Yijia LiI’m a UI/UX Designer who believes in design as a powerful tool for problem-solving.Click to view my Graphic & Motion Design Works Email

Dish Dash

(Mobile App)
(Case Study) My Roles 
UX / UI Design
User Research
Usability Testing
Wireframing
Prototyping
Data Analysis

Project OverviewCooking is a time consuming task, and while many would prefer to do so over expensive or unhealthy alternatives, finding the time can be a difficult challenge.

DishDash helps people find recipes with time constraints. Help user execute quickly with ingredients they have on hand.




Define Problems

Space
Cooking is a time consuming task, and while many would prefer to do so over expensive or unhealthy alternatives, finding the time can be a difficult challenge.

StatementHelp people with time constraints find recipes that they can execute quickly with ingredients they have on hand.




Research

Background Research


Cooking means different things to different people—some see it as warming pre-prepped meals, while others define it as starting from scratch with raw ingredients. Perceptions of "quick" also vary, so recipes must cater to diverse needs. Key factors for a successful quick meal include a well-equipped kitchen, cooking skills, and access to a variety of recipes. Without these, many turn to food delivery or meal kits.

InterviewWe interviewed eight participants, aged 22 to 34, were recruited for the study, consisting of both students and full-time employees primarily residing in Ontario. They included individuals who want to cook but feel they lack time, have access to groceries, and primarily cook for themselves




Key Findings



Time was a big factor for our participants.


Understanding what you can make with what you had makes the choice to cook easier.

Instructions need to be presented in an easy to process way.





User Persona

Meet Sarah!


Sarah, is a 22 year old full-time student with a busy schedule.

She lives in student housing in Downtown Toronto.

She loves cooking in the communal space surrounded by her friends, so her access to cooking equipment can be limited.

She’s glad that gluten-free ingredients are becoming more accessible.

She’s environmentally conscious so she always chooses public transportation and dislikes ordering food because of all the waste. She also wants to keep a healthy diet, so she wants to cook more.





User Journey Map







Ideations

After defining our persona's needs and identifying the main pain-points in their user journey. Each of us brainstormed eight ideas to enhance and further develop our product. We picked our favourite 6 to push for forward.

IDEA: Community cafeteria.


INSIGHT: Trying to eliminate the burden of cooking for yourself through crowdsourcing cooking?IDEA: Scan ingredients to suggest recipes.

INSIGHT: Understanding ingredient limitations/restrictions.IDEA: Decision tree based on ingredients to suggest recipes.

INSIGHT: Recipe suggestions based on what you have available.

IDEA: A product that you could interact with without having to click on a screen while cooking.


INSIGHT: Hands free directions applied to non-transit contexts.IDEA: An app that has a cooking timer.


INSIGHT: Identifying how much time each step will take.IDEA: Duolingo for food.



INSIGHT: Progress-oriented recipe presentation.




User Flow

We finalized our user flow by simplifying the entire process to align with our goal of "quick." Each team member proposed a user flow, and the final version was developed based on my flow, incorporating feedback and suggestions from others.




Wireframe






Key Iterations

  • Missing “Home” Page.
  • Pictures won’t add clarity, and they take up space. 
  • Next Step buttons aren’t obvious. 
  • The difference between “auto-play” and “read-aloud” could be clarified.
  • Adding more Freedom for users to finish cooking anytime.





Style Tile

The key principles of our app are 'quick,' 'friendly,' and 'easy.' Therefore, we selected warm colors as the primary palette, with red conveying a sense of warmth and emphasizing the 'quick' and 'rush' sensations. We also incorporated simple, modern icons and illustrations to create a more welcoming and approachable feel.




Prototype 















Time was a big factor for our users.
















Understanding what you can make with what you had makes the choice to cook easier.














Instructions need to be presented in an easy to process way.