Contribution: UX Research, Product Design, UX Design
Objective
HelloFresh sought to enhance recipe creation efficiency without increasing resource allocation. The current seven-step process, involving multiple programs, led to delays. Our task was to propose a solution within a sprint week to simplify and expedite the recipe creation process.
Design Approach
We began with comprehensive secondary and primary research. Our findings pinpointed the ideation phase as the primary bottleneck in the recipe development process.
Refocusing our objective to “How mighty we expedite recipe ideation to increase output?” guided our ideation phase. Drawing inspiration from various sources, we compiled a feature wishlist.
Brainstorming and Scope Refinement
Armed with a feature wishlist, we began brainstorming and sketching our ideas. Initially encountering scope creep as we aimed to redesign the entire recipe creation process within a week, we refocused on the ideation phase with scalability in mind, consolidating our three How Might We questions into a unified focus. Brainstorming and sketching sessions yielded multiple low-fidelity prototypes, which we tested with users before refining into a final high-fidelity prototype.
HMW expedite the ideation process for recipe developers so that HelloFresh can create more recipes without hiring new resources.
Developing FreshIdeas
Using our sketches as a guide, we created wireframes and a low-fidelity prototype. This prototype underwent rigorous usability testing, providing valuable insights for our iterative design process.
Users found the "add new recipes" hard to find and confusing at the bottom.
Top felt like a different section than the bottom
Past dish insight feels awkward at the top. Not something the user is always looking for at the beginning
Users were unsure what this meant and why there are repeat ingredients
Users were unsure how to use this section and there are no help indicators
Unable to add more instructions
Incorporating feedback from the previous tests, we developed a high-fidelity prototype. Our solution, Fresh Ideas, is a desktop app that consolidates all seven steps of recipe creation into a streamlined platform, prioritizing ideation. Currently, ideation heavily relies on Recipe Developers for inspiration and success estimation, causing significant time delays.
The final redesign centred on enhancing the AI ingredient pairing generator’s intuitiveness. We reduced the number of displayed pairings and categorized ingredients, allowing users to lock in specific choices while exploring others. User feedback highlighted the potential for unnecessary tools to impede progress. We ensured that new features, such as the AI ingredient pairing generator and insights from past recipes, we accessible and unobtrusive when not in use.
Future Iterations and Expansion
When given more time, the next step of Fresh Ideas would include more user testing to refine the current feature and possibly expanding to cover more parts of the recipe creation process. Expanding on the project can allow Fresh Ideas to help with the process before and after the ideation phase. This includes streamlining the ingredient substitution process and the recipe card creation process.