Yolk. What’s Cooking?
YOLK is an interactive space for hungry people and food lovers.
The app enables users to share detailed recipes of dishes they've made.
Users can follow each other, exchange ideas, get inspired by others' cooking journeyת but even more important - fostering a supportive community.
Background
As a team of food enthusiasts, we recognized the universal love for food and its central role in people’s lives. Driven by our shared passion, we sought to identify the pain points that exist in this domain. This curiosity became the foundation of our research process, guiding us to uncover the challenges and opportunities in the food-related space.
Users Research
Interviews & Observations
The goal of our user research was to understand how people interact with food-related content online, identify pain points in recipe discovery and use, and explore opportunities to make the experience more engaging and user-friendly
Our research involved a combination of in-depth interviews and observations. We interviewed four individuals aged 20 to 30, each with diverse backgrounds, living in different cities, and working in various professions.
Additionally, we conducted observations in restaurants and studied how people use the internet to search for food-related content. This dual approach allowed us to gain a well-rounded understanding of user behavior and preferences.
Here are the conclusions:
Prefer home made food
Online search for new ideas
Variety of websites and recipes
Photos and videos to make decisions
Studies
In our research, we discovered that people prefer searching for recipes online, gravitating toward interactive and engaging content.
Our in-depth study explored how users consume food-related content on social networks, focusing on their behaviors, preferences, and the trends within the digital food space.
Research has shown the significant impact social media has had in shaping the food industry. It has transformed businesses, elevated food bloggers, redefined food photography standards, and influenced eating habits and dietary choices. Social media's pervasive influence has created new opportunities and challenges across the food landscape, from marketing strategies to individual consumption behaviors.
#food is used
on Instagram monthly
Enjoy food content
on Social Media
Social media inspired them
to try new recipes
Challenges & Pain Points
From the interview we made we learned that a vast number of recipes without proper filtering or categorization can make decision-making harder.
Many users find recipes overwhelming or difficult to follow, particularly when they are lengthy or involve intricate techniques. This challenge is amplified when hands are occupied with cooking tasks or dirty.
Users can’t easily save or retrieve later recipe on social media and in different apps.
Competitive Analysis
To better understand the landscape of existing recipe and food-related apps, we analyzed competitors to identify their strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. This helped us uncover opportunities to differentiate our app and provide unique value to users.
We analyzed different aspects such as search functionality, recipe variety, personalization and subscriptions.
Conclusion From The User Research
Based on our user research and competitive analysis, we identified a strong user preference for engaging visuals. To address this, we decided to prioritize high-quality photos and videos throughout the app to make the content more visually appealing and interactive.
Additionally, we implemented a step-by-step design paired with clear navigation, ensuring an intuitive and seamless user experience that caters to users needs and expectations.
Sketches & Brainstorm
To create a visually engaging and seamless user experience, we drew inspiration from popular social media platforms. We tested a variety of networks to understand how users interact with content and examined their scrolling behaviors, content discovery patterns, and engagement triggers.
Style Guide
Our color palette was chosen to evoke warmth, freshness, and a connection to the world of cooking. The primary color, a vibrant Yellow-Orange (#FFA726), represents warmth and comfort, creating an inviting and friendly atmosphere. It also draws inspiration from the color of an egg yolk—a fundamental ingredient in cooking, symbolizing the essence of homemade recipes.
The accent color, a Soft Sage Green (#A8C686), was selected to evoke the freshness and natural quality of ingredients, reflecting the wholesome and organic feel of home cooking. Together, these colors create a bright, harmonious, and appetizing aesthetic that aligns perfectly with the theme of our recipe app.
Usability Testing
After we designed our visual basics we defined 2-3 tasks and asked users to try the app. We decide to go for a neat design, change the font and the size of the text.
Here are some of the changes we made:
Home Page Screen:
Initially, we envisioned the app as a social media platform for food enthusiasts. However, after conducting guerrilla testing, we learned that users weren’t interested in another social media experience.
Based on this feedback, we redesigned the home page to focus on providing personalized recipe recommendations, making it a functional, engaging, and visually appealing space to inspire users in their cooking journey
Ingredients Screen:
The original screen displayed the creator’s details prominently and listed all the ingredients. In the updated version, we focused on improving the user experience by:
Adding the dish photo to make the recipe visually appealing and inspiring.
Reducing the creator's details to prioritize relevant recipe information, such as servings and ingredients.
Introducing a servings adjustment feature, allowing users to scale ingredient quantities based on the number of servings they need.
Enhancing user actions with a share and save option, where users can share recipes via social platforms and save their favorites with a heart icon for clarity and familiarity.
These changes reflect our shift away from a social media approach, focusing instead on functionality and ease of use for home cooks.
Based on our research, we identified that users often struggle with lengthy or complex recipes, especially when their hands are occupied or dirty while cooking. To address this challenge, we introduced the AI assistant ‘Sous Chef,’ which reads recipe instructions step by step, making the cooking process more seamless, hands-free, and user-friendly.
Users can choose to have the AI read every step or just specific ones, offering complete flexibility during the cooking process.
Step-by-Step Screen:
To enhance clarity and usability, we redesigned the step-by-step screen with a neat and focused layout.
Step navigation: Each step is displayed on its own screen, with numbered progress indicators to help users track their cooking journey.
Ingredients and kitchenware per step: We added detailed information about the exact ingredients and kitchenware needed for each step, ensuring users are fully prepared.
Integrated timer feature: A built-in timer allows users to set exact cooking times without needing a separate app, improving convenience and flow.
This redesign prioritizes an intuitive cooking experience by breaking down complex recipes into manageable, actionable steps.
Screen Design
Home Page
Recipe Screens
AI Sous Chef Screen
To streamline your experience, the app includes a built-in timer linked to the recipe steps. Whenever a cooking time is mentioned, the user can simply tap the timer button, and it will automatically set to the exact duration. This ensures precise timing without needing to switch apps.
Search Screens
Prototype
Conclusions
Having working on this project, I learned how important is to enter the research phase without biases and without thinking of a solution.
It should be based on a In-depth research, including interviews and market research. There is no shortcut.
Plus, as a result of working with colleagues from Or maybe you have a different fields, I was able to understand a wider range of problems and challenges, which made the solution more creative and accurate for the user.