PROBLEM
Although meal-prepping has become increasingly popular over the past several years there is still a lack of resources for people who like to meal prep or want to learn how. I want to simplify the process of meal prepping by creating a community of people who can help each other learn and achieve their goals. By creating a space where people can share their recipes and ideas, create grocery lists, and read information about meal prepping I hope to help busy people easily find the information they need.
Although meal-prepping has become increasingly popular over the past several years there is still a lack of resources for people who like to meal prep or want to learn how. I want to simplify the process of meal prepping by creating a community of people who can help each other learn and achieve their goals. By creating a space where people can share their recipes and ideas, create grocery lists, and read information about meal prepping I hope to help busy people easily find the information they need.
SOLUTION
A social networking app where users can post their recipes, find new recipes, and follow fellow meal preppers.
A social networking app where users can post their recipes, find new recipes, and follow fellow meal preppers.
RESEARCH
My initial research was to read articles about meal prepping to get a better sense of who my audience was. Through this research I have discovered that meal prepping seemed to be a millennial trend popular on Instagram and Pinterest, and something that fitness enthusiasts and nutritionists tended to promote. It is marketed as a way for people to eat more healthy food while also saving money and time. I have also discovered that there is a little backlash against it, that some people feel it makes cooking too much of a chore.
My initial research was to read articles about meal prepping to get a better sense of who my audience was. Through this research I have discovered that meal prepping seemed to be a millennial trend popular on Instagram and Pinterest, and something that fitness enthusiasts and nutritionists tended to promote. It is marketed as a way for people to eat more healthy food while also saving money and time. I have also discovered that there is a little backlash against it, that some people feel it makes cooking too much of a chore.
From this research I was able to hone in on my target audience. My primary audience is young working professionals 22-35 who are interested in fitness and nutrition, who are interested in meal prepping more, or who want to share their knowledge about nutrition and meal prepping. Once I determined my target audience I built several user personas to solidify who I was designing this app for.
User persona A
User persona B
User persona C
EARLY STAGES
The early stages of thyme began by mapping out each screen for the app, and showing how the screens would connect to create a path for the user. This was an important step of designing this app, and any app, because it laid the foundation for the visual design, and allowed for the design kinks to be flushed out.
The early stages of thyme began by mapping out each screen for the app, and showing how the screens would connect to create a path for the user. This was an important step of designing this app, and any app, because it laid the foundation for the visual design, and allowed for the design kinks to be flushed out.
Early digital wireframes
Early digital wireframes
Early user flow mapping
USER TESTING
As a way to test the app’s functionality and user experience, I had three people user test it. The first person who tried it I verbally guided through the experience, the second person I gave a moderate amount of guidance to, and the third I gave very minimal guidance to. This helped me to gather a range of data and feedback, and allowed me to see how user friendly the app was by itself versus when the user was guided through it.
As a way to test the app’s functionality and user experience, I had three people user test it. The first person who tried it I verbally guided through the experience, the second person I gave a moderate amount of guidance to, and the third I gave very minimal guidance to. This helped me to gather a range of data and feedback, and allowed me to see how user friendly the app was by itself versus when the user was guided through it.
Susan, 32, guided
I guided Susan fully through her user testing experience, letting her know what was clickable and what wasn’t. Immediately she told me that this is an app that she would absolutely use, she felt that the Instagram-like photo feed is an effective way to display recipes because it allows the user to preview the meal. She said that the user flow felt pretty intuitive, and that she liked that she was able to browse recipes. When I asked her what she would improve about the app she said that the search filter was a feature that should be more upfront in the app because it would intrigue people with strict diets and allergies. She also suggested having partnership pages with companies like Allrecipes and the NY Times recipes where the user could follow them, and the company could post all of their recipes because it would make for easy browsing.
I guided Susan fully through her user testing experience, letting her know what was clickable and what wasn’t. Immediately she told me that this is an app that she would absolutely use, she felt that the Instagram-like photo feed is an effective way to display recipes because it allows the user to preview the meal. She said that the user flow felt pretty intuitive, and that she liked that she was able to browse recipes. When I asked her what she would improve about the app she said that the search filter was a feature that should be more upfront in the app because it would intrigue people with strict diets and allergies. She also suggested having partnership pages with companies like Allrecipes and the NY Times recipes where the user could follow them, and the company could post all of their recipes because it would make for easy browsing.
Grace, 23, moderately guided
When Grace tested the app I moderately guided her, but allowed her to discover most features on her own. She was able to successfully navigate around the app, and the only issues she ran into were that some this were not clickable. When asked after the testing she said that the app was easy to use, and that she liked the grocery list feature the most. When asked what could be improved she suggested allowing users to have usernames for their own page, but letting them use their own name to comment on posts, this would help create distinction between their profile and other user’s profiles.
When Grace tested the app I moderately guided her, but allowed her to discover most features on her own. She was able to successfully navigate around the app, and the only issues she ran into were that some this were not clickable. When asked after the testing she said that the app was easy to use, and that she liked the grocery list feature the most. When asked what could be improved she suggested allowing users to have usernames for their own page, but letting them use their own name to comment on posts, this would help create distinction between their profile and other user’s profiles.
Elijah, 30, minimally guided
When Elijah user tested the app I gave him minimal guidance, and only told him what to do at points when he got stuck or the app had an issue. This was a helpful experience because it allowed me to observe whether the app was intuitive, and what refinements needed to be made. There were some minimal issues with the clickable animations, which I was able to see and resolve. Elijah said that the app seemed smooth and functional, and that he would use it if it existed. When I asked what improvements could be made he said that adding sideways scrolling in the search was confusing because the rest of the app scrolled vertically, he also added that clicking on an ingredient to cross it off in the grocery list function might make things easier.
When Elijah user tested the app I gave him minimal guidance, and only told him what to do at points when he got stuck or the app had an issue. This was a helpful experience because it allowed me to observe whether the app was intuitive, and what refinements needed to be made. There were some minimal issues with the clickable animations, which I was able to see and resolve. Elijah said that the app seemed smooth and functional, and that he would use it if it existed. When I asked what improvements could be made he said that adding sideways scrolling in the search was confusing because the rest of the app scrolled vertically, he also added that clicking on an ingredient to cross it off in the grocery list function might make things easier.
FINAL STAGES
After many iterations, drafting, user testing and feedback I was able to create the final prototype of thyme.
After many iterations, drafting, user testing and feedback I was able to create the final prototype of thyme.
Final screen designs
END RESULT
I learned a lot throughout this process, and my biggest takeaways are that doing more research only benefits your design in the long run, and that app design, like most design, is a system of elements that come together to form something that can be extremely powerful. I also learned a lot about working within a system, and the importance of functionality in app design — it doesn’t matter how brilliant your idea is, if it isn’t functional and user friendly it won’t be successful.
I learned a lot throughout this process, and my biggest takeaways are that doing more research only benefits your design in the long run, and that app design, like most design, is a system of elements that come together to form something that can be extremely powerful. I also learned a lot about working within a system, and the importance of functionality in app design — it doesn’t matter how brilliant your idea is, if it isn’t functional and user friendly it won’t be successful.
Video walkthrough