Mela is a recipe manager app. I looked at the user flow for a new user trying to add their first recipes. After finding it difficult to complete basic functions, I revised the copy as a personal project. Go to revised copy mockups.

Challenges

• Mela’s mimimalist content design has left its main function- adding recipes- unclear and confusing.
• It may be hard for a user to work out how to use the app and get the maximum benefit from it, even at the most basic level of how to add or search for a recipe, and which category to save the recipe in. It requires the user to explore the app for themselves, which they may not have the patience to do.
• Some features are not obvious to the user – the calendar is supposed to be used as a menu planner, and there is a button that appears at the bottom of recipes found using the browser which lets the user save the recipe — but these features require searching out.
• Some features seem completely hidden – there is a recipe ‘cook mode’, including larger fonts and timers, which only a user who has read the release notes (or possibly has a premium version) will know about.

Competitor analysis

I looked at other competitor apps to see how they guided users through similar features.

My solutions

• I made the empty state screens more instructive and made the recipe categories more obvious.
• I added an ‘add recipe’ button to the empty state screens, (which would have required prior discussion with/agreement from the developer).
• I changed the calendar label to ‘meal planner’
• I was still left unclear about whether there was a need for a separate ‘recipes to make’ category, (originally ‘Want to Cook’) when there are already ‘all’ and ‘favorite’ categories. I found it confusing to tell the difference. I would have liked to discuss this with the team.
• I would have liked to explore with the developer if there is a way to add a pop-up to the browser screen or similar guide that showed the save recipe button.
• I would have liked to explore with the developer how to highlight the ‘cook mode’ feature
• I would have liked to explore with the team what sort of voice and tone they feel would suit the app. The current design is very minimalist and so very little personality comes through. When there are so many similar recipe apps, having a distinct voice and tone is a way to stand out from the competition. Competitor app Cook’n for example has a distinct friendly, casual, and colloquial voice. “Type in what you have on hand and Cook’n will tell you what you can make for dinner” Similarly, competitor Myka frames itself as a live partner in the kitchen. “Now let’s get cooking.”