Füdent Mobile App

“How might we motivate young adults to cook their meals and build healthy habits”

Füdent L.P is a unique new health technology start-up currently providing students with social media content to help 18-34s live an independent and healthier lifestyle.


Füdent is currently developing a food recipes digital service (via an app) to support young adults lead an independent and more balanced lifestyle. The app will provide personalized lists of recipes by using smart technologies such as AI and user data collection as well as offer useful cooking tips and health and diet information.


I led the research, ideation, strategy and design for its app across its Android and iOS platforms.

My Role

User Research

User Interviews

Benchmarking

Journey Mapping

Persona Creation

Wireframing

Usability Testing

UX Design

Visual Design

Prototyping

My Role

User Research

User Interviews

Benchmarking

Journey Mapping

Persona Creation

Wireframing

Usability Testing

UX Design

Visual Design

Prototyping

My Role

User Research

User Interviews

Benchmarking

Journey Mapping

Persona Creation

Wireframing

Usability Testing

UX Design

Visual Design

Prototyping

Reframing Design Question

‍The findings from my research helped me further narrow down the problem statement and come up with a final design question.

"How might we make meal preparation require less effort to encourage young adults cook more often?"

The Process

I divided the research and design process into four phases based on the Design Council's Double Diamond model: Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver

01. Discover

Competitive research

Interviews

Surveys

Journey Maps

01. Discover

Competitive research

Interviews

Surveys

Journey Maps

01. Discover

Competitive research

Interviews

Surveys

Journey Maps

02. Define

Define insights

Define problem

Personas

"How might We"

02. Define

Define insights

Define problem

Personas

"How might We"

02. Define

Define insights

Define problem

Personas

"How might We"

03. Develop

Brainstorming

Sketches

Wireframes

Prototype V1

03. Develop

Brainstorming

Sketches

Wireframes

Prototype V1

03. Develop

Brainstorming

Sketches

Wireframes

Prototype V1

04. Deliver

Usuability testing

Final Protorype

04. Deliver

Usuability testing

Final Protorype

04. Deliver

Usuability testing

Final Protorype

Competitive Analysis

To familiarise myself with the current landscape of food recipe services, I conducted a competitive analysis across ten of the most popular cooking apps on the Appstore and Play Store. I listed the features and characteristics of the apps to identify current trends as well as strengths and user pain points. I gathered this information by sifting through hundreds of reviews and comments left by users on Play Store and Apple Store as well as my own experience using these apps.

Key Features

After learning more about the landscape I identified the following “must-have” features, which I thought essential to the success of the app:

Easy searching options

Offering a wide range of searching and filtering options is essential to help users navigate through big catalogues of recipes without overwhelming them with the density of content in the app.

Personalisation

Shape the default state of the app based on user preferences and diet through onboarding questions. Notify users of any new content in the app from chefs they are following or recipes they might like, allowing curation of personalized content.

Smart recommendations

Offering users with smart recommendations based on their preferences and diet, enabling tailored recipes within the context of their lifestyle and values.

Quality recipes

Ensure the quality of recipe content remains consistent and doesn’t decline as quantity of increases. Include video instructions, clear step-by-step directions and pictures. In addition to the content created by the Füdent team, establish guidelines to assist users upload their own recipes and populate the app with high quality content.

User Testing

My team and I performed usability testing with 12 participants, utilising our high-fidelity prototype to identify areas for improvement. Below are the main takeaways we gathered from this experience.

"Onboarding takes too long"

Users thought the "sign in" & "onboarding" process was taking too long, overwhelming them with information


Solution: We narrowed down the options to a selective few, reduced the steps of the process and made everything bigger. In addition we introduced ways to log in faster.

"Too much scrolling in the recipe
page"

Users found the recipe page overloaded with information. Had a hard time finding important features such as the "replace item" button, "sent to shopping list" button and recipe video.


Solution: We grouped information into sections where users could navigate through a top menu.

