01
Stored food creates an information handoff.
Details known during preparation can become separated from stored portions.
Bridge physical and digital records.
Link each printed label to an updatable batch record.
KITRAH · UX/UI + PRODUCT DESIGN
Keep track of the food you make.
Kitrah is a connected kitchen concept that links homemade food to a digital batch record through a physical label, helping people prepare, store, find and update what they have.
MAKE → LABEL → STORE → FIND → USE
THE PROBLEM
When food goes into storage, its context can disappear with it.
Once homemade food is stored, details about what it is, when it was made, and what should be used first can become separated from the physical container.
Kitrah explores how that handoff could be easier without asking people to maintain a separate inventory.
RESEARCH
Understanding the problem space.
Desk research across household food storage, date marking, existing tools and connected kitchen products.
02
Storage reminders are not safety determinations.
User-defined dates can prompt action, but cannot establish food safety.
Communicate dates with transparency.
Show Storage reminder and Use first by with the underlying rule.
03
Connected hardware introduces failure points.
Scales and printers may streamline tasks but are not always available.
Design for graceful fallbacks.
Support manual weight entry and print-independent label export.
04
Existing tools address parts of the journey.
Inventory, label and preparation systems serve overlapping but distinct steps.
Test an integrated household workflow.
Connect preparation, labeling, storage, retrieval and use.
Synthesis of desk research · Design opportunities to validate through testing
↓KITRAHUSER JOURNEY
What the user does
The journey follows one batch from preparation to use, moving between the interface and the physical kitchen.
01Prepare
Choose a recipe or batch
DIGITAL02Weigh
Record the prepared amount
PHYSICAL + DIGITAL03Review
Confirm portions and reminder
DIGITAL04Label
Generate a linked label
PHYSICAL05Store
Choose fridge, freezer or pantry
PHYSICAL + DIGITAL06Find
Use Pantry, QR or Batch ID
DIGITAL07Use
Update remaining containers
PHYSICAL + DIGITALINFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
How the product is organised
Kitchen Mode is a focused task flow entered when the user starts a batch, rather than a permanent navigation destination.
Home
What needs attention.
Pantry
What is stored and what needs attention.
Recipes
Reusable preparation information.
Labels
Printed identifiers linked to batches.
CORE USER FLOW
How the main task works
Each screen advances one clear task, from choosing a recipe to updating the number of containers remaining.
HOME → RECIPE → START BATCH → WEIGH → REVIEW → LABEL → STORE → PANTRY → BATCH DETAIL → USE ONE CONTAINER
Manual routes keep the main task moving when connected hardware is unavailable.
WIREFRAMES
Structuring the experience.
Early wireframes focused on reducing each stage of batch-making to a clear task. Kitchen Mode became a guided sequence so weighing, review, labeling and storage would not compete for attention on the same screen.
VISUAL DESIGN
A kitchen utility, not a dashboard.
The visual system feels calm, practical and tactile rather than technical or clinical. Warm neutrals keep the interface domestic, while functional status colours are reserved for reminders and device states.
Colour
Personality
Calm · Warm · Practical · Precise · Contemporary · Tactile
Interface language
Use soonScale connectedSP-004 · 242 g
Roasted Pumpkin Soup298 gHome Pantry Recipes Labels
Serif typography carries the editorial story. Inter supports the interface, with IBM Plex Mono reserved for weights, dates and Batch IDs.
THE CORE EXPERIENCE
From preparation to use
One continuous story, following a homemade batch from preparation to the moment a container is used.
01 · PREPARE
Start with what you already know.
A saved recipe carries reusable information such as ingredients, expected yield and a storage reminder into a new batch.
Roasted Pumpkin Soup
6 containers · Freezer
Storage reminder: Freezer · 14 days
9:41
Recipes
RECIPE / PUMPKINSAVED RECIPE
Roasted Pumpkin Soup
Creamy roasted pumpkin soup, made in a large batch for freezing.
YIELD6 containers
STORAGE REMINDERFreezer · 14 days
Your storage rule sets a use-first reminder 14 days after making.
Ingredients
Roasted pumpkin900 g
Vegetable stock700 ml
Onion150 g
Carrot150 g
Cream100 ml
Start Kitchen Mode
02 · WEIGH
Keep the task focused.
Kitchen Mode presents one weighing task at a time, with the live measurement given visual priority. If the scale is unavailable, the same step can continue with manual weight entry.
Scale connected · 298 g
Scale unavailable · Enter weight manually
9:41
02 / KITCHEN MODE
Weigh your ingredients.
Ingredient 1 of 5 · Roasted Pumpkin Soup
Roasted pumpkin
Target 900 g
896gSIMULATED SCALE READING
0 g1,125 g
Tare / resetEnter manually
BLE kitchen scale Connected
Scale unavailable?MANUAL FALLBACK
Continue the same step by entering the measured amount yourself.
Measured amount900 g
Confirm measurement
03 · REVIEW
Turn preparation into a batch record.
Before creating labels, the user reviews actual ingredient weight, container count, approximate weight per container and the reminder generated from the selected storage rule.
Batch SP-004 · 6 containers · 1,999 g total
Storage reminder · Use first by
9:41
03 / REVIEW BATCH
All weighed in.
Check the measurements and container count before making labels.
Batch SP-00415 Oct 2026
Roasted Pumpkin Soup
Roasted pumpkin896 g
Vegetable stock705 ml
Onion148 g
Carrot152 g
Cream98 ml
Total batch weight1,999 g
Your containersADJUSTABLE
How many containers?6
Approx. net weight333 g each
Storage reminderFreezer · 14 days
Use first by29 Oct 2026
Based on your 14-day freezer-storage rule.
