Over survey received over 200 responses, and most of our respondents were 18-34 years old, spend $1 - $100 a week on groceries, and cook 2 - 3 times per week for less than an hour each time. It was posted to a Reddit forum for beginner cooks. Respondents were most frequently frustrated by the following aspects of cooking: the time and effort it requires, doing dishes, their lack of cooking ability, and grocery shopping. When using a cooking resource, respondents prefered mobile and desktop resources at similar rates, and commonly used Pinterest and Allrecipes as resources.

This generated the following app design requirements: make cooking fun, fast, and educational. From here, we wanted to create a user-centered cooking app. This means that users input their age, preferences, cooking habits, and receive an educational cooking experience tailored for them. These were the following features we considered:

• Suggested recipes based on favorite cuisine, budget, and cooking level
• User-inputted grocery list that tracks what you have, don’t have, and need
• Recipe measurements based on unit preference and serving size
• Recipe description level based on preference (e.g. simple vs. scientific)

After reviewing the responses from the surveys, we were able to see the common issues people had with cooking. To develop a deeper understanding of why people are not cooking as much, we conducted three 30-minute interviews with participants who fit our following demographic requirements: had no professional culinary experience, ages 18-35 years old, are considered within the middle class economic standards, and are residing in the U.S.

All of our participants noted that they often encountered the issue of not having all the ingredients on a recipe. The availability of ingredients in a person’s inventory is an important factor to consider when making a recipe. They also noted that pictures or videos were helpful for them to make or find recipes.

Our requirements continued to evolve, and we added additional design requirements:

• Educate users on substitutable ingredients and ingredient knowledge like which ingredients pair well with others
• Create a way for users to track their ingredient inventory and suggest recipes based on what they have

Observational research was conducted on-site at Hipcooks, an urban kitchen and cooking school in Seattle. Here, we observed and experienced a 2-hour cooking class on how to make sushi. There were 14 people attending and 1 instructor, Christine. Most of the students were new, although a couple were returning. This class also fit within our target age group of millennials, since many or all of them were under 35.

All of our participants noted that they often encountered the issue of not having all the ingredients on a recipe. As a result, it was important to consider the availability of ingredients in a person’s inventory. They also noted that pictures or videos were helpful for them to make or find recipes.

While not the traditional, Japanese sushi, it was still a fun experience overall. Students were able to be creative with their food, and it made them more confident. Much of the overall, positive experience was being able to interact with other people and being able to help each other out. This inspired our main interest in social cooking and how we can tackle that problem through design. Although not all the elements could translate well to a digital solution, increasing engagement might also improve participation.

For the first step in our design ideation process, we drafted three personas. We based our personas on response results from our survey. Two personas fit the 18-24 range because that was the largest percent of respondents in our survey. Grocery budgets, frequency of cooking, and cooking struggles were also selected based on the most popular responses in that age range with those characteristics.

To narrow the scope of our project, we listed the main cooking problems we identified in our research and ranked the severity of those problems for each persona based on their goals and scenarios. The lowest ranked determined the most important problem.

Based on the matrix, we realized that cooking knowledge was the most important problem. After identifying the educational theme of our app, all of the features we brainstormed earlier were listed again. Similar to before, we rated whether each persona would not care (X), care (checkmark), or feel neutral (0), about each feature and mapped them to their respective score (-1, 0, 1). Higher totals indicated main features that should be implemented first.

After identifying the most important features based on our personas, we designed a basic site map which showed the rudimentary flow of our app.

Some rough sketches were completed as a group and then finalized later on to prepare for a quick usability test using the paper prototypes. This was done so we could quickly test the concepts and make revisions in an efficient manner.

During the Capstone class on May 2nd, 2017, four usability test studies were conducted using our paper prototype with four different students in the class. One person facilitated the usability tests and changed the screens and two people took notes and asked questions.

The sitemap was revised once we gained a better understanding of the user flow and usability test results from the paper prototype.

Based on the results of our paper prototype testing, we implemented some design changes. One change was adding in a comment feature on the user page. So now the social feed now features text saying “Bob cooked chicken” with their comment below. It also shows the likes and comments for each post, which makes the information more interesting than before.

To get a better idea of what our users wanted to see in our final design, we conducted quick participatory design session. We had a potential user look over our wireframes and make some changes to our original ideas. She reviewed the overview of the lessons page and liked the general visual layout but made some minor suggestions such as:

• Attach the start lesson button to the bottom of the page
• Create highlights for when certain features, such as detailed vs. basic view are selected for nutrition information
• Only show nutrition information for people that select health as a priority in the onboarding screens

The clickable prototype was created in Marvel, and linked together the wireframes designed in Figma. This was the final, major round of usability testing we conducted and it was mainly done to identify any other feature-related revisions.

The high fidelity mockup screens were designed in Adobe Xd, partly because it was easy to integrate interactions within the program.

Our logo is based on an egg, who is ‘evolving’ into a chicken by becoming more advanced in their cooking ability. I wanted our design to encompass the ideas of ‘cooking’ and ‘education’, which is why the egg is wearing a chef’s hat. Additionally, eggs are a versatile ingredient and one that many learn how to cook early on.

The egg is intended to look ‘cartoonish’ to create a more fun and relaxed environment. The goal of our app is to make cooking fun and engaging while also being educational, so having a cute character adds to those aspect by making it less serious. This is furthered by the bright color scheme that is reflective of the app and to give a welcoming feel.

Based on the results of our paper prototype testing, we made some design changes that we implemented in our group design sessions, and then into our wireframes. Since some people found the social feed only saying “Bob cooked chicken,” we decided to add in a comment feature on the user page. So now, on the social feed, the text says “Bob cooked chicken” with their comment below. It also shows the likes and comments for each post, which makes the information more interesting than before. The final prototype was done in Framer to give users the most accurate interaction with the app. Although there were still some bugs, the level of interaction was much higher compared to Adobe Xd because there was greater flexibility and control over the elements.

The final prototype can be viewed here!