Savor the Flavor:

How Guiso’s User-Centered Design Helps You Find Perfect Recipes Every Time

Problem: Looking for recipes online is tedious.

Insight: There is an overwhelming amount of recipes to sift through, as there are many websites and food blogs with varying levels of quality and reliability. These websites are bloated with unnecessary intros and poor search filters.

Opportunity: Design a website that lets users find recipes that cater to their specific needs and desires. This recipe website will get rid of lengthy introductions, it will provide user ratings, and it will feature a robust search functionality including filters for dietary needs, cooking time, and ingredient preferences. 

Guiso

Duration:

November 2022

Role:

UX research and design from conception to delivery.

Toolkit

Adobe
Illustrator

Adobe
XD

Google
Forms

Google
Sheets

diagrams.net

Google
Docs

Summary

I conducted interviews and created empathy maps to understand the users I’m designing for and their needs. My target audience are users who want to expand their cooking repertoire by finding recipes specific to their perceived desires. With this in mind, I found that users wanted expanded search features that would allow them to find recipes that matched their precise requirements. For example, in addition to finding recipes that adhered to specific dietary  requirements, they should also be able to narrow down the origins of the recipe.

User Research

Pain points

Specificity

Users searching for new recipes will likely rely on tastes they’ve experienced before. Allowing them to search for recipes that adhere to specific flavor profiles will help them feel comfortable when choosing new recipes.

Difficulty

Understanding the difficulty of a recipe is key to whether or not it will be chosen by a user.

Equipment

Narrowing down recipes according to what equipment the user has in their kitchen allows them to quickly find recipes they are capable of cooking.

Length

Users need to understand the time commitment recipes will require from them.

Personas

Roselyn Campbell

Age: 27
Education: Bachelors
Location: Philadelphia
Family: Lives with dog (Rose)
Occupation: Accountant

“I’m a pretty picky eater, but I’m getting bored with my usual meals. I’d like to find some new recipes that I’m sure I would enjoy.” 

Goals

  • Easily find new recipes that she knows she will enjoy .

  • Find recipes that are compatible with her cooking abilities

Frustrations:

  • Recipe websites are 10% recipe 90% clutter.

  • Recipe websites are lacking in filter options - too many options leads to choice paralysis.

  • Recipe websites rarely disclose what equipment is needed - Roselyn lives in a 1-room apartment and doesn’t have space for a mixer.

Summary: Roselyn is a picky eater who is tired of eating the same few recipes day in and day out. She has tried other recipe sites but has trouble choosing between the various options available to her - there are too many recipes available, and she is not sure she will enjoy them. She would like a way to narrow down her options.

Problem statement: Roselyn enjoys cooking but she’s tired of relying on the same few recipes she’s become deeply familiar with. She’s a picky eater,  and wants to expand her repertoire by finding new recipes she’s sure she would enjoy eating.

User journey map

Mapping Roselyn’s user journey revealed how helpful it would be for users to have access to a website that provided users with recipes that could be found via a hyper-specific search filter.

Design

Sitemap

The recipe site was constructed like an archival site - it essentially is one. The main objective is to guide users to the recipes they need.

Paper wireframes

Paper wireframes allowed me to iterate quickly and provide a variety of alternative design options that could be used modularly to address user pain points. For the home screen, I prioritized a quick and easy way for users begin finding the recipes.

Desktop

Mobile

Low-fidelity prototype

After completing the low-fidelity wireframes, I created a low-fidelity prototype. The primary user flow guides users through finding a recipe and favoriting it. This flow was used in our usability study

The low-fidelity app prototype for the scheduling app for mental health professionals was tested and can be viewed here.

Key Mockups

High-fidelity prototype

The final high-fidelity prototype presented more direct user flows that also enabled users to easily move from one task to the next. It also features clearer graphics for ease of viewing.

Check out the hi-fi prototype here.

Validation

I conducted two rounds of usability studies. Findings from the first study helped guide the designs from wireframes to mockups. The second study used a high-fidelity prototype and revealed what aspects of the mockups needed refining.

Usability Study 1 Highlights

  1. Users want more filters

  2. Users want the ability to find recipes based on what cooking equipment they have

  3. Users want the ability to search for seasonal recipes

Before

Usability Study 2 Highlights

  1. Users want the ability to filter recipes by era

  2. Users want to type in what ingredients they have and find recipes that use those ingredients

Before

After

After

Going Forward

User impact

The app makes users feel like they can quickly and easily find a recipe that they are interested in and capable of cooking. One quote from peer feedback:

“I feel like I could find a recipe I’d find easy, and also like pretty quickly,” - Orlando M.

Takeaways

While designing Guiso, I found that many users looking for recipes typically do not want to step too far out of their comfort zones. I found that allowing them greater control over factors in their search helped alleviate any anxiety they would feel over trying a new recipe. User comfort is key.

Next steps

1. Gather previous user study participants and a set of 5 new participants and have them use the updated app.

2. Explore creating a mobile app that users can use further customize their recipe-searching experience.