jia mi

Academic Project — Feb 2020 - April 2020, Revised Nov 2023

A Chinese recipes website encouraging cultural appreciation and connection through authentic Chinese food

View Prototype
Images by Sarah Leung via The Woks of Life
Recognition
Advertising and Design
Club of Canada—
Interactive

2021 Student Finalist

Role

Research

UX

UI

Branding

Illustration

Case Study

Problem Space

A common experience that second-generation immigrants face is the gradual disconnect they feel from their heritage.

Qualitative Research

I chose to focus on the culture and values of the Chinese-Canadian community. I interviewed 7 Chinese Canadian second-generation immigrants living in BC, Canada to understand how they felt about their heritage.

Dual Belonging

Interviewees expressed the feeling of not fully belonging in either of their cultures, especially with their Chinese heritage.

Losing Touch With Heritage

As interviewees continue to prioritize their efforts towards academic and career pursuits, as well as adapting to Western society, they worry they will gradually disconnect with their Chinese heritage.

Reliance on First-Generation Connections

Their current connections to heritage often stem from interactions with their first-generation relatives, such as celebrating holidays and enjoying the cultural foods their parents make. They expressed a lack of knowledge to be able to continue these connections independently.

Opportunity

Empower second-generation Chinese immigrants living in western countries to reconnect with their heritage through the exploration of Chinese cuisine

The following persona represents my target audience’s needs, concerns and behaviour.

User Persona

Solution

A Chinese recipes website that inspires second-generation Chinese immigrants to connect with their culinary heritage. jia mi simplifies the cooking process, engages users in stories of culinary cultures, and encourages them to use food as a gesture of love for those they hold dear.

View Prototype

Explore

A straightforward way to browse recipes, what users can expect from a recipes website.

3 Ways to Explore Recipes

Explore By Region

To encourage users to learn about China’s culinary cultures, users can browse recipes by region, and read about the traditions and influences that shaped each of China’s unique cuisines.

Create a Set Menu

Building on China’s culture of family-style meals, users can create a set menu to cook a meal for their loved ones. The feature offers an opportunity for users to strengthen their sense of community. By recommending recipe pairings based on user preferences, it aims to make cooking easier for users unfamiliar with recipe pairings.

Brand

With the essence: a taste of home in every dish, I named the brand jia mi. jia mi means to “add rice” in Chinese, and alludes to the custom of having leftovers on the table to ensure that everyone is well-fed.

Logo

Design Guidelines

This website design is a revision of the prototype I made in 2020, which you can view here. What follows in this case study are the steps I took to improve its user experience, and expand on user flows and interactions.

View Original Prototype (2020)

My Process

Low-Fidelity Wireframes

Mid-Fidelity Wireframes

I made 4 iterations of medium-fidelity wireframes, with a focus on expanding the user flow for creating a set menu. The first 3 iterations were user tested to identify issues and opportunities in their experience.

View Mid-Fidelity Wireframes V1
View Mid-Fidelity Wireframes V2
View Mid-Fidelity Wireframes V3
View Mid-Fidelity Wireframes V4

Each round of user testing involved 5 testers (for a total of 15). These tests were conducted remotely over Zoom. Users were given a scenario, and the task of curating recipes for a holiday meal.  My focus was on the user flow of creating a set menu.

User Testing

Major Revisions

More User Freedom

Users are able to add recipes to their set menu even if they exit the task flow. For a more efficient user flow, they can view recipes in quick view without leaving the page, and use more shortcuts to quickly return to the page they’re looking for.

Assurance for Completing a Task

After selecting recipes, a confirmation page is added so that users are assured they’ve finished their set menu. The final page also includes a comprehensive ingredient list for their combined recipes to make assembling ingredients easier.

Improving Clarity & Convenience

Giving users’ a better understanding of how the feature works, and offering the option to browse already made set menus if they don’t want to spend the time making their own.

Each round of user testing involved 5 testers (for a total of 15). These tests were conducted remotely over Zoom. Users were given a scenario, and the task of curating recipes for a holiday meal.  My focus was on the user flow of creating a set menu.

User Testing

Major Revisions

More User Freedom

Users are able to add recipes to their set menu even if they exit the task flow. For a more efficient user flow, they can view recipes in quick view without leaving the page, and use more shortcuts to quickly return to the page they’re looking for.

Assurance for Completing a Task

After selecting recipes, a confirmation page is added so that users are assured they’ve finished their set menu. The final page also includes a comprehensive ingredient list for their combined recipes to make assembling ingredients easier.

Improving Clarity & Convenience

Giving users’ a better understanding of how the feature works, and offering the option to browse already made set menus if they don’t want to spend the time making their own.

Interactive Prototype

Key Learnings

Desired Impact

Through simplified cooking processes, engaging storytelling, and personalized set menus, I aim to encourage more people to explore Chinese cuisine. Though second-generation Chinese immigrants are my primary target audience, I hope it inspires everyone to discover the vast culinary delights China has to offer.

Future Steps

I’d like to conduct further user testing and research to evaluate my target audience’s needs, pain points and behaviours within the context of their culinary heritage, and my proposed solution. As users typically access recipes from their mobile devices, I would also like to adapt the design to mobile screen sizes, and explore how jia mi can help users cook meals together–how they can interact with one set menu.

To read the full case study, please view on desktop or tablet!

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