Homecook—Course Project
A Concept App that Creates Personalized Recipes Based on the Ingredients you have at Home.
Homecook is an intelligent recipe app that generates personalized recipes based on the ingredients you have at home. It achieves this by enabling you to scan your grocery receipts and item barcodes. My goal with Homecook is to make cooking convenient for today's fast-paced society!
This app was inspired by my struggle with ordering out using food delivery platforms, which has led to an uber (no pun intended) amount of money spent and groceries gone bad.
YEAR
2023
Role
UX Designer
Timeline
6 Weeks
Tools
Figma, Figjam, Photoshop
01
Problem/ Challenge
Users need a one-stop shop for recipes to help meal plan throughout the week for their families in the most engaging and seamless way.
Families often juggle busy schedules, tight budgets, and the constant need to meal plan. Survey insights showed that:
62.5% would meal plan if recipes were readily available.
75% rely on multiple sources for recipes, leading to inefficiency.
87.5% shop weekly, but nearly half struggle to use groceries before they expire.
Before
02
Design Goals
Create a mobile app that helps users:
Access recipes based on ingredients they already own.
Scan grocery receipts and barcodes to build a live pantry inventory.
Learn from step-by-step video instructions for confidence in the kitchen.
Target outcome: Reduce over-purchasing and food waste while making at-home cooking more engaging.
Build Credibility
Improve Storytelling
Increase Donations
Enhance Usability
03
Process & Decisions
Research
16 survey respondents + 2 interviews shaped personas and frustrations.
Identified the core need: a “one-stop shop” for meal planning and recipe discovery.
Ideation
Explored concepts for pantry tracking (manual input vs. scanning).
Chose receipt and barcode scanning for speed and accuracy.
Added video recipes to increase usability and engagement — inspired by top social apps.
Trade-offs
Simplified layout instead of advanced features like meal planning to keep flows seamless.
Prioritized user-friendly pantry management over analytics-heavy features.
Discovery
Constructed a consultation questionnaire with the founder and chairperson in addition to a stakeholder survey for the board members.
Rebrand
In the rebranding process, I aimed to retain some key elements while making a bolder statement to better reflect trust, hope, and vibrancy.
Before
After
Sitemap
04
Solution
Homecook enables you to easily prepare meals using ingredients you already have at home. Simply scan your grocery receipts and items, and it will generate recipes based on what you have on hand. No need to waste time or money unnecessarily eating out!
The final design, Homecook, delivers:
Smart Pantry: A live inventory updated by barcode or receipt scans.
Recipe Generator: Instantly find recipes using only what’s on hand.
Step-by-Step Videos: Follow along visually for better cooking outcomes.
Accessible UI: Warm palette, clean typography, and simple hierarchy.
Before
Outdated layout, poor hierarchy, and minimal story.
after
Bold visual storytelling and streamlined donation flow.
05
Design Action: Receipt Scanning + Pantry tracking + Recipe Generation + Video Recipe Guides.
Design Metric: Users waste less food, feel more confident cooking.
Business Outcome: Increased engagement and loyalty for food-tech platforms by blending convenience with inspiration.
Expected impact: Homecook empowers users to save money, reduce food waste, and cook at home more consistently.
06
Homecook’s scanning and video features provided a distinct competitive edge, but the absence of live user testing limited validation of usability and food waste impact. A concept like this positions a food or grocery-tech company to differentiate through sustainability. Next steps include adding nutrition filters, expanding recipe variety, and conducting usability studies with families to ensure adoption and measurable outcomes.