UX Kudos: Cookthink.com Choreography cans meet 3D online The Pepsi Sphere September 9, 2009

Why is it worth taking a look at Cook Think? Cookthink.com is an example of excellent user experience and information architecture Visitor’s mind-set guides the entire experience User experience guides you through the site and helps you learn how to use the site Search, tag cloud and relational exposure to content very well-thought out

Cookthink.com is an example of excellent user experience and information architecture

Visitor’s mind-set guides the entire experience

User experience guides you through the site and helps you learn how to use the site

Search, tag cloud and relational exposure to content very well-thought out

Cook Think Basics Launched in late 2006 Created with the goal of “ creat(ing) a cleaner, smarter recipe website, something with consistently good recipes, more efficient search, better resources and friendly advice.”

Launched in late 2006

Created with the goal of “ creat(ing) a cleaner, smarter recipe website, something with consistently good recipes, more efficient search, better resources and friendly advice.”

Cook Think Basics Cooking, most often, is “ about satisfying a craving right now with the ingredients you’ve got on hand. It’s about using leftovers well and experimenting little by little. It’s about what you’re going to have for dinner tonight.”

Cooking, most often, is “ about satisfying a craving right now with the ingredients you’ve got on hand. It’s about using leftovers well and experimenting little by little. It’s about what you’re going to have for dinner tonight.”

It’s the Pandora of cooking Pandora utilizes the “Music Genome” to provide recommendations for music a user might like, based on their expressed preferences Cookthink taps into the “Recipe Mapping Project” to break down the components of each recipe, analyzing dozens of characteristics about what goes into a dish — what it tastes like, smells like, feels like, and how it makes you feel to eat it.

Pandora utilizes the “Music Genome” to provide recommendations for music a user might like, based on their expressed preferences

Cookthink taps into the “Recipe Mapping Project” to break down the components of each recipe, analyzing dozens of characteristics about what goes into a dish — what it tastes like, smells like, feels like, and how it makes you feel to eat it.

Cook Think Basics Users tap tap into this process when they use Cookthink's recipe search tool to look for recipes by ingredient (pork chop, zucchini), dish type (salad, burrito) cuisine (Italian, Thai) and mood (exuberant, summery). When users “cookthink it,” the site takse what they’re craving and compare it to all of their recipes, returning recipes that best fits what you’re looking for.

Users tap tap into this process when they use Cookthink's recipe search tool to look for recipes by ingredient (pork chop, zucchini), dish type (salad, burrito) cuisine (Italian, Thai) and mood (exuberant, summery).

When users “cookthink it,” the site takse what they’re craving and compare it to all of their recipes, returning recipes that best fits what you’re looking for.

The Visitor’s Mindset Guides the User Experience Choreography cans meet 3D online The Pepsi Sphere July 28, 2009

What do I want for dinner?

What are you craving? Free-form search box combined with four sets of tag clouds Ingredients Dish Cuisine Mood

Free-form search box combined with four sets of tag clouds

Ingredients

Dish

Cuisine

Mood

What are you craving? Lets you combine choices from the tag cloud (click on a word and it appears in the search box) or free-form typing Once you click “search,” you are taken to ...

Lets you combine choices from the tag cloud (click on a word and it appears in the search box) or free-form typing

Once you click “search,” you are taken to ...

Cookthink: Search results with rollover state

Cookthink: Recipe page Recipe results display: Number of people served Description Ingredients Instructions But also: Prep time Cook time Tools needed Dishes it goes well with Call to action to: Save to my meal builder Modify recipe by adding ingredients, dishes, etc.

Recipe results display:

Number of people served

Description

Ingredients

Instructions

But also:

Prep time

Cook time

Tools needed

Dishes it goes well with

Call to action to:

Save to my meal builder

Modify recipe by adding ingredients, dishes, etc.

Meal Builder Meal Builder allows you to: Create new meals Add dishes to meals you create Print out meal recipes Send to a friend Edit meal Compare prep and cook time for all dishes Search for other ingredients, dishes, etc.

Meal Builder allows you to:

Create new meals

Add dishes to meals you create

Print out meal recipes

Send to a friend

Edit meal

Compare prep and cook time for all dishes

Search for other ingredients, dishes, etc.

Meal Builder: Meal Timer Meal Timer allows you to compare prep time for all dishes

Meal Timer allows you to compare prep time for all dishes

UX that helps you learn how to use the site Choreography cans meet 3D online The Pepsi Sphere July 28, 2009

What are you craving? Tag cloud presents popular terms that prompt user for the type of queries they might enter into the search box “ basily” “ soothing” “ exciting” “ kosher” “ hangover-friendly”

Tag cloud presents popular terms that prompt user for the type of queries they might enter into the search box

“ basily”

“ soothing”

“ exciting”

“ kosher”

“ hangover-friendly”

Meal Builder Most Popular call-out on home page: Exposes content that other users have found valuable Recipes Reference Searches

Most Popular call-out on home page:

Exposes content that other users have found valuable

Recipes

Reference

Searches

Search, tag cloud and relational exposure to content Choreography cans meet 3D online The Pepsi Sphere July 28, 2009

Search and tag cloug Search and tag cloud work together. User can click on terms in the tag cloud to add them to the search field Tag cloud terms help prompt ideas for searching

Search and tag cloud work together.

User can click on terms in the tag cloud to add them to the search field

Tag cloud terms help prompt ideas for searching

What do I want for dinner? I wonder what a “brothy outdoorsy” dinner would taste like? Let’s see …

Relational exposure to content Search leads to results Results lead to recipe Recipe encourages saving to meal builder Meal builder encourages comparison of dishes, conducting new searches, etc. Each step gets user more involved in the site

Search leads to results

Results lead to recipe

Recipe encourages saving to meal builder

Meal builder encourages comparison of dishes, conducting new searches, etc.

Each step gets user more involved in the site

A few minor quibbles: Because no site is perfect Choreography cans meet 3D online The Pepsi Sphere July 28, 2009

UX issues Wayfinding This is the main “reference” page, but there are no overt queues to tell you that. Signing up for the “Root Source” e-mail newsletter is a pain if you’re already a member May be impossible. I tried to sign up for a newsletter using an existing account and was unable to

Wayfinding

This is the main “reference” page, but there are no overt queues to tell you that.

Signing up for the “Root Source” e-mail newsletter is a pain if you’re already a member

May be impossible. I tried to sign up for a newsletter using an existing account and was unable to

UX issues Advertising The ad “Mom Loses” 41 lbs. After Discovery” cheapens the whole site experience

Advertising

The ad “Mom Loses” 41 lbs. After Discovery” cheapens the whole site experience

What I really dig about this site … Choreography cans meet 3D online The Pepsi Sphere

If you remember nothing else … Love how the user experience matches up to the mind set of someone using the site Search and tag cloud work together in a unique way that makes sense to the user User experience helps you learn how to use the site and exposes you logically to more and more site features as you move through the site

Love how the user experience matches up to the mind set of someone using the site

Search and tag cloud work together in a unique way that makes sense to the user

User experience helps you learn how to use the site and exposes you logically to more and more site features as you move through the site

If you remember nothing else … This site makes cooking seem so easy that you want to start cooking something Bottom line -- it’s an enjoyable experience – something we should be striving for with every project we undertake

This site makes cooking seem so easy that you want to start cooking something

Bottom line -- it’s an enjoyable experience – something we should be striving for with every project we undertake

Harley Jebens Senior Information Architect http://www.linkedin.com/in/hjebens [email_address] Ph. 469-235-4087 Choreography cans meet 3D online The Pepsi Sphere September 9, 2009