UX UI app design

Designing a cooking recipe application focused on Persian cuisine for the iPhone and Apple Watch.

The idea for this project came to mind during the COVID-19 lockdowns, where I was needing to make homemade meals. Admittedly I am not the most experienced cook, so I needed a simple solution that would guide me through the process, step by step. I turned to two particular apps, Yummly and Mealtime, to help me whip up a meal. I noticed very quickly that these two applications did not fully utilise the technology available on the iOS platform to create a supportive user experience. So I set out to create a proof of concept for my own version of a cooking recipe application by applying the design thinking process.

I am the sole creator of this UX/UI project. I was responsible for leading this project from ideation to the final high fidelity iterations. My responsibilities included conducting competitive analysis and user research, designing the user flow, creating high fidelity prototypes and conducting usability testing.

This was a 4 month project.

By leveraging the combined capability set of the iPhone and Apple Watch pair, the Lezzeti app will seamlessly and intimately guide users through the process of creating delightful Persian dishes. Users will also have a great deal of flexibility by having the option of entering the ingredients they have on hand to find recipes that are a close match. 

How might we create a step-by-step cooking application that combines the functional capabilities of the iPhone and Apple Watch to create a more supportive cooking process for users?

I began this project by taking a deep dive into potential competitors, then learning from their success as I created low fidelity mockups of the mobile and watch application interface. I reached out to close friends to conduct user interviews, then began fully designing the application from account creation, to designing all the key features before going through iterations guided by usability testing. 

Create an interface that introduces users not only to new Persia recipes, but also the cultural and geographic roots of the dish

Enable users to input available ingredients to find a recipe that uses what is available 

Watch users through each step of the cooking process with synchronised steps in the Apple Watch that allows for faster and more guided cooking 

I surveyed 16 of my friends online and found that the majority of participants, who are between 36 and 45 years old, have limited cooking experience. 75% of them frequently use their smartphones to look up recipes. As they usually search for recipes on a whim, they have no set idea of how long it will take to prepare the dish they want to make.

I determined that my target audience is between 18 and 40 years of age working professionals who face cooking at home as a challenge. The user interviews I conducted were with 16 individuals who fit this description, however I believe I could have established more confidence in my final UI iterations had I included older age ranges in my usability testing.