What is Recipe Finder
The Washington Post rebuilt its recipe platform with a modern, user-focused design. With 10,000+ recipes, it now offers a seamless, intuitive experience for browsing, planning, and cooking.
Challenges I worked through
Users struggled to find, save, and cook recipes due to fragmented platforms, outdated search tools, and a lack of community features for engagement.
How I turned problems into solutions
I interviewed subscribers of major cooking platforms to understand what truly mattered to them and uncover their pain points. These insights shaped our ideas and aligned the team around solutions that made a meaningful difference.
My design process
I used the Discover, Ideate, Design, Validate, and Launch framework while hand-picking the best methods for each phase to benefit both users and the business.
Opportunity map:
I organized the user interview feedback into habit loop stages including cue, reaction, evaluation, action and reflection, and used these insights to ideate and prioritize key features.
Feature Comparison Chart:
Analyzed features across five major recipe platforms to pinpoint improvement areas for The Post and spot trends.
Stakeholder workshop:
Involving partners early in the process through facilitated workshops, was a key milestone in my design approach.
Provided users with tools to search, save, organize, and connect within one unified recipe platform to create a seamless experience.
Fostered community engagement by enhancing user recipe rating and commenting features.
Upgraded search tools with filtering and sorting, enabling users to find desired recipes fast.
Attracted new subscribers by blending hard news with soft content like recipes.
Proven Impact:
What we achieved together
People love the new Recipe Finder
Lesson learned
When it comes to cooking, users want an experience that feels effortless. Focusing on features that genuinely supported their daily routines helped drive meaningful engagement and lasting usage.
Community matters. Features like ratings and comments made users feel connected and encouraged them to return.
Search experience isn’t just about showing results—it’s about giving users relevance and control. Adding better filters and sorting made discovery faster and more satisfying.