From the start, our primary goal was to better understand both the pain points people faced with getting dinner on the table every night and the opportunities not being addressed by other recipes and cooking apps.
We kicked-off our research sprint with user surveys and interviews, speaking with working professionals over the age of 25 in the United States to better understand their experiences with meal preparation. From the research, two common themes stood out:
Research also helped us better understand how people were using other popular recipes and cooking apps. We analyzed and documented competitor flows, strengths and weaknesses to help refine our unique value proposition and product vision.
Before we began outlining No Thyme’s critical user journey, it was imperative that we clearly focused and articulated our product vision to guide product design and development. Our research and competitive analysis helped us define the core principles that were at the heart of our product vision.
From the onset we wanted to avoid over-complicating the user experience and thus focused on a single use case with a specific goal.
To develop No Thyme's visual identity, we began by distilling our product vision into elements that could help guide our explorations.
Name
We set out to find a name that was delightful, easy-to-remember, clearly articulated our brand vision of making it quick, easy and fun to get dinner on the table and had anavailable domain name and handle across major social media platforms. We love puns and while we brainstormed and tested many names, “No Thyme” was a clear fan-favorite with ties to both cooking and our value position of making it quick, easy and fun to cook when you have “no time”.
Color Palette
We wanted a color scheme that was representative of the food world and focused our attention on green to evoke a feeling of freshness. In the app, imagery is the star of the show and thus we chose a monochromatic color scheme that let the food photography shine.
Typography
We wanted the app to feel clean and familiar and thus chose to use system fonts throughout the app. SF Pro is a neutral, flexible, sans-serif typeface for iOS, while Roboto features both geometric forms and open curves on Android.
Voice and Tone
Our brand voice and tone is our personality and we aimed to be:
Photography
"Your eyes can be bigger than your stomach". When it comes to food, photography is the star of the show. We looked for premium stock photography shot in a modern aesthetic with natural light, rich vibrant colors, neutral backgrounds and well-decorated scenes where the dish shines. Even though we relied on stock imagery, we attempted to use flat-lay photos whenever possible to have a consistent look-and-feel throughout the app.
