My Role
As the sole designer at Sorted Food, I worked closely with a Product Manager, Content Manager, and Tech Lead over 3 months. My responsibilities included facilitating workshops, conducting user interviews, analysing insights, creating user flows and wireframes, testing prototypes via Maze, and managing the design handover to the dev team. The updated version of Sidekick launched in June 2023.
Challenge
Amplitude data highlighted a pivotal stage in the new user flow: users who added a recipe to their weekly planner within seven days of signing up were 78% more likely to cook a recipe. This action was a key driver of trial-to-paid conversions, with surveyed users confirming they saw the value of Sidekick only after cooking a recipe. Armed with this insight, we hypothesised that improving the percentage of new users adding a recipe to their weekly planner within their first week would subsequently impact conversion.
Workshop
Drawing on Jake Knapp’s Design Sprint methodology, I facilitated a two-day workshop with team members from product, development, and other key stakeholders. This approach fostered early team alignment and secured buy-in from the outset, while generating a diverse range of solutions to address the problem. The workshop outcomes centred on three critical aspects of the new user flow: onboarding, search functionality, and clearer primary actions.
Testing
User testing revealed a strong preference for a faster, simpler onboarding process. Many found the lengthy personalisation questions frustrating, eager instead to jump straight into the product. In response, we deprioritised the personalised recipe finder, streamlining sign-up to reduce friction and align with user expectations.
Solution
Users embraced the quick actions and improved search filters, valuing how they streamlined menu building and enhanced recipe discovery. Based on feedback, we refined the copy to further elevate clarity and usability before hand-off.
Design System
Under tight deadlines, a full redesign wasn’t practical. Instead, we seized the opportunity to transition from Adobe XD to Figma. I developed a scalable design system, built a robust component library, and standardised naming conventions. Collaborating closely with the development team, we implemented Storybook to achieve a near pixel-perfect translation from design to code, enhancing consistency and efficiency across the board.
Impact
Free trial users adding a recipe within their first week jumped from 35% to 60%, with the average weekly recipes cooked rising from 2.4 to 3.2. These early gains in engagement hint at a promising future for retention and lifetime value. It’s just the beginning, and I’m excited to see how continued refinement and scaling will shape the app’s long-term success.
Learnings
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If you would like to learn more about this project, please get in touch. I'm always open to chat.