"The replace item feature is confusing"

  • Because of the lack of feedback, Users could not tell if they have successfully replaced an item

  • Users did not remember which item in the recipe got replaced

  • Some users were not sure about what the button meant to do


Solution:

  • Added feedback when replacing an item

  • Highlighted replaced items

  • Improved the language in which we communicate what the "replace" feature does to the user

Key Features

After learning more about the landscape I identified the following “must-have” features, which I thought essential to the success of the app:

Easy searching options

Offering a wide range of searching and filtering options is essential to help users navigate through big catalogues of recipes without overwhelming them with the density of content in the app.

Offering a wide range of searching and filtering options is essential to help users navigate through big catalogues of recipes without overwhelming them with the density of content in the app.

Personalisation

Shape the default state of the app based on user preferences and diet through onboarding questions. Notify users of any new content in the app from chefs they are following or recipes they might like, allowing curation of personalized content.

Shape the default state of the app based on user preferences and diet through onboarding questions. Notify users of any new content in the app from chefs they are following or recipes they might like, allowing curation of personalized content.

Smart recommendations

Offering users with smart recommendations based on their preferences and diet, enabling tailored recipes within the context of their lifestyle and values.

Offering users with smart recommendations based on their preferences and diet, enabling tailored recipes within the context of their lifestyle and values.

Quality recipes

Ensure the quality of recipe content remains consistent and doesn’t decline as quantity of increases. Include video instructions, clear step-by-step directions and pictures. In addition to the content created by the Füdent team, establish guidelines to assist users upload their own recipes and populate the app with high quality content.

Quality recipes

Ensure the quality of recipe content remains consistent and doesn’t decline as quantity of increases. Include video instructions, clear step-by-step directions and pictures. In addition to the content created by the Füdent team, establish guidelines to assist users upload their own recipes and populate the app with high quality content.

User Research

The research didn't stop at analysing the market. I wanted to find new opportunities for design so I can innovate beyond the “status-quo” of food recipe services. I wanted to get a clear picture of how young adults go about discovering new recipes, what motivates them to cook, what frustrates them in the cooking process as well a bit more more about their diet and lifestyle. In order to get a better understanding of their behaviors and motivations, I performed in-person interviews and conducted online surveys. As a result, I gathered 150+ responses from unique stakeholders.

Key Insights

Key Insights

01.
Young adults prioritise convenience

Convenience is by far the biggest motivator when it comes to choosing a meal, even more than saving up money which comes second. This also leads to the majority of their “unhealthy choices”. The majority of participants have made plans in the past to start eating healthier but instant gratification always ends up winning the battle against them.

“I wanna start eating healthier but work and university studies makes it challenging to find the energy and time for cooking. Due to my busy schedule, I often end up eating junk food or snacking” “A bad habit of mine is going to the grocery store hungry and picking up instant or frozen food I can consume quickly” “I realise am out of grocery very late and can’t be bothered to go to the grocery store”

02.
Seeking meal inspiration
03.
Nutrition matters
04.
Expired food frustration
01.
Young adults prioritise convenience

Convenience is by far the biggest motivator when it comes to choosing a meal, even more than saving up money which comes second. This also leads to the majority of their “unhealthy choices”. The majority of participants have made plans in the past to start eating healthier but instant gratification always ends up winning the battle against them.

“I wanna start eating healthier but work and university studies makes it challenging to find the energy and time for cooking. Due to my busy schedule, I often end up eating junk food or snacking” “A bad habit of mine is going to the grocery store hungry and picking up instant or frozen food I can consume quickly” “I realise am out of grocery very late and can’t be bothered to go to the grocery store”

02.
Seeking meal inspiration
03.
Nutrition matters
04.
Expired food frustration
01.
Young adults prioritise convenience

Convenience is by far the biggest motivator when it comes to choosing a meal, even more than saving up money which comes second. This also leads to the majority of their “unhealthy choices”. The majority of participants have made plans in the past to start eating healthier but instant gratification always ends up winning the battle against them.

“I wanna start eating healthier but work and university studies makes it challenging to find the energy and time for cooking. Due to my busy schedule, I often end up eating junk food or snacking” “A bad habit of mine is going to the grocery store hungry and picking up instant or frozen food I can consume quickly” “I realise am out of grocery very late and can’t be bothered to go to the grocery store”

02.
Seeking meal inspiration
03.
Nutrition matters
04.
Expired food frustration

Personas

Based on the research insights, I formed two personas demonstrating our target users.

