Fuse

What is the problem your solution is trying to solve?

Today, people are more technologically connected than ever, but there is still a concerning lack of understanding and appreciation for cultural diversity, particularly with food. Many home-cooks experience a lack of resources to become culturally literate with their food, leading to an unadventurous diet that lacks diversity and creativity. This lack of cultural literacy results in a limited palate but also perpetuates cultural ignorance and intolerance.

What is our solution to this problem?

Fuse provides diverse cultural recipes, along with ingredient alternatives to make appreciative fusion recipes. Fuse also provides tools and guidance for creating new fusion dishes, such as recipe suggestions and ingredient pairing recommendations, to help users feel more confident and creative in the kitchen. Ultimately, the app aims to promote cultural sharing, celebrate diversity through food, and inspire users to explore and create new fusion dishes.

Inspiration

We chose to develop Fuse because we believe that food is a powerful medium for cultural exchange, understanding, and appreciation. As food enthusiasts, we have always been interested in trying new dishes and learning about different cuisines from around the world. Angela My inspiration for this fusion recipe app stems from my personal desire to address the lack of resources available to home cooks who want to explore and appreciate different cultural cuisines. As someone who loves to cook and experiment with new flavors and ingredients, I understand the limitations that many home cooks face in finding authentic recipes and ingredients for diverse cultural foods. That's why I aim to provide a platform that offers a wide range of diverse cultural recipes, educational resources, and tools for creating new fusion dishes. With this app, I hope to inspire users like myself to become more adventurous and creative in the kitchen while celebrating cultural diversity through food. Chloe I grew up with a culturally diverse group of friends. Our favorite way to spend time together was making food at each others' homes. We found that it was cheaper than eating out on our student budget; we were making more authentic, delicious food; and we were making and eating food we've never heard of before. My favorite homes to visit were my friend Jenny's, a friend with a Latina mother and Italian father, and Teagan's, a friend with a Chinese mother and Vietnamese father. Later in life, I received formal education in pre-nursing, nutrition, cross-cultural psychology, and social psychology. I learned that food is more than their macronutrients. Food is a way to preserve and express old and new cultures. In addition, this past summer I was torn between accepting a cohort position in UX or a cohort position in dietician school. Fuse is ultimately a fusion of my dreams and passions.

How we built it

Research: Conduct research on the target audience and their needs, preferences, and pain points. Research existing recipe apps and identify areas for improvement. Ideation: Brainstorm ideas and features for the app, considering the research findings. Wireframing: Create low-fidelity wireframes to visualize the app's basic layout and flow. Prototyping: Develop high-fidelity prototypes using Figma to flesh out the app's design and functionality. Usability Testing: Conduct usability testing with target users to gain feedback on the app's usability, design, and features. Refining: Refine the app's design and functionality based on user feedback and testing results. A/B Testing: Conduct A/B testing to compare the effectiveness of different design elements and features. Finally, continue improving and iterating the design and features.

Challenges we ran into

Cultural Appreciation VS. Cultural Appropriation In the context of cultures, cultural appropriation is always a huge concern. Is this cultural appropriation? What are the credentials someone needs to have to be able to rightfully determine if something is cultural appropriate? In our research we found that many people found cultural foods and fusions intimidating because of fears of cultural appropriation. People are afraid of being victimized by cultural appropriation and unintentionally contributing to it. Our team was challenged as we thought: Is Fuse unintentionally contributing to cultural appropriation? That is the last thing we want to do. After more research, we found that cultural appropriation happens in reactions to food, not the experimentation and learning of different foods. We also found that fusion foods are a great way for people to slowly warm up and familiarize themselves to more culturally intimidating foods. Fuse stands for cultural appreciation.

UI Food is not just a language of taste, but a language of visuals. Our team was worried that our brand identity along with all of the photos of food would be too overwhelming and overload the users' senses. After a series of AB testing, we found that the food speaks for itself. We simplified our brand identity to really showcase the visuals of the recipes. We let the food sing to our users.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

In just two days, we accomplished an incredible feat by designing and prototyping a fusion recipe app. We conducted thorough research, interviewed potential users, and designed a user interface that is both visually appealing and user-friendly. Through this experience, we learned the importance of user-centered design and how it can positively impact the success of a product. We also discovered the value of collaboration, communication, and flexibility in a fast-paced design process. Overall, we're proud of the outcome and excited to continue improving and refining the app in the future.

What's next for Fuse

After implementing the final design, our next step is to conduct further research and interviews with more users to gather feedback and make improvements. Based on this feedback, we plan to modify our recipe categories to be more specific to individual cultures rather than broad continents. Additionally, we want to add community features to the app, creating a hub for users to share their experiences and connect over a shared love of cultural cuisine. By continuing to engage with our user base and implementing their feedback, we hope to create an app that truly meets the needs and desires of our community. We would also like to contend Fuse to a case competition to pitch our idea and its customer value proposition to investors and the industry.

Built With

• chatgpt
• figma