CookIn 🍳
Designing a new way to enable remote social interactionsAR Design
6 weeks
Group Project
What is CookIN?
We created CookIN to imagine how new technology can facilitate complex connected experiences so that people can continue to grow and cook together.
CookIN is a remote social cooking experience that utilizes augmented reality to bring friends and family in different physical locations together. Through spatial UI, it facilitates seamless conversation and reimagines how recipes are presented.
CookIN is a remote social cooking experience that utilizes augmented reality to bring friends and family in different physical locations together. Through spatial UI, it facilitates seamless conversation and reimagines how recipes are presented.
My Role
As UX/UI designer and researcher, I ideated and developed the user experience as well as conducted interviews and concept testing. I ran simulations to understand the physical needs of users as they cooked and designed UI elements to account for peripheral vision and common cooking motions. As a visual designer I created the product branding, prototyped UI animations in After Effects, and produced our product vision video.
Research
Food and Socialization are central to our daily experience
From Potlucks and BBQs to baking at home with family, cooking and eating are central elements of our social lives. For those separated from friends and family, cooking remotely together is complicated and riddled with challenges. To understand the needs of our potential users, we took an interative research and design approach.
From Potlucks and BBQs to baking at home with family, cooking and eating are central elements of our social lives. For those separated from friends and family, cooking remotely together is complicated and riddled with challenges. To understand the needs of our potential users, we took an interative research and design approach.
What is body storming and how did we use it?
Holding physical tests was a critical part of our AR design process because of the complex interactions between digital interfaces, the physical environment, and the user's body.
During bodystorming, we tested the effectiveness of audio vs text instructions and how users felt each affected their cognitive load. We simulated the AR environments by holding up UI elements and tested how to enable social interaction during the cooking session
Holding physical tests was a critical part of our AR design process because of the complex interactions between digital interfaces, the physical environment, and the user's body.
During bodystorming, we tested the effectiveness of audio vs text instructions and how users felt each affected their cognitive load. We simulated the AR environments by holding up UI elements and tested how to enable social interaction during the cooking session
Iterations & Design Decisions
In Perspective Annotations vs. Tethered Annotations
To ensure readability while still ensuring users could understand what items were in question, we decided to utilize dynamic tethered UI rather than stationary UI in perspective.
Recipe steps with ability to minimize and shuffle
Users often need to refer back to instructions while cooking; however, a consistently visible recipe in an AR environment was overwhelming. We developed an easy-to-open side menu that allows users to jump between steps and minimize when instructions are no longer needed.
Spatial audio and mimicking physical presence
In our research and bodystorming sessions, we found that people felt more connected when they could hear and see their cooking partner. However, too much interaction was distracting. We decided to utilize spatial audio so the conversation would map to a light 3d visual of your cooking buddy that appears during natural breaks.