Reframing Design Questions

‍The findings from my research helped me further narrow down the problem statement and come up with a final design question.

"How might we make meal preparation require less effort to encourage young adults cook more often?"

Ideation

The initial user research and competitive analysis uncovered various areas of opportunity. However, for the MVP, I kept in mind the business goals and organizational capacity and decided to give a strong focus on personalization, discoverability of recipes, creating a variety of well structured high quality recipes, and “convenience” by making meal preparation quick and effortless.

Wireframes

Now it was time to take my ideas into action!

User Testing

My team and I performed usability testing with 12 participants, utilising our high-fidelity prototype to identify areas for improvement. Below are the main takeaways we gathered from this experience.

"Onboarding takes too long"

Users thought the "sign in" & "onboarding" process was taking too long, overwhelming them with information

Solution: We narrowed down the options to a selective few, reduced the steps of the process and made everything bigger. In addition we introduced ways to log in faster.

"Too much scrolling in the recipe
page"

Users found the recipe page overloaded with information. Had a hard time finding important features such as the "replace item" button, "sent to shopping list" button and recipe video.

Solution: We grouped information into sections where users could navigate through a top menu.

"The replace item feature is
confusing"

  • Because of the lack of feedback, Users could not tell if they have successfully replaced an item

  • Users did not remember which item in the recipe got replaced

  • Some users were not sure about what the button meant to do

Solution:

  • Added feedback when replacing an item

  • Highlighted replaced items

  • Improved the language in which we communicate what the "replace" feature does to the user

Presenting Füdent.

A few quick questions to personalise the app to your diet and preferences

A few quick questions to personalise the app to your diet and preferences

A few quick questions to personalise the app to your diet and preferences

Pick a meal from a variety of recipes

1) Personalised meal recommendations using AI and data gathering techniques

2) Search for recipes based on occasion or by selecting the ingredients you like

3) Find selected recipes brought to you by the Füdent team or made from the community

4) A variety of filtering and sorting options

Pick a meal from a variety of recipes

1) Personalised meal recommendations using AI and data gathering techniques

2) Search for recipes based on occasion or by selecting the ingredients you like

3) Find selected recipes brought to you by the Füdent team or made from the community

4) A variety of filtering and sorting options

Pick a meal from a variety of recipes

1) Personalised meal recommendations using AI and data gathering techniques

2) Search for recipes based on occasion or by selecting the ingredients you like

3) Find selected recipes brought to you by the Füdent team or made from the community

4) A variety of filtering and sorting options

Nutritional info and step-by-step cooking instructions

Nutritional info and step-by-step cooking instructions

Nutritional info and step-by-step cooking instructions

Powered by AI, Füdent can suggest substitutes for ingredients you don't like or can't find at the grocery store

Powered by AI, Füdent can suggest substitutes for ingredients you don't like or can't find at the grocery store

Powered by AI, Füdent can suggest substitutes for ingredients you don't like or can't find at the grocery store

Monitor your kitchen

Scan items in your kitchen or add them manually to track your pantry and get expiry reminders

Monitor your kitchen

Scan items in your kitchen or add them manually to track your pantry and get expiry reminders

Monitor your kitchen

Scan items in your kitchen or add them manually to track your pantry and get expiry reminders

or find delicious recipes with ingredients you already have

or find delicious recipes with ingredients you already have

or find delicious recipes with ingredients you already have

Create shopping lists

Create shopping lists manually or by saving the ingredients of a recipe you like

Create shopping lists

Create shopping lists manually or by saving the ingredients of a recipe you like

Create shopping lists

Create shopping lists manually or by saving the ingredients of a recipe you like

Learn through articles, the community forum and masterclasses made by professional chefs

Learn through articles, the community forum and masterclasses made by professional chefs

Learn through articles, the community forum and masterclasses made by professional chefs

Designed & Built by Iason© 2024
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Designed & Built by Iason© 2024
Designed & Built by Iason© 2024

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