"Recipe App" Concept
Design Brief
Design a recipe page for desktop or mobile. Consider the different types of information a user needs about a recipe from start to finish.
Research
Before diving into Figma, I decided to conduct thorough research on the current market of recipe apps. This exploration aimed to understand their features, their visual appeal, user experience, and user sentiments.After conducting extensive research on recipe apps, I uncovered a few pain points users encounter while navigating recipes on their mobile devices.
These pain points include:
Difficulty finding relevant recipes: If the app does not have a user-friendly search function or categorization system, finding the recipe you want can be challenging.
Confusing or incomplete instructions: Recipes with incomplete or unclear instructions can be frustrating and produce subpar results.
Poorly formatted recipes: If a recipe is poorly formatted, it can be difficult to read, follow, and execute properly.
Difficulty saving or organizing favorite recipes: If the app does not have a user-friendly system for saving and organizing recipes, it can be time-consuming to find and reference them later.
Goals
I aim to create a user-friendly and enjoyable design that empowers users to discover new recipes, ease kitchen-related worries, and experience the joy of cooking.
User Persona
Crafting user personas assists me in painting a detailed portrait of the user I'm designing for. By immersing myself in their mindset and understanding their wants, needs, and preferences, I can build an application that perfectly caters to them, ensuring a truly user-centric experience.
Ideas
To kickstart my design journey, I engaged in a productive brainstorming session, exploring ideas to address users' needs, desires, and potential pain points while using a recipe app. I gained a clearer vision of the application's visual aesthetics and functionality by translating my ideas into sketches.
User Flow
Before starting the design work, I began envisioning the app's user flow. This thoughtful approach allows me to create designs aligned with the user's needs, resulting in a seamless and enjoyable experience.
Wireframes
To create great visual designs, I utilize wireframes. Opting for grayscale wireframes with minimal color usage allows me to curate the app's appearance and layout without being swayed by colors early in the design process.
Visual Design
I transitioned into the design phase following a series of sketches and wireframes. The resulting interfaces showcase distinct pages that users can seamlessly access within the application.
Key Features
After extensive research, I carefully curated a list of essential actions to integrate into my design. These actions include saving recipes, filtering recipes for different food categories, and introducing a grocery tracker within the user's profile, empowering conscious budgeting while acquiring ingredients for various recipes.
Prototype
To give life to my app, I added animations and interactions, providing a deeper comprehension of its potential functionality upon full development.
Logging In
To ensure user convenience, I implemented multiple login pathways within the app. Existing users can swiftly access their accounts by inputting their usernames and passwords or opt for a more seamless experience by signing in through their Google, Facebook, or Apple accounts. A straightforward "sign up" process is in place for new users to effortlessly register and gain access to the application.
Recipe Selection
With the app's user-centric approach, users can effortlessly indulge their taste preferences at any hour. Be it breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert, a simple tap grants them access to an assortment of recipes across multiple categories, fulfilling their culinary desires.
Viewing a Recipe
To explore a meal, the user simply needs to tap on any of the displayed food cards. This interactive action seamlessly transports the user to a dedicated page offering comprehensive recipe details. From estimated preparation time and difficulty level to required ingredients, nutrition facts, and a step-by-step guide, the user gains a complete culinary experience, empowering them to create the delightful meal themselves.
Viewing an Ingredient
The user can tap on the specific ingredient to explore the details of any ingredient used in the recipe. This action triggers an overlay, presenting additional ingredient type and quantity information.
Viewing and Saving Favorites
Seamlessly saving a recipe within the app requires just a tap on the heart icon on the food card or the recipe page. All your liked recipes will be neatly displayed on a dedicated page, thoughtfully organized by category and type. Moreover, a convenient heart icon on the bottom navigation bar enables quick access to your saved recipes, allowing you to read and review them conveniently.
Buttons
To enhance user experience, I incorporated user-friendly filtering buttons in the application. These filters empower users to navigate their recipe feed effortlessly, customizing it to display only the recipes that align perfectly with their preferences and requirements. With the filters, users can quickly refine their search based on their skill level and time constraints and explore the community's most popular recipes.
Profile Page
I emphasized simplicity and user-friendliness throughout the design process to create an engaging profile page. Users can effortlessly specify their cooking skill level and location, enabling the app to offer custom recipe recommendations tailored to their culinary abilities and local environment. Moreover, I integrated a dedicated area to monitor grocery and food expenses, empowering users to stay on top of their spending, meet monthly savings targets, and keep their grocery budget in check.
Components
To streamline my design process, I developed a set of reusable components. These versatile elements allow me to easily edit, add, or remove items, simplifying the design and ensuring consistency.
Conclusion
This project offered me valuable insights into the dynamic recipe app market and users' preferences and concerns. Through thorough research, I discovered that users value the ability to filter recipes based on specific categories or attributes, save recipes for future reference, and access detailed information about the recipes and ingredients.
Creating this app has been an enjoyable experience, as I took great pleasure in addressing the pain points users often encounter with recipe apps. My primary goal was to provide a fun and straightforward browsing experience for users, and I'm thrilled to say that I have successfully achieved that objective. With just a few clicks, any user can embark on a journey toward mastering the culinary realm and becoming a 5-star chef! 👨🍳
Thank you for taking the time to learn about my recipe app and its exciting features!