Preview labels
04 · LABEL
Give the physical food an identity.
Each label carries the information needed at a glance, while the QR and Batch ID provide a route back to the living digital record.
05 · STORE
Printing is not the same as storing.
After labels are prepared, the user confirms where the batch is actually being stored. This prevents printed labels from automatically creating inaccurate inventory.
9:41
05 / STORE
Labels are ready.
Confirm where this batch is actually being stored.
Roasted Pumpkin SoupSP-004
Containers6 × 333 g
Use first by29 Oct 2026
Label statusPrinted in demo
Storage locationUSER-DEFINED
Storage reminderAfter 14 days
This reminder organises when to check the batch.
Find it laterSP-004
After saving, find this batch in Pantry or return to its record by QR or Batch ID.
Made15 Oct 2026
Add to Pantry
06 · FIND
Surface what deserves attention.
Pantry prioritises stored batches by reminder state rather than treating every item as equally urgent.
Past reminder · Use first today · Use soon · Later
9:41
YOUR PANTRY
Everything in its place.
Use the reminder dates to decide what to reach for first.
6 batchesSorted by use-first date
⌕ Search your pantry
AllFridgeFreezerPantry
Vegetable CurryFreezer · 2 containers leftUse first today
Bolognese SauceFreezer · 4 containers leftPast reminder
Homemade PestoFridge · 1 small jar leftUse soon
Roasted Pumpkin SoupFreezer · 6 containers leftLater
Storage reminders are user-defined dates, not food-safety determinations.
07 · USE
Keep the record connected to reality.
Opening the batch record from Pantry, QR or Batch ID gives the user a simple way to update what remains.
6 of 6 containers left → Use one container → 5 of 6 containers left
9:41
BATCH SP-004
Roasted Pumpkin Soup
Made 15 Oct 2026
Use first by 29 Oct 2026Based on your 14-day freezer-storage rule.
Storage reminderFreezer · 14 days
Net weight333 g each
LabelPrinted in demo
Batch IDSP-004
Use one container
Batch history6 containers originally stored
CONNECTED EXPERIENCE
The label is the bridge.
The physical label is not a separate output from the app. It acts as the visible identifier for a batch, carrying essential information on the container while providing a route back to the record as food is stored, moved or used.
REAL-WORLD CONSIDERATIONS
The product has to work beyond the screen.
Physical reality
Kitchen interaction
Cooking is messy. A production version would need to minimise interaction and remain usable with wet hands or around hot food.
Label durability
Labels would need to survive refrigeration, freezing and condensation while remaining removable from reusable containers.
Product viability
Low-tech competition
Kitrah competes with masking tape and a marker. Added hardware needs to justify its cost and friction through clear practical value.
Hardware compatibility
Bluetooth does not mean universal compatibility. Production hardware would need a defined set of supported scales and printers.
Product responsibility
Food information
Storage reminders organise information rather than scientifically determine whether homemade food is safe to eat.
Graceful fallbacks
Manual weight entry, printable labels and Batch ID retrieval keep the workflow usable when hardware is unavailable.
Infrastructure
Data persistence
A production product would need reliable batch storage, account or sync logic and a strategy for multi-device use.
Notifications and permissions
Reminder notifications would need appropriate background behaviour, permissions and accessibility considerations.
PROTOTYPE
Testing the complete loop.
I translated the final interface into an interactive Figma prototype to make the full Kitrah workflow testable, including hardware fallback states and the transition from a physical label back to the batch record.
WHAT I TESTED
- Understanding Storage reminder and Use first by
- Completing weighing with and without a connected scale
- Understanding the printed label
- Recovering when a printer is unavailable
- Adding a prepared batch to storage
- Retrieving a batch through QR or Batch ID
- Understanding Use one container
TESTING & ITERATION
What five home cooks showed me.
I tested the Figma prototype with five people who store homemade food in different ways: a college student who meal preps for the week, a mother of four, a gym-goer who batch cooks, and two young adults living with a parent. Each completed the batch flow while thinking aloud.
WHAT I CHANGED
- Hands-free printing. Cooking is messy, so I added an optional "print labels" voice shortcut to the label screen.
WHAT TESTERS ASKED FOR NEXT
- Edit recipes. Adjust quantities or ingredients in a saved recipe.
- Add new recipes. The prototype only included saved recipes.
- Suggest recipes from available ingredients. Start from what is at home instead of picking a recipe first.
- Log in. Keep batches saved across devices.
REFLECTION
Designing the connection, not just the interface.
Kitrah began as a broad smart-pantry concept, but the project became more focused as I looked at what happens between preparing food and eventually using it. The strongest part of the idea was not inventory itself, but keeping the physical container connected to useful digital context after it leaves the kitchen counter.
The project also pushed me to think beyond ideal interface states. Hardware compatibility, food-safety language, label durability and low-tech alternatives all influenced the experience even though they sit outside the visual UI.
What I learned
- A connected product still needs to work when the connection fails.
- Physical outputs can become part of the interface rather than simply an endpoint.
- Product language can carry as much responsibility as interaction design.
What I would explore next
- Add the features testers suggested: recipe editing, new recipes, ingredient-based suggestions and login.
- Run a second round of testing on the new recipe and login flows.
- Validate freezer-safe removable label materials.
- Test a defined scale and printer hardware combination.
- Explore multi-device sync and notifications.
- Continue accessibility testing.
