01 | SUMMARY

Kin Kitchen is the product of a 12-hour solo design challenge in which I was tasked to design a cooking app for friends and family who do not reside together. Using the app, friends and family can share, follow along with a recipe and cook a meal together, allowing kinfolk and chosen families of all kinds to bond while they are physically apart.

02 | OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT

With people living more isolated, and away from friends and family, people are looking for a new way to bond virtually. Nowadays, you might need cookbooks, mobile apps, and other devices to virtually share a meal with someone. There is an opportunity to consolidate this community-based cooking experience into one place, helping people find, share, and cook recipes all on their phones.

03 | SOLUTION

The final prototype features a database of recipes for users to select from, the ability to send and share that recipe with other user contacts on the application as well as in-app video call capabilities where users can follow along with the recipe while on the call.

04 | RESEARCH

The first step of this project was to investigate how this design challenge might be solved with existing products, then define the target customer to inform user aptitude and any usability features to keep in mind, then determine what key tasks users should be able complete on the application.

The time constraint did not allow for research like user interviews. While interviews would have been useful to see what users might be currently using as solutions to this problem and also help inform a competitive analysis, the competitive analysis would still give perspective on the pros and cons of current solutions.

Additionally, I assumed that there would be some level of multitasking when it came to using the application and wanted to keep in mind what that looked like with current solutions.

The results of the research indicated that there are products that could currently be used to address this problem but there wasn't a simple one-stop multitasking option. Additionally, technological aptitude and simplicity would be important themes to keep in mind moving forward.


Competitive Analysis

To better understand my problem and possible solutions, I examined what options users already have to cook remotely with friends & family. This competitive analysis examined a few current product solutions' strengths and shortcomings.


Defining the Costumer

The research and problem description helped establish who would be using the application. This was important to establish in order to determine and understand the applications usability, accessability and task complexity. Being able to cook with friends and family members implied the possibility of a range of user ages. This variety in age also implied the possibility of a large variety in technology conformability and cooking skills. As a result, a goal moving forward was to make the process of completing tasks on the application as straightforward and straightforward as possible.


Identified Main User Tasks

By establishing how existing products could be used to solve the problem and who potential customers might be, I was able to determine what tasks users need be able to complete and what features those tasks might need.

The main goal of the app is to allow users to cook meals with family remotely. The ability to virtually connect with and view/share recipes with callers were some of the most important tasks users should be able to complete. For the user to complete these tasks, they needed to be able to do other things like search for recipes, view recipes, and call other users. Establishing the user's tasks then lent itself to establishing the user flow of the application.

↳ User Task 1: View and select recipes from a collection

↳ User Task 2: Voice or video call user in application

↳ User Task 3: Follow along with the recipe while on the call

05 | PLANNING

Once the research and planning were complete, user flows and wireframes were drawn out. A simple user flow was created to determine how certain features and tasks would connect. This then informed the following wireframes that set the foundation for the final screens

06 | FINAL REDESIGN

The final prototype shows a landing page after the user logs in. They can then view a database of recipes that visually is displayed in a modular grid style like on an e-commerce site giving users a sense of familiarity in item displays and allowing everyone on the application to view the same recipes. Once they select and view a recipe, they can call another user, thus sharing that recipe with them, eliminating any back and forth between outside messaging application that might be used to share a recipe and ensuring they are viewing the same recipe. Lastly, they can cook with them via video call on the app, viewing each step of the recipe one by one to reduce information overload from viewing the whole recipe at once. While cooking, users hit the check box to indicate they have completed the visible step. This allows users to gauge where their cooking buddy is in the cooking process and once both parties have completed the visible step, the next step will be provided to make sure they are cooking at the same pace.

07 | REFLECTION

Given the time constraints of the project, things like testing and user research weren’t able to happen. I would have liked to do initial user interviews to see what tasks people would have liked to be able to do just based on hearing the idea of the application. I would also like to test the first version of the prototype to see test the effectiveness of this solution.

Additionally, I think an application like this could have other applications and partnerships like mobile dating apps and meal kit service companies.