Dished
A mobile app that helps users discover new recipes and explore global cuisines by connecting dishes and ingredients with their cultural and climatic origins.
TIMELINE
Jan – Mar 2025
TEAM
Solo
tools & skills
User Research, UX/UI Design
BACKGROUND
How do cuisines develop over time based on geographical and sociocultural factors?
For my thesis project, I chose to explore the intersection of cuisine, culture, and climate by positing this question. This led me to look into online platforms that highlighted the origin of dishes.
However, I realized that there is no central, engaging platform for users to explore the cultural context of food. This led me to explore a way to educate people on the sociocultural aspect of cuisine in a fun and interactive way.
pain points
True cultural context is missing from most recipe platforms.
Existing food discovery platforms are cluttered and difficult to navigate.
Many food-related platforms don't adapt to personal tastes and/or diet.
People rarely venture beyond familiar, well-known dishes when cooking.
Restaurants with lesser-known cuisines struggle to attract diners.
Cooking new dishes can be intimidating, time-consuming, and costly.
competitive analysis
I analyzed existing food/recipe discovery platforms to understand current solutions and identify gaps in the market.
Taste Atlas
Comprehensive content on dishes and their origins, but messy navigation and unclear social features. The rating system for dishes is problematic due to the subjectivity of taste. However, it is clear that their audience is for people that engage with food on a deeper, cultural level.
SuperCook
A handy tool for making the most of the user's existing ingredients. It generates recipes from Google based on the user-inputted pantry items, providing an intuitive, practical experience.
SideChef
Personalized recipe recommendations with convenient grocery list and meal planning features. It has more emphasis on practical use (e.g. cost-effectiveness of meals, detailed cooking instructions) but lacks cultural context on dishes.
NYT Cooking
A well-known recipe source. There are good organizational features such as being able to save recipes and search based on meal type, diet, and cook time. But, these preferences aren't tied to your profile so the user experience feels impersonal.
While highlighting the sociocultural side of food creates a unique niche, education alone isn’t enough for a functional experience. My key takeaway was that I needed both education and practical, real-world application for a viable product.
problem statement
Users need a way to explore global cuisines that combines cultural learning with everyday usability.
goals
Connect dishes and cuisines to their cultural and climatic origins.
Help users discover unique recipes and ingredients from around the world.
Adapt to the user's taste palate and diet for personalized food recommendations.
Make global cooking more accessible to users by making use of existing pantry items.
information architecture
wireframes
design iterations
My initial design used pixel art and bright colours for a retro-inspired look. After testing with peers, I received feedback that it felt too childish.
In my next design iteration, I opted for a monochromatic design with a one accent colour and removed the dark borders. However, it now lacked visual interest due to the overwhelming amount of white. Large blocks of text also entailed a lot of scrolling.
I opted for a new visual direction entirely; one that was sophisticated and editorial with pops of colour and large sans-serif headings. By emanating the vibe of a cookbook or food magazine, the design lends a sense of authority to the user experience.
For better flow, I added elements such as tabs and floating buttons to limit the amount of scrolling.
solution
Reimagining culinary discovery.
The final product, Dished, is a mobile app that helps users explore food on a meaningful level with seamless navigation between cuisines, dishes, ingredients, regions, and climates to maximize discovery.
I designed based on the user experience of my persona Lila. Because Lila is vegetarian, the app will primarily show dishes suitable for her diet. Non-tailored options are shown only where relevant (e.g. trending on the explore page or featured on a cuisine's page).
Users go through an onboarding process to set dietary restrictions and preferred cuisines for a tailored experience.
Daily features and curated recommendations based on your diet and taste palate.
Each dish page provides extensive information, encouraging exploration and culinary discovery.
Find recipes using your pantry items or add what’s missing to your grocery list.
lessons learned
User research drives solutions.
I initially struggled with the practical side of the app–who would the target audience for a socioculturally-conscious food app be? But by rooting my design decisions in user research and real-world problems, I was able to translate research insights into a functional product.
Constant iteration leads to better design.
Frequent testing and feedback shaped Dished’s evolution. Each round of iteration helped refine its flow, visual hierarchy, and usability which turned rudimentary concepts into a product that felt both functional and intuitive.