Chef Daddy
A mobile app dedicated to teaching students simple, budget-friendly, and delicious recipes.
Product Design | Visual Design | Prototype
Team
Thaovy Nguyen
Hafsa Siddiqui
Jade Nguyen
Role
UX Designer
Timeline
3 weeks
Contributions
UX Research
Concept Ideation
Mobile System Design
Rapid Prototyping
Tools
Figma
Photoshop
Project Overview
My team and I competed against 130+ students in a 3-week Design Challenge at the University of Texas at Dallas to design a mobile application that teaches students easy, budget-friendly, and delicious recipes. Our user-centered approach earned us second place, showcasing a practical solution for student cooks.
Background
Students struggle with maintaining healthy diets due to time and budget constraints
What is the issue?
College students also face many restrictions such as transportation, budget, dietary needs, time, and experiences. Therefore, many college students are unable to cook healthy and budget-friendly meals.
Problem Statement
Redefining student dining by addressing their budgets and promoting healthy eating habits
User Research
We looked to understand the challenges students faced in the kitchen and what features they would value in an app designed to provide budget-friendly meal solutions.
Reviewing Survey Insights
All the time
5%
“I feel like the university doesn’t have resources. Or if they do, I don’t know where to find them”
Students describing their cooking level: “Not amazing but not horrible!” or “mediocre”
“I want to be able to create nutritional balanced meals & organize my groceries.”
As college students, how often do you look up recipes when you cook?
47%
Sometimes
Often
18%
Rarely
18%
Never
12%
How would you describe your cooking skills?
60%
considers themselves to be average
Do you feel like your university has resources that help you with your struggles in cooking?
80%
feels as if the university lacks resources for cooking and food guidance
Where do you get your cooking inspirations?
86%
of students find their cooking inspirations via social media platforms, such as TikTok, Instagram reels, and YouTube
Existing Research
By pinpointing these pain points, we tailored 'Chef Daddy' to address these specific needs, offering solutions that streamline meal planning, provide accurate cost estimates, and offer a wide range of budget-friendly recipes to cater to diverse tastes and dietary preferences.
Pain Points of Students
01. Lack of Motivation 💻
Due to their hectic schedules, many students feel overwhelmed or uninspired by the prospect of meal preparation, especially after a long day of classes or work.
Many students face the challenge of limited access to grocery stores or cooking facilities, especially those living on campus or in urban areas.
02. Location 🏠
Many people are under the assumption that it costs significantly more money to maintain a healthy diet as opposed to fast food.
03. Cost of Groceries 🛒
Many students lack confidence in the kitchen due to limited cooking knowledge or past unsuccessful attempts.
04. Experiences 🧑🍳
Source: National Institutes of Health
Where do other cooking apps lie?
We explored popular apps comparing their recipe variety, user interface, meal planning capabilities, and affordability. By understanding the competitive landscape, we were able to design 'Chef Daddy' to offer a blend of the best features while introducing innovative solutions to stand out in the market.
Competitive Analysis
Identifying the Features
Our research highlighted the need for a cooking app that simplifies meal planning, offers budget-friendly options, and provides step-by-step guidance for cooking novices. We found that students crave variety without sacrificing taste, and they value community engagement and motivation.
Product Solutions
Encourages Cooking 🍽️
Swipe through suggested recipes, 'liking' favorites—making discovering new dishes fun and encouraging users to try new flavors and cuisines
Connects to local campus resources such as on-campus markets, food pantries, and student discounts at nearby grocery stores
Campus Resources 🍎
Step by Step Guidance 🧑🏫
Integrated detailed instructions and videos to ensure a successful cooking experience every time
Nutritional Info ❤️🩹
Access detailed nutritional facts for each recipe—empowering students to make informed meal choices that align with their dietary needs and goals
Wireframes
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
Design Concepts
Brand Identity
Wireframes
Final Execution
Customizable Meal Plans
Discovering New and Easy Recipes
Guided Instructions
Campus Resources
Takeaways
Reflection
My team and I went beyond our prior skills and knowledge of design while working on this project. We were teaching ourselves along the way; this project allowed us to explore a new realm of design and forced us to work outside of our current understanding of design and research.
Looking back, I definitely want to work on my research methods moving forward. While we produced fruitful results even with our small sample pool, I hope to gather a larger group of interviewees and testers for our surveys. Having more responses would have allowed us to see more inconsistences or a common pattern with their answers, making it easier for us to come up with solutions for the project.