SAVR
Recipe App
SAVR recipes is a mobile application that helps new and seasoned cooks find and create easy, medium, and difficult recipes with easy to follow instructions.
SAVR recipes is a mobile application that helps new and seasoned cooks find and create easy, medium, and difficult recipes with easy to follow instructions.
Savr Recipes is a start up application that aims to help new and seasoned cooks find and complete recipes. Due to negative reviews, I was tasked with reimagining the current information architecture and overall design of the application. This redesign would hopefully address and solve main areas of criticism.
This project was part of the curriculum for the design course I attended. Working under tight deadlines, I learned about time management and the importance of following a strategic process.
1 Week GV Design Sprint
UX Researcher, UX Designer,
Information Architect, UI Designer,
Market Analyst
Recently, Savr has run into the issue of receiving several negative reviews for their recipes that require many steps and feature advanced techniques. While the Savr community was initially very responsive to the app, without clear instructions, the execution of recipes has left many frustrated.
Due to recurring criticism by app users, it was important to create a solution that, presented information in an easy to follow manner, improves user experience once a recipe has been selected, and is mobile friendly.
View Final DesignSee My ProcessBecause this was a 1 week long Google Ventures design sprint, each day focused on completing a very important aspect of the design process. From mapping and understanding the problem to user testing, every single day ended with a deliverable that helped me better create a viable and helpful solution for users of this product.
The first day of this design sprint was spent analyzing information and drawing conclusions. It was important to set a strong foundation for the rest of the week.
I began this design sprint by going through transcripts and highlights of previously conducted interviews with Savr users. Hearing from users about major areas of frustration gave me a much better understanding of the problem I was trying to solve.
From user interviews, I was able to uncover major pain points that helped inform my choices for the rest of the design sprint.
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I ended the day by taking a deeper dive into the end-to-end user experience.
During interviews, many users stated that they wished cooking applications provided accurate information concerning how much time it takes to make recipes.
The goal is to create a more organized and easy to follow flow of information.
I created two simple maps showing steps a user undergoes to achieve their end goal of completing a recipe.
Although Savr fills an important need for people who want to find and learn new recipes, there are many areas of improvement that have yet to be implemented.
It was clear from interviews that users want:
-An accurate time frame for both prep and cook time
-A list of all utensils showcased somewhere near the top of the recipe
-The ability to skip ahead or move back a step efficiently.
-Photo or video documentation to show what a step is supposed to look like
The second day of the design sprint focused on taking a deeper dive into solution building through various methods.
I spent the first hour of day 2 conducting a short lightning demo. I took this time to explore apps and cooking websites.
I was looking for interesting layouts and how video components were already used in other cooking apps. I ended up finding three apps that inspired my design.
The three applications were: Tasty App, All Recipes App, and the Food Network App.
Through this exercise, I was able to understand what solutions market leaders offered their users. Each application had attributes which I felt made sense to my design solution.
The Crazy 8’s exercise pushed me to think quickly and effectively for a potential solution. As someone that has used cooking apps before, I always liked ones that gave users the ability to learn alongside an instructor or the person who published the recipe. I liked being able to see what the dish should look like and then how to get there.
For my 8 designs, I experimented with the layout and configuration of screens. I knew that I wanted to incorporate video and picture elements into my design but deciding where those elements lived was much easier said than done.
Once I was able to think about ways to make the app more visual, the solution unfolded itself. I wanted each recipe page to begin with a video at the top which summarized the recipe and how it should look.
Something else that many users complained about was not knowing what utensils and equipment to use upfront. A section dedicated to that would exist followed by a list of ingredients.
There would then be a button which users could click that would take them to a step by step breakdown of the process with videos and a short description of what to do.
For those who only wanted instructions, they could scroll down and read them as is. I also decided to include a play button on the side of each instruction so if a person gets stuck, they can click on that specific step and be taken to the corresponding video.
Through competitor analysis, I was able to find inspiration for ways to come up with a solution for Savr. Comparing and contrasting apps in the same niche showed me that there are several ways to attack a problem.
The third day of the design sprint was focused on building and fleshing out the solution sketch from day 2. It was important to dive deeper into the solution to ensure that it was the right decision.
Creating a storyboard for my solution sketches was a difficult process. Not having other designers to bounce ideas off of made it hard for me to know if my solution and idea actually made sense. I ultimately decided to stick with the solution sketch I came up with in the hope that the added video elements would make the app more user friendly.
The ultimate goal of the application is to provide users with a method of tailoring their learning experience through the use of several different options.
Creating a storyboard helped to validate the steps a user takes as they navigate the Savr app. I felt it was necessary to give the user multiple ways of learning a new recipe because everyone learns differently. Users feel most at ease when they are in control of their experience.
The fourth day of the design sprint was committed entirely to creating a prototype. With brand colors already provided, making the space functional was the ultimate priority.
Staying consistent with the problem Savr wanted me to solve, I began the user journey after they had already decided that they wanted a Vegan meal and filtered for the best option.
My solution was based on providing resources for visual learners. Having each step broken down in video form will help a new or even experienced cook better understand how their dish is supposed to look.
The user has the option to read the instructions, click on specific instructions for more help, or go through the entire process step by step.
When designing high fidelity screens, I wanted to make the application look and feel familiar. Although Savr stands on its own, it is part of niche group of cooking and recipe applications. Because there are so many on the market, there is a certain expectation consumers have for functionality and overall look. I wanted to keep the interface as simple as possible.
The final day of the design sprint was dedicated to validating my design choices through usability testing.
Going into usability testing, I had two major hypotheses: users would find the addition of video elements useful and users would like the ability to click on specific directions for video guidance.
I recruited 5 participants that all worked in the food industry whether as cooks, front of the house staff, or blog writers.
As expected, all of the users chose the step by step guide and responded positvely to the ability to customize their experience.
A few stated that they enjoyed having several different ways to access information. Variety is the major point that I was trying to push and I was happy that the users caught onto that.
Although the usability tests ran smoothly, there were two critiques of the application that were brought up by multiple users. These recommendations were:
-Enlarging text on the recipe selection screens to make it more legible.
-Filling in star ratings as opposed to making them outlined.
Testing design solutions with target users is the best feedback a design can ever get. Although I had limited time to come up with a solution and make screens, being able to get real time feedback and responses helped me put the missing puzzle pieces together.
After implementing recommendations to the design, a solution was established.
Featuring three different ways of following a recipe, this application addresses multiple learning styles.
The solution I designed would benefit from more usability testing. If I had more time with the project, I would have explored the idea of including a troubleshooting resource. While not all dishes can be saved, there are things a person can do to salvage them.
Having a resource that added even more support would make Savr an app which caters to the needs of many.