KitchenMate
Interaction Design Project-MSc
(Distinction)
Time Period-2 Months
Worked in a team of 4
(My role) User research, Wireframing, Creating User Journeys, Storyboarding, Empathy Mapping, Prototyping
User Research, Wireframing, Prototyping, Thematic Analysis, User journeys, Empathy Mapping, UI design User Personas
Goal
To develop a transformative user experience for individuals utilizing smart displays in their kitchen environment. KitchenMate aims to promote healthy living and sustainability
Outcome
We were able to design wireframes for an app for smart display based on the rigorous user research. We also created a commercial video to showcase the functionality of the app
Design Brief
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A group of health and sustainability advocates want to launch an app named "KitchenMate" for a smart display.
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The app aims to enhance users diets, while also fostering environmental mindfulness regarding food waste.
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Conduct user research to understand user preferences and needs, identify valuable insights based on these insights and evaluate them with the target demographic to refine the app's design.
Existing Problems
Individuals, especially those between the ages of 21-50, are actively searching for transformative solutions that encourage healthier living and sustainable lifestyles. Challenges arise as users struggle with identifying healthy choices and face difficulties in adopting sustainable practices due to limited knowledge.
We've crafted a brief video illustrating the practical use of Kitchen Mate in daily life, promoting better choices and fostering sustainability
UX Research
Now, let's delve into the process. Once the problems were identified, we initiated the collection of information to inform our app design. Our journey commenced with user research.
User Research
I conducted two one-to-one interviews and did a field observation, on top of which a contextual inquiry was conducted at a participant’s home. The interviews took place in person and online, prior to which every participant signed the Participant Information sheet and the Informed Consent
Empathy Mapping and Personas
To facilitate effective use of the data collected using user research, an empathy map was created for each participant, based on which we talked through the users in a meeting and discussed their similarities and differences. After creating multiple empathy maps we tried to group them on the basis of similarity in the data. We transcribed the audio files for the interviews and organised our observations in preparation for creating empathy maps. Analysing the data, we recorded what the interviewees ‘Say’, ‘Think’, ‘Does’, ‘Feel’ that yielded insight into their needs, frustrations and goals.
To picture our user in a holistic context, we combined the data of two or three users based on the empathy maps to build personas. by listing and grouping their life situation, goals, frustrations and needs. In creating their personas, we added independent sections of ‘decision factors’, ‘meal preparation tips and tools’, and ‘benefits of addressing their needs’, as these would help us focus on what mattered most to our users and to highlight design impact for any potential stakeholder
Sample Empathy Map
Sample Persona
User Journeys and Storyboard
After completing personas, We developed user journeys to capture the typical tasks which Pete, Tanya and Elaine go through in their daily contexts. This helped us to break down the different steps to get better insight, specifically about their emotions and pain points so as to identify opportunities to develop solutions
Considering the need to engage stakeholders in the real-world context, we decided to create storyboards for both the current and the future states to visualise the user journeys. We transformed the settings and their thoughts into scenarios and thought bubbles. I created the storyboards using Procreate and then speech bubbles were added in Miro. This took our understanding of user environments one step further, meanwhile helping us to compare and demonstrate the drastic differences our KitchenMate would make.
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Sample User Journey
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Sample Storyboard
Conceptual and Detailed Design
To narrow down our ideas and features, we set out to sketch paper prototypes with a variety of features: personal profile, nutritional goals, meal planner, recipes, delivery service, articles, maps and places, and food storage tracker. Next, we tested these ideas on four real users to observe their behaviour and collect feedback, after which we came together again to share our findings and discuss the validity of our choices. This led to cut down some of our initial features and addition of new features which were more useful to the users like addition of shopping lists.
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These are some of the low fidelity wireframes which I designed after testing the paper wireframes on 4 users. The wireframes were designed on Figma and annotated for a better understanding.
Reflection
We have tried to match the expectations of our users and what they think this app is supposed to do. We tested our wireframes and iterated them with a focus on where users were having difficulties, while striving to keep the design clutter free, easy to understand and intuitive to interact with. The goals which this app can fulfil are based upon the research we have done, and based on our testing feedback we know this app matches user expectations.
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As a team, we achieved synergy by appreciating each other's unique abilities, connecting with and embracing one another's concepts, and proactively steering clear of potential conflicts.
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We could have improved this experience through more testing, evaluation and iterations, but due to time restrictions we were not able to test our prototype on different users to receive feedback, which would have helped in further improving this design.
One with the KitchenMate
