CookMi
CookMi is a cooking app designed specifically for college students who want to eat well despite their busy schedules and limited cooking experience. The app focuses on quick, budget-friendly recipes and meal planning features.
Roles
User Researcher, Product Designer
Duration
3 weeks
Sector
Food & Beverage, Health & Wellness
Introduction
Goal
Simplifying meal planning and enhancing college students' overall cooking experience.
Overview
CookMi is a personal project centered on designing a cooking app specifically for busy college students. The app addresses the common challenges students face when it comes to meal planning, such as limited time, tight budgets, and repetitive meals. CookMi aims to simplify the cooking process by offering a variety of quick, easy-to-make recipes that are both healthy and affordable. The app recommends meals based on ingredients users already have on hand. The user interface is thoughtfully designed to be intuitive and accessible, making it easy for students to explore, plan, and cook meals with minimal effort.
Context
Target Users
Designed for college students who balance demanding academic schedules with limited time, money, and cooking experience.
Inspiration
CookMi was inspired by my own experiences as a college student trying to cook regularly while managing a busy academic schedule. I often found myself cycling through the same meals or choosing takeout due to time constraints and limited ingredients. In conversations with peers, I noticed similar patterns, where many shared frustrations about repetitive meals, not knowing what to cook, and struggling to eat healthily on a budget.
Problem
Busy college students often struggle with deciding what to cook each day, resulting in repetitive meals and reliance on takeout. Their limited time, tight budgets, and lack of inspiration make it difficult to find quick, healthy, and affordable options. There's a need for a solution that simplifies daily meal decisions by offering accessible, diverse, and student-friendly recipes.
Challenge
Design an intuitive and engaging cooking app that helps college students quickly find meal ideas based on their available ingredients and time constraints without overwhelming them with too many choices or complex features.
Research
User Interviews
To better understand the needs and habits of my target users, I conducted interviews with 10 college students from various majors and living situations. The goal was to explore their cooking routines, challenges, and motivations when preparing meals.
"I usually just make the same few things over and over because I don't know what else to cook with what I have."
"I want quick and easy recipes, so I can cook meals without spending too much time."
"I want affordable meal options, so I can save money."
"I want meal suggestions based on what I already have."
"I want diverse meal ideas, so I don't get bored eating the same dishes every day."
"I want access to healthy recipes, so I can eat well despite my busy schedule."
"I want a simple and clear interface, so I can easily navigate and find recipes that match my needs."
User Stories Pain Points
Through user interviews and personal experience, several common pain points emerged:
Difficulty deciding what to cook: Students often fall into repetitive eating habits due to decision fatigue.
Limited time to cook: Packed schedules with classes, work, and extracurriculars leave little time for meal prep.
Hard to find quick, healthy, and budget-friendly meals: Many recipes don't meet all three criteria.
Lack of guidance using on-hand ingredients: Students want help cooking with what they already have.
Few user-friendly platforms: Existing apps often feel overwhelming or cluttered.
Frustration with long, complex recipes: Many don't match students' skill levels, tools, or time constraints.
User Personas
Based on insights from user interviews, I created 2 user personas to represent common types of student users.
Competitive Analysis
To identify gaps and opportunities in the current cooking app industry, I analyzed two popular platforms: Tasty and HelloFresh.
These insights revealed a set of challenges faced by college students when it comes to cooking, ranging from decision fatigue and limited time to the need for simple, affordable meals. With these needs in mind, I reframed the problem as a design opportunity.
How might we...
design a cooking app that helps students break out of repetitive cooking habits by offering personalized, easy, and budget-friendly meal ideas, while making the overall cooking experience more enjoyable and accessible?
Design
Low-Fidelity Prototypes
The initial low-fidelity prototype I designed addressed key pain points uncovered during user research, specifically the difficulty of finding meal ideas and the need for a simple, user-friendly platform. It focused on streamlining recipe discovery and browse recipes through a clean, intuitive layout. Early sketches prioritized navigation and reduced cognitive load, helping students make quick cooking decisions.
College student user personas
These insights revealed a set of challenges faced by college students when it comes to cooking, ranging from decision fatigue and limited time to the need for simple, affordable meals. With these needs in mind, I reframed the problem as a design opportunity.
How might we...
design a cooking app that helps students break out of repetitive cooking habits by offering personalized, easy, and budget-friendly meal ideas, while making the overall cooking experience more enjoyable and accessible?
Design System
To maintain visual consistency, I created variations of the navigation bar to match the structure and functionality of each page while ensuring a cohesive user experience across the app. For the color palette, I started with yellow, a color commonly associated with food and appetite stimulation, often used in restaurant branding. To create visual balance and contrast, I paired it with a deeper blue tone that grounds the design and improves readability. This combination reinforces the app's energetic yet approachable aesthetic.
Mid-Fidelity Prototypes
I translated the hand-drawn sketches into a Figma prototype to visualize each screen digitally. This helped refine layout, navigation, and user flow while focusing on functionality over visual details.
Hi-Fidelity Prototypes
I applied the design system to the user interfaces, incorporating consistent components, color schemes, and typography. Relevant imagery was added to each section to enhance visual appeal and support content contextually.
Final Prototype
Takeaways
Understanding User Needs
Research and interviews uncovered real pain points that directly informed design decisions.
Simplicity is Key
Streamlined navigation and clear recipe organization significantly improve the user experience.
Importance of Variety
Diverse meal options help reduce repetition and encourage healthier eating habits.
Balancing Health and Convenience
Quick, affordable, and nutritious recipes are essential for supporting student lifestyles.