Kitchen Helper
Remind the time and process in real-time when cooking depends on hand gesture
Project Overview
In my simple interview, many people choose to practice cooking, especially in a covid-isolated pandemic. They often use some mobile apps to refer to the above-recommended steps to cook. But every time you need to open the mobile phone APP, step by step, you also need to use timers and other auxiliary tools frequently. This is very inconvenient.
How might we help the novices in the kitchen to read the reference steps more freely and use the timer at the same time, in order to free up hands and pay more attention to cooking?
Duration
4 weeks, 2021
Project Type
Individual Project
Research | UX Design | UI Design | Concept Direction | Wireframe | Prototype | User Test
Solution
The smartwatch is a very good platform to figure out this problem. I want to create a support app on the smartwatch which can view each step of cooking on the watch interface, users can control the next step with simple gestures, and you can directly time when you need it, no longer need to manually set the timer device. In order to help users who do not know how to cook or want to learn cooking, to efficiently and accurately perform the steps required for cooking, free both hands, increase efficiency, and more focus on cooking.
How do I find this challenge?
This is an unproposed project with a smartwatch as a platform, so I first find the pain points in my life through research and observation, and then finish finding a reasonable solution.
Through divergent thinking on the four directions of clothing, food, housing, and transportation, I began to find the pain points of my goals. Then come up with hypotheses one by one. This is the brainstorming process.
Through the analysis of the existing apps in the market and simple interviews, I screened out three general directions and sorted out the use logic of each direction.
Direction01: Smoking cessation assistant
Many people are accustomed to smoking due to other reasons such as increased life pressure. However, more and more people are aware of the health hazards of smoking and want to take the initiative to quit smoking, but this is a very difficult process. So I want to design a smartwatch APP that can be connected to an electronic cigarette.
Direction02: Google Pay on Apple Watch
I found that even Alipay has a related app on the smartwatch. But Google pay hasn’t on this device. So I want to design a related watch app that matches Gpay. On the basis of scanning payment.
Direction03: Kitchen Assistant
In my simple interview, many people choose to practice cooking in a covid-isolated environment. They often use some mobile apps to refer to the above-recommended steps to cook. But every time you need to open the mobile phone APP, step by step, you also need to use timers and other auxiliary tools frequently. This is very inconvenient.
Finally, I chose Direction03: the kitchen assistant as the pain point of this project, in order to optimize the cooking experience for beginners.
After the direction is determined, a research plan is formulated.
Research Plan
Smartwatch - Kitchen app
- Interview (focus on users’ cooking experience)
- Questionnaire (focus on smartwatch daily using experience/gestures)
Overall Goal
1. To understand why some young people choose to cook at home rather than at restaurants (reasons and motivations).
2. Do these kinds of people want to have a better experience during cooking (why)?
3. What current struggles do they face during cooking at home? Gestures when using the watch.
Mental models
Umbrella Question
- Sub topic01: The reason why cook at home
- Sub topic02: The basic process or related Apps they have used before
- Sub topic03: Find the current struggles
Expert Interviews
5-6 One-on-one interviews
30-40 minutes each
Face-to-face/virtual remote
Participants
18-35 Years old
Students/workers
Introduction
In this study, I am interested in finding the reasons why more young people prefer to cook at home and what problems they are facing in order to find a better solution depending on the smartwatch device and have a better home cooking experience. The interview will be recorded, with all information strictly confidential and anonymous. Your information will only be used for study purposes and never shared publicly. It will take approximately 30-40 minutes for the interview.
Research Questions (Round 01)
Demographic + Get to Know Them - 5 min.
- What is your...Name | Age | Occupation/Major
Reasons for Cooking - 5 min
- How do you generally solve your daily meals?
- Why did you choose this method?
- Do you cook at home a lot?
- Why did you choose to cook at home/takeaway/restaurant?
Cooking Process - 10 min
- How did you learn to cook?
- Have you ever used any apps, are you still using them? Why did you choose these platforms?
- What is the general process when you cook now, and how long does it usually take?
- What support devices or software do I need to use?
Problems They Facing - 10 min
- What difficulties do you think you have encountered while cooking?
- Are there any impressive experiences you can share?
- If there is an assistant who can help you complete the steps of cooking together, how do you want him to help you?
Research Questions (Round 02)
(With low-fi paper prototyping)
+Do you have a habit of wearing a watch
+Usually the watch is worn on that hand
+Will there be habitual movements when wearing a watch
+Are there any operations that cannot be done with two hands when cooking?
+When cooking, will you confirm the total time/look at the time?
+In the whole process, it is preferred to use a phone to confirm the time or a watch? +What other electronic equipment will be used?
+When wearing a watch, what other problems do you think can solve?
Explore Insights
“I think I hope someone can help me suggest the next step”
“I've been using this kind of APP, in order to confirm the steps of making different dishes”
“My biggest difficulty is that one step was missed or wrong, which would cause the whole dish to fail.”
“I have to keep washing my hands. I read the recipes in the middle of cooking, but cooking requires time control, which is very inconvenient.”
Persona
Information Architecture & Sketch
Information Architecture & Sketch
The App on the mobile phone is more concerned with the overview of the steps and video tutorials, as well as social functions such as sharing your own dishes to gain a sense of accomplishment.
The functions on the smartwatch side focus more on the sequence reminder, timer, and companion function of each step. Because of the project proposition, I improved the interface and functions of the smartwatch side in the subsequent prototype creation.
Wireframes
Low-fi wireframes
Mid-fi wireframes
User Testing
Hi-fi Wireframes
Final Solution & Visualization
Get started with Kitchen Helper on the smartwatch
When the user downloads Kitchen Helper on the mobile phone, the matching application will be automatically downloaded on the watch. The little helper will always be here to accompany them through the entire cooking process
Quickly select and adjust dishes to make
Users can quickly select the dishes that have been collected on the mobile phone, and the APP on the watch will adjust the amount and time of the ingredients according to the number of people selected by the user. In addition, they can also adjust or delete the steps of cooking by themselves.
Emotional companionship
This virtual assistant will always accompany users when they are cooking, and there will be various dynamics. It can also turn on sound reminders to allow users to get emotional support when cooking.
The function of voice reminders also makes the whole process more convenient.
Gesture control to release hands
Use simple patterns to show each cooking step, and users can also jump directly to the next step reminder by shaking the wrist twice. When they need to pause during cooking, they can long-press the watch screen. Make every step of cooking can be flexibly controlled by users, release their hands, focus more on cooking, make the process clearer and reduce mistakes.
sense of achievement and motivation
After completing each dish, a small assistant will appear to encourage users, and the data will be updated to the mobile interface, which can be shared on the mobile terminal. Users can gain a sense of accomplishment and increase their interest in cooking.