WHOLESOME WEBSITE & APP
Cooking Website and Mobile App
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Project Overview
Project Overview
WholeSome is a new online cooking app that teaches young and/or working adults about healthier cooking and eating options. The Home Cooking app quickly provides users with simple recipes using ingredients they already have on home.
Project duration
6 weeks
The problem
The WholeSome team discovered that as young adults become more self-sufficient in feeding themselves, a variety of factors (school, work, time, money, etc.) cause them to turn to unhealthy food alternatives, such as fast food. The team also discovered that a lack of knowledge about healthier eating habits has resulted in negative stereotypes about living a healthy lifestyle.
The goal
Design both an app and responsive website that will educate young and/or working adults on cooking and eating healthier foods..
My role
Leading UX designer and researcher, leading the app and responsive website design from conception to delivery.
Responsibilities
Conducting interviews, wire-framing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, conducting usability studies, accounting for accessibility, iterating designs, determining information architecture, and responsive design.
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Tools
Adobe XD, Miro, InDesign, GitMind and UXPressia
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UNDERSTANDING THE DESIGN
User Research: Summary
After conducting preliminary research on WholeSome's target audience, I created interview questions to address some of the negative stereotypes associated with healthier cooking. During the user interviews, the majority of participants admitted that, while they want to cook healthier, they choose unhealthy alternatives because they lack education on how to incorporate better cooking habits into their lives and don't know where to begin learning. This feedback demonstrated to me that users would be willing to adopt better cooking habits if a product or service was available to assist them.
Research Method
Screener surveys were sent out via Facebook online cooking communities.
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I narrowed down candidates to 5 from 20 submission to who fit the behavioral profile for user interviews. These included people who loves to eat healthy; those who cook for themselves or family at least once a week and those that eat out at least once a week.
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I conducted several user interviews on Zoom and entered all the responses onto Post-it notes.
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Research responses on post-it notes created in Miro
Quote from the users
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“It is relatively easy to make things healthy meals but variety of dishes gets difficult. It would be nice to have more options available."
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“I often cook healthy meals for my family but would love to have more options of healthy meals to try and make it more appealing to my kids.”
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“If I can find an app with healthy and tasty option, I would use it for sure.”
Persona 1: Amanda
Persona 2: Gabby
Competitive Audit
An audit of a few competitors' products revealed weaknesses and opportunities for the WholeSome App.
Ideation
Crazy 8's
I did a quick ideation exercise known as “Crazy 8’s”: roughly sketching eight design solutions in one piece of paper in eight minutes, to come up with ideas for the app. My primary focus was on developing features that set it apart from the competition.
The next step in the UX design process was to generate as many design solutions as possible. Sketching, simple yet effective approach, helped me to achieve this goal.
STARTING THE DESIGN
Digital Wireframes
After ideating and drafting paper wireframes, I created the initial designs for the WholeSome app. These designs were centered on locating and adding ingredients /recipes to a personalized cookbook. A global navigation bar designed to allow users to easily navigate through the app, as well as a search bar that allows users to search for specific content, are key elements.
Low-fidelity Prototype
In order to prepare for the usability test, I created a low-fidelity prototype that linked the user flow of searching for an ingredient or recipe and saving it for later.
Low fidelity prototype created with Adobe XD.
Usability Study: Findings and Results
Usability Study: Parameters
Study type: Unmoderated usability study
Location: United States, remote
Participants: 5 participants between the ages of 18 — 65
Length: 30-60 minutes
Usability Study: Results
Round 1 findings
Users want recipe ratings so they can learn about other people's experiences and tips.
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Round 2 findings
Users want to find recipes based on what they already own.
REFINING THE DESIGN
Mockups
Mockup 1
Design changes were added based on the usability study. For example, on the recipe page, we added a rating system.
Result
The new design is more inclusive as it contains images, text and icons in the description screen helps make the design more inclusive.
Mockup 2
Design changes were added based on the usability study. For example, on the nutrition page,additional nutritional facts were added.
High-fidelity Prototype
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The final high-fidelity prototype addresses the main user pain points by providing a user-friendly, accessible, and inclusive design.
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I created a quick ordering process by taking the fewest steps possible to complete a task.
The high-fidelity prototype follows the same user flow as the low-fidelity prototype, including design changes based on the usability study. **View the interactive prototype HERE**
Accessibility Considerations
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Clear labels for interactive elements that can be read by screen readers.
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Insert a color scheme was chosen that is accessible based on WCAG guidelines.
RESPONSIVE DESIGN
Sitemap
I started developing the responsive website after finishing the app, establishing a sitemap to guide the organization structure of each screen's design to maintain uniformity across all devices.
I combined all user flows into a diagram.
Responsive Designs
The designs for screen size variation included mobile, tablet, and desktop. I optimized the designs to meet the unique user requirements of each device and screen size.
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GOING FORWARD
Takeaways
Impact
Users stated that they were genuinely interested in using the product. According to one user, it is more "approachable" and "less cluttered looking" than other products and websites.
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What I learned
Although there is interest in the initial product, user retention will be the most difficult challenge, as there are many alternatives that people are more familiar with for finding similar information.
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Next Steps
The experience doesn't end here; these are things I'd like to continue on with:
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Conduct additional research to determine user retention in the coming months.
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Periodic updates will add more educational resources based on user feedback.
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Increase product awareness by marketing to new users on social media channels that are popular among your target demographic.
Let’s connect!
Thank you for your time reviewing my work on the WholeSome app!
My contact information is provided below if you'd want to learn more or get in touch.
Email: lorrainemillerhenry@gmail.com
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