Dishcover — making cooking at home feel less like work

About

Problem

Many people struggle with cooking — whether they feel uninspired, lack experience, or simply don't enjoy spending time in the kitchen. When hunger strikes, they often feel stuck with the same repetitive meals or don't know what to cook with the ingredients they have. This leads to frustration, wasted food, or the temptation to order takeout again.

Solution

Dishcover helps by offering easy, step-by-step recipes that match the ingredients in your kitchen. Whether you're a beginner or just need a quick idea, the app turns everyday cooking into a simple and fun process — no planning, no stress, just tasty results.

Process

The design process included multiple overlapping stages that were often developed in parallel rather than following a strict linear path.

01
Research / Analysis
- User research
- User personas
- Competitive analysis
- Information architecture
- Functional analysis
02
Ideation
- JTBD
- User flow
- Customer journey map
- Low-fidelity wireframes
- Interactive wireframes
03
Design
- Visual concept
- Design system
- Icon design
04
Testing
- Specification
- Interactive prototype
- User testing
- Iterations of edits

Research

I looked at the problem from four sides before drawing a screen: personas for who cooks and what they need, jobs to be done for what the app is hired for, a comparison with Mealime, Tasty and Kitchen Stories, and a customer journey map from the first launch to rating a dish. Its pain points are what the screens below are built on.

4
personas
from the user research
3
competitors compared
Mealime, Tasty and Kitchen Stories
7
journey stages
from the first launch to rating the dish

Olga, 22

Student · Solvency: low

Motivation: Cook quick, tasty, and budget-friendly meals to save time and money.
Expectations: Simple recipes with minimal ingredients, filters for price and cooking time.

Sophie, 32

Young parent · Solvency: medium

Motivation: Prepare healthy meals for the whole family, considering the kids' preferences and needs.
Expectations: Family- and kid-friendly recipes, meal planning options, time-saving solutions.

Alex, 38

Freelancer · Solvency: high

Motivation: Cook quick, healthy meals to stay energized throughout the day.
Expectations: Fast and nutritious recipes, calorie tracking integration, healthy eating tips.

Chloe, 44

Food blogger · Solvency: high

Motivation: Find inspiration for new dishes, share recipes with followers.
Expectations: Unique recipes with beautiful presentation, ability to upload own recipes, social media integration, vivid images and detailed instructions.

Project	A cooking service
Problem the app solves	Hunger
When the app is needed	The user is tired of the usual dishes and wants to cook something unusual The user finds a few ingredients left in the fridge (say, eggs, tomatoes and cheese) and doesn’t know what to make with them Guests are coming over tonight and a tasty dinner has to be cooked A young family plans the week’s meals to spend less and use groceries wisely
Direct competitors	Tasty, Kitchen Stories: Easy Recipes
Indirect competitors	Cooking TV shows YouTube Relatives
Substitutes	Food delivery apps

Stage	Onboarding	Registration	Personalization	Choosing a recipe	Previewing	Cooking	Rating the dish
User actions	Learn about the app	Sign up as quickly as possible	Dietary preferences Ingredients to avoid or allergic to	Pick a dish	Watch a short video preview Check ingredients Read step-by-step instructions	Start cooking with guidance	Rate the dish Follow the creator Share recipe
User questions	How does this work?	What do I need to do? How secure is this? Why do I need to register?	Why do I need this?	What do I want to cook? Will I be able to prepare it? What ingredients do I need? How much time will it take?	Can I make this? What are the exact ingredients? What are the proportions?	What's included in the dish? How much salt for 4 people? How do I go back?	Why should I bother? What's in it for me?
Pain points	Why is this taking so long?	I don't have time or energy to register now	When can I finally start choosing recipes?	Hard to tell if it suits me	Video isn't clear Too much info at once	No visuals during the process Can't figure out how to go back a step	Don't want to do extra steps
Positive moments	"Nice! I can plan meals for the whole week."	Registration was quick and easy	"Cool, I can mark my favorite ingredients!"	"I found something simple and fun I wouldn't have thought of!"	"Just one preview and I knew I wanted to cook it!"	Clear step-by-step process Easy to adjust portions	It was easy and fun, and the dish turned out great!
Ideas & solutions	Allow users to skip onboarding Keep it under 3 screens with a strong value proposition Show a progress bar so users know how much is left	Keep it super simple Allow social logins (Apple, Google, etc.) Show progress bar Allow users to skip and register later	Add a progress bar Let users skip or finish later	Show short description and rating Add filters for simplicity, time, and ingredients	Make previews clear and concise Break down steps into digestible parts	Choose number of servings to adjust quantities Include photos or short videos for each step Add progress bar with the ability to jump between steps	Give points or rewards Let users skip this step Prompt review next time the app opens

User flow

Designed for simplicity, Dishcover guides users through an intuitive journey — from onboarding and exploring recipes to following step-by-step instructions and cooking with confidence.

Wireframes

100+ wireframes were created during the design process, from the allergy picker and the paywall to the step-by-step cooking screens.

Screens

Every flow from the map, designed in light and dark mode from one set of components.

Screen 01

First Launch

Users can skip any step during the first-time experience — no pressure, just flexibility. Login is quick and simple: no passwords, just a phone number and a one-time code. A short personalization step lets users choose their diet, highlight allergens and mark ingredients they'd like to avoid, making every recipe feel just right.

Screen 02

Main Screen

The home screen brings everything together — personalized recipe suggestions, easy access to filters, and a seamless way to jump back into cooking. The carousel opens with a subscription banner, followed by dishes tailored to the user. To keep things fresh, a photo shows several recipes at once: tap a dish in the picture to open it, or see every recipe in the photo as a list.

Home screen: greeting, Dishcover Plus banner, categories, recipe carousel, best chefs and a drinks photo with tappable hotspots

Screen 03

Recipe Page

Everything you need to cook — in one place: step-by-step instructions, ingredients and tips. Cooking Mode is a hands-free, step-by-step experience that keeps you focused on the dish. If you'd rather stay out of it, the recipe page keeps a simplified list of all steps for quick reference. After cooking, a short rating helps personalize future suggestions.

The recipe page in dark mode, on a table with eggs and toast

Screen 04

Search Page

Search finds recipes by ingredients, dish names, or simply exploring ideas. For users who aren't looking for something specific, curated collections offer inspiration. To make the search more tailored, filters cover preparation time, category and dietary preferences.

Search: cuisines and dietary collections, popular searches, results for pasta, the drinks collection and the filter sheet

A cook dusted in flour checks his phone; a hand holds the pasta results in dark mode

Screen 05

Favorites & Chef page

Your go-to place for saved content: the Favorites page lets you revisit both your favorite recipes and chefs. When a user likes a recipe, they can add it to a cookbook to keep their favorites neatly organized and easy to find.

Adding a recipe to a cookbook, cookbooks and favourite chefs tabs, and a chef's page

Screen 06

User Profile & Subscription

Dishcover relies on a subscription model as its primary way to support the app and provide premium features. Dishcover Plus+ adds exclusive recipes and an ad-free experience, yearly or monthly, each with a free trial. The profile keeps the current plan next to personalization, notifications, language and display settings.

Results

100+
screens
every flow from the journey map
3.5
months
from research to the last screen
160+
hours of work
2
modes, light and dark
from one component set

A Dishcover billboard on a glass building: 'Cooking at home? Easy as eggs'

Every screen of the app laid out by flow, light mode on the left and dark mode on the right

Thanks for reading to the end. The original case, with the films in full, lives on Behance.

50K+
views on Behance
2.3K
appreciations on Behance

How a culinary app can make cooking at home feel less like work.