app
NYU · Design Process for Learning
FirstBite: Designing sustainable cooking habits for college students
A mobile learning experience that helps busy college students cook more often, with less stress.
Role
Project lead, UX designer, learning designer
Timeline
4 months, Feb–May 2025
Team
4 designers
Tools
Figma, FigJam
At a glance
Problem
Students want to cook healthier and save money, but limited time, low confidence and inconsistent routines push them toward takeout.
Approach
Surveys with 18 college students, interviews and secondary research, five design principles, and a high-fidelity prototype.
Outcome
A guided cooking experience built on bite-sized video modules, personalized recommendations, and community feedback.
01 · Overview
Cooking on a student schedule
For many college students, living independently is their first time being responsible for what they eat. While cooking at home can be more affordable and healthier, it often feels unrealistic with busy schedules, limited experience, and small living spaces.
This project explores how to design a cooking experience that fits into students’ everyday lives and helps them build simple, sustainable habits without adding extra pressure.
My role
✦ Led project direction and aligned the team on key design decisions
✦ Coordinated team workflow, tasks, and timelines
✦ Designed core user flows, wireframes, and high-fidelity interfaces
✦ Developed and delivered the final interactive prototype
02 · The problem
Many college students struggle to cook for themselves and eat a balanced diet
Between academic workloads, social commitments, and limited time, convenience often takes priority. As a result, students frequently rely on takeout or processed foods, not because they want to, but because cooking feels time-consuming, difficult, or overwhelming.
Beyond time constraints, many students lack the confidence and foundational skills needed to cook independently. Without guidance that feels accessible and manageable, they face challenges in:
✦ Maintaining a healthy diet
✦ Managing food expenses
✦ Building long-term cooking habits
03 · Reframing the opportunity
Through this, we realized the issue wasn’t just access to recipes. It was about how cooking is experienced.
“Students don’t need more recipes. They need a way to make cooking feel approachable, achievable, and worth fitting into their daily lives.”
This shifted the focus from designing a better recipe to designing a better learning experience around cooking.
04 · Research insights
What we learned from students
To understand how college students approach cooking, we synthesized findings from surveys, interviews, and secondary research.
Key barriers
✦ Low confidence: many students lack foundational cooking skills and don’t know where to start
✦ Time: cooking feels too time-consuming for busy schedules (72% cited lack of time as the main barrier)
✦ Limited resources: tight budgets and basic kitchen setups restrict what’s possible (94% rely only on basic appliances)
Behavioral patterns
✦ Rely on social media and YouTube for quick learning (72% and 55%)
✦ Approach cooking as a one-off task, not a habit
✦ Avoid cooking when it feels overwhelming
What this means
Students don’t lack motivation. They lack a system that makes cooking feel manageable.
Based on survey responses from 18 college students and supporting secondary research
05 · Refining the focus
From small kitchens to busy schedules
Initially, we approached this problem by focusing on the physical constraints of student living spaces, assuming that limited kitchen access was the primary barrier. However, research revealed a different pattern.
Initial assumption
Students struggle mainly due to limited kitchen space and tools
What research showed
Students struggle most with time and consistency
Students are motivated to cook healthier meals and save money, but struggle to fit cooking into their daily routines. This shifted the focus from designing for small kitchen environments to designing for busy students who need simple, time-efficient solutions.
06 · From insights to design
Five design principles
To turn this shift into design decisions, we set five principles to guide the work:
Design for speed and simplicity
Students are more likely to cook when meals are quick to prepare and require minimal planning. The experience prioritizes fast, low-effort solutions that fit into everyday routines.
Reduce cognitive overload
Many beginners feel overwhelmed when cooking. By simplifying instructions and presenting information progressively, the experience helps users focus on one step at a time without confusion.
Support confidence through guidance
Students often avoid cooking due to lack of confidence. The experience offers step-by-step support and reassurance, helping users feel more capable as they progress.
Design for real-life constraints
Rather than assuming ideal conditions, the experience is designed around what students actually have: basic tools, tight budgets, and shared spaces.
Encourage habit formation
Cooking is often treated as a one-off task. The experience supports consistency through simple routines, helping users build long-term habits.
07 · Final solution
The final experience
The final experience transforms cooking into a structured, engaging process that fits into students’ daily routines. Rather than presenting recipes as static instructions, the platform supports users through guided learning, personalization, and community interaction.
Bite-sized video modules
Recipes are broken into short, step-by-step videos, allowing users to follow along without feeling overwhelmed. Modules are organized by skill level and cooking time, helping students quickly choose meals that fit their schedule.
Personalized experience
An onboarding flow provides tailored recipe recommendations based on user preferences and skill level. An integrated AI chatbot offers real-time guidance, reducing uncertainty and helping users stay on track.
Community and feedback
Users can share their dishes and receive peer and expert feedback, creating a more engaging and supportive experience. This encourages consistency and makes cooking feel less like an isolated task.
08 · Impact
From a chore to a routine
The solution reframes cooking from a time-consuming task into a guided, manageable experience.
Lower barrier to entry
✦ Bite-sized video modules make cooking easier to follow and less overwhelming
✦ Personalized recommendations help users start quickly without overthinking
Increased confidence and learning
✦ Step-by-step guidance and real-time support help users feel more capable as they cook
✦ Feedback encourages reflection and gradual skill improvement
Sustained engagement
✦ Community interaction and feedback create a more motivating, supportive experience
✦ Cooking becomes less of a one-time task and more of a repeatable routine
Long-term behavior change
✦ The experience encourages consistency over perfection
✦ Supports sustainable cooking habits over time
09 · Reflection
What I learned
This project challenged me to balance speed, scope, and quality within tight deadlines.
Working in a team of four, we occasionally faced misalignment across different parts of the project. To address this, I focused on revisiting earlier decisions, aligning on a clear direction, and delegating tasks based on individual strengths, which improved both efficiency and consistency.
One of the most valuable lessons was staying disciplined with scope. It was tempting to add more features, but prioritizing what truly supported the core experience led to a more focused and intentional solution.
What I found most rewarding was seeing the project evolve from an initial idea into a fully realized prototype. It reinforced the importance of translating a vision into a structured, user-centered experience.
nlk9458@nyu.edu →
Open to full-time roles and freelance projects
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