Role: Research Lead, Brand Designer
Opportunity
For many young adults, moving out on your own comes with a lot of firsts, and cooking independently can be one of the most challenging. From deciding what to make to figuring out how to use the random ingredients hiding in the back of the fridge, everyday meal prep often leads to unnecessary stress and expensive takeout habits. Our team saw an opportunity to create a tool that makes cooking feel less intimidating and more approachable.
Goal
As the lead researcher and brand designer, my goal was to understand what challenges gets in the way of young adults cooking at home. I led user research to uncover common frustrations and used those insights to help shape both the platform's features and a brand identity that felt approachable, encouraging, and easy to trust.
Bringing it to life
I organized user interviews and research activities to better understand how young adults approach meal planning, grocery shopping, and cooking for themselves. These insights helped our team develop features like personalized recipe suggestions, ingredient tracking, and guided cooking support. Alongside the research, I created the brand guidelines, organizing the logo, color palette, typography, and illustration style to give Chef.e a friendly personality that feels right at home in the kitchen.
Outcome
The result is Chef.e, an AI-powered kitchen turns everyday kitchen challenges into a more confident and enjoyable cooking experience. By combining personalized recommendations with an approachable brand identity, the experience transforms everyday kitchen challenges into opportunities for learning and building confidence! The project demonstrates how thoughtful research and design can turn a common frustration into a meaningful everyday tool.
