustration with platforms that are too complex or not aligned with specific cooking goals
Synthesizing My Research
User Personas
-
Avery
CREATIVE COOK
Avery, a professional in her early thirties, is passionate about cooking and loves adding her unique twist to recipes while focusing on health-conscious choices. She seeks a platform that enables easy recipe saving, customization, adjustment tracking, and access to nutritional information. Avery prefers a private cooking experience and values a user-friendly interface that integrates well with her routine. However, she struggles to find a platform that balances these features while minimizing ads and maintaining her privacy.
-
Ethan
HEALTH CONSCIOUS MEAL PREPPER
Ethan, a health-focused individual in his late thirties, prioritizes simple and nutritious meals through weekly meal prep and values efficient pantry management to reduce food waste. He seeks a platform that can streamline his meal planning, provide nutritional information to support his health goals, and foster a sense of community for sharing experiences and learning from professionals. However, he faces challenges in finding easy, healthy recipes suited for meal prep and tools to help him manage his pantry, utilize excess ingredients, and find practical substitutions.
-
Harper
ADVENTEROUS FOODIE
Harper, a passionate food enthusiast in her thirties, loves exploring authentic, challenging recipes and finds inspiration from reputable sources. She values a strong sense of community within the cooking world and seeks a platform where she can access high-quality, authentic recipes alongside advanced cooking techniques. Harper’s ideal platform would also feature community engagement opportunities, like recipe competitions and expert cooking tips, to enrich her culinary journey. However, she struggles to find a platform that offers these features without overwhelming ad interruptions and limited access to exclusive, community-driven content.
Prioritizing Feature Set
Through affinity mapping, I took the insights from user interviews and sorted them out. This helped me spot the bigger pain points and needs that kept coming up. These insights were the blueprint for what I was about to design and build.
User Flows for The Vintage Stove Mobile App
Mid-Fidelity Wireframes
Adding A Recipe
Add Notes To A Saved Chicken Katsu Recipe
THE VINTAGE STOVE Branding
This vintage stove brand combines timeless charm with contemporary functionality, showcasing a delicate palette of light pink, olive green, off-white, and dark grey to evoke a nostalgic, refined aesthetic. A typewriter font enhances the brand’s retro feel, adding authenticity and warmth to the visual identity. Drawing from these brand guidelines, I developed app components that reflect the brand’s character—soft color transitions, minimalist buttons, and a typewriter-inspired interface that seamlessly integrates with the stove’s nostalgic appeal. Each element captures the cozy, creative spirit of the brand, making the app an intuitive, engaging extension of this classic appliance.
