KidChef
Project overview
KidChef is a responsive website and dedicated app that is intended to teach children to cook healthy meals and snacks in an engaging way. It is the final project for the Google UX Certification Program. September - October 2023
My responsibilities as student and project lead included:
Initial research prior to design
Information Architecture
Ideating
Wire frames
Digital mockups
Prototypes
Planning and executing user studies
Updating designs
Research Methods
I conducted user research by reaching out to users with children of various ages in their families. To gather the data, I designed an online survey to determine user needs.
A competitive audit of websites and apps for cooking and for children’s education revealed a gap in the market for websites and apps that are targeted to children exclusively.
User Needs
Access
Our users have difficulty finding kid-friendly recipe and education sources online and express particular frustration over the complex interfaces of most recipe websites.
Dietary Restrictions
Our users feel overwhelmed with trying to find sources that clearly show recipes for specific dietary needs.
Adult Supervision
Our users struggle to schedule meals for when all family members are at home and parents often can’t find healthy food that kids can cook without supervision.
Engagement
User have expressed frustration over keeping their kids interested in creating meals for themselves.
Wireframes: applying research results
Easy navigation
Awards to motivate
Meal planning
Skill tutorials
Personalized food quiz
Wireframes and Updates
An unmoderated usability study revealed weaknesses in the initial prototype’s design.
moved buttons above fold
updated unclear labels
button appearance updated
mockups and high fidelity prototype
Some ways I focused on the user in the flow from home page to recipe:
Engaging colors
Icons with pop-up to show which recipes need adult help, use knives, or are vegetarian.
Recipe names to interest children
Video and written instructions
Clear labels for navigation
A selection of screens from other user flows
second Usability test and updates
A selection of changes based on the results from the second user study
Before
After
bigger check boxes
increased font size
Before
After
more negative space
clarifying dividers
REsponsive designs
After completing the second user study, I began creating wireframes and mockupsfor the responsive website in three screen sizes.
One of my main goals in this phase was to create a more engaging version of the planning section of the product.
I maintained consistency with my use of circles and began removing the use of yellow, as I became concerned about readability.
Takeaways and next steps
“It’s super easy to figure out and if I can figure it out with my ADHD, the average kid can figure it out.”
“I like the fact they can earn awards and I really like the planning idea.”
Impact
I had a wonderful response to the app concept in testing, particularly with the learning incentives.
Since there is such an apparent gap in the market for a tool to teach children to cook healthy meals for themselves, I think this product has the potential to improve quality of life for diverse families.
I found the whole process of creating this product an exciting experience. Each project I’ve worked on has deepened my appreciation for the value of user research and testing, and the user’s influence on this project in particular was intense.
In addition, my technical skills significantly improved, particularly with creating multiple component states and prototyping details.
What I learned
Next steps
In the next phase, the responsive website needs usability testing and further updates to finish all user flows.
Additionally, use of photos and videos that are specifically designed for this app will improve usability of this product.