UX/UI Design, Mobile Application
Snapchef – Designing a restaurant inspired recipe app
Platforms
iOs Mobile Application
4 weeks
Timeline
Tools
Role
UX research, UX/UI Design
Sketch, InVision, Illustrator
Overview
For my final project at RED Academy, we were given the opportunity to choose our own UX adventure. This allowed me to reflect upon some problems that I might face daily. Being a food enthusiast and a 10-month-old Vancouverite, I enjoy trying out new restaurants and would cook up different recipes at home. This concept project idea sparked when I wanted to try recreating Miku’s Salmon Oshi at home but can’t seem to find the right recipe. I started to think if out there, users are experiencing the same problem. This curiosity inspired me to validate my assumption, and ultimately produce a solution to solve the problem.
The Challenge
When recreating a restaurant dish at home, not knowing how to start, the ingredients used and the steps taken are widely common.
The Solution
Snapchef eliminates the guesswork from cooking your favorite dishes at home, by unifying restaurant inspired recipes created by the app and its users.
Key Insights found from user research
Artificial Intelligence
Users loved the idea of implementing Artificial Intelligence that allows them to snap a photo of their food and let the app suggest the recipe for them. It minimizes their steps of searching for a recipe online and draws in potential users, while also solving their problem.
Find a balance in food pictures uploaded by users & Snapchef
When looking at recipes, 67% of them values food pictures uploaded from both Snapchef and users. Some felt that pictures uploaded by Snapchef may be biased and wanted to see users attempt of the recipe as it is more relatable.
Users find it hard to find the recipe that they’re interested in
Users tend to spend a lot of time researching the dish they wanted to recreate. Either they are not able to find that specific dish, or is exposed to many choices that they don't know which to choose from.
Being able to substitute ingredients
Many users tend to substitute ingredients that are not readily available or that are hard to find, and would typically do a google search to find substitutes.
01
Proposed Solutions
Scan and Go
When dining at a restaurant, users tend to minimize the usage of smartphones as they prioritize quality time with their company. The AI that lets you scan and depicts a recipe of your food will save user's time and at the same time, draws in users to use the app.
02
Share Recipes, Tips & Pictures
By being able to share recipes, tips and pictures, users are allowed to empathize with other cooks. This way, users would trust the recipes as they feel it is more relatable if they share the same experience.
03
Request Recipes
The restaurant industry is constantly changing and growing, in order to retain users, the app should be able to provide the recipes of dishes they are looking for. The request recipe feature helps the app and its users to be aware of recipes that they would like to see.
04
Substitute Ingredients
Users are now able to view ingredient substitutes within the app. They no longer need to exit the app to do a google search for substitutes and prevents a broken user flow.
05
Feature Top Snapchefs
Users are able to get featured as the Top Snapchefs if they post recipes frequently and gain likes. This feature is useful for users who want to use Snapchef as an opportunity to gain audiences and become a creator.
Key Takeaway
Though the timeline is pretty short, I really enjoyed working on Snapchef as this project idea sparked from a personal pain point I experience. However, being given the freedom of choosing your own subject and setting up your own scope; the scope ended up to be really huge and you feel the need to add all kinds of features that would cover all user's pain points. Here, I developed a greater understanding of why businesses use an MVP approach, and then add more features as they get user feedback. I was also excited to be working on the UI design for Snapchef, I was able to understand deeper the importance of using and implementing a design system, as it helped me a lot on productivity and effectiveness.
Take a look at my other projects!
