Pure Seasons
Seasonal cooking made simple
Role
Sole Product Designer
Timeline
6 weeks (mobile-first → desktop)
Tools
Figma · Adobe CC
Project
CareerFoundry Responsive Recipe Website
Challenge
Turn cooking into a one-glance experience. No hidden steps or hard-to-find ingredients.
Target
Budget and eco-conscious cooks who plan meals and want ingredient clarity up front.
Solution
A recipe app that knows strawberries shouldn't cost $12 in November. Find what's fresh, see ingredients upfront, and swap what you don't have. Because good food shouldn't require a treasure hunt or a trust fund.
5 out of 6 testers
discovered seasonal produce they didn't know were affordable
40% faster
finding ingredients vs. traditional recipe sites
100 % weekly-use intent
Every tester said they’d return at least once a week
n = 6 usability participants
The gap
Watching my friend buy expensive out-of-season produce sparked the idea for this project. But research revealed a bigger issue: we've lost our connection to when food naturally grows. Recipe sites ignore seasonality. Grocery stores stock everything year-round. So we end up paying premium prices for produce that just doesn't taste right.
Interviews confirmed the problem: 4 of 6 participants felt overwhelmed by hidden ingredients and out-of-season prices. Everyone relied on reviews just to avoid recipe disasters, and somehow, no competitor combined seasonal focus with simple planning tools.
100%
Budget rules every choice. All 6 users said cost is the first filter when picking a recipe.
50%
1 in 3 struggle with diets, 2 of 6 couldn’t find recipes that matched their dietary needs.
67%
Hidden ingredients = drop-off. 4 of 6 abandoned recipes when lists came too late.
100%
Reviews = trust signal. Every user relied on ratings before trying something new.
Three pivotal moves
Season-smart recipes
Every dish is built around ingredients at peak season, cost-friendly and fresher by default. Participant testers called it a “no-guess saver.”
Quick Check Banner
Cook time and ratings upfront cut decision time by 40%. No more clicking through to basic info.
Allergen & Substitutes Swaps
Turned "can't make this" into "I'm in." All 6 testers wanted this feature in every recipe app.
Steps
Focus
Outcome
1
Empathize / Define – 3 website reviews (competitive analysis)
Pain points mapped
2
Paper prototype
Early tests revealed hidden actions
3
Mid-fi mobile test – 6 users
Success rose to 80%
4
Hi-fi + desktop
Success hit 95%, branding finalized
Learnings
Above-the-fold matters
Quick Check cut search. Users found what they needed easier and quicker.
One-person sprint
Lean feedback loops + a strict MVP kept momentum high and features focused.
Next up
Partner with local farmers to extend the seasonal loop from farm to table.
The Bigger Dream
What if seasonal eating became the default, not the exception?
This student project opened my eyes to a possible future: Farmers' markets thriving year-round. Grocery bills that don't break the bank. Food that actually tastes like food. Less fuel burned shipping strawberries across the globe in December.
Pure Seasons started as a CareerFoundry assignment. But the vision? A world where eating with nature's rhythm is as normal as checking the weather. Where supporting local farmers is easier than ordering from Amazon.
Maybe I'm optimistic. But every movement starts with making the right choice easier than the wrong one.
© 2025 by IvanAtlas