Morphy Richards.
Making a smart induction hob easy enough for anyone to cook with.
Morphy Richards set out to revolutionise its product range with an innovative cooking concept: a state-of-the-art induction hob with heat, temperature and weight sensors built in. We designed and built the companion mobile app that makes the hardware simple to use, letting Morphy Richards keep the physical product's cost of purchase and manufacture low.
Sectors
Expertise
Background.
A hob smart enough to need a smarter way to use it.
Morphy Richards wanted a cookware concept for people who wanted to eat well but lacked the confidence to use traditional cooking methods.
Central to this innovation was a state-of-the-art induction hob integrated with heat, temperature and weight sensors, capable of detecting the type of cookware being used, from a steamer to a grill to a boiling pan. We were tasked with developing a Bluetooth-connected mobile app that would work seamlessly with the hob, guiding users through recipes and each cooking step with a blend of animations, videos, timers, images, visual gauges and clear instructions.
The app mattered for three reasons: it kept the physical hob simpler and cheaper to make and buy, it could prompt users to act even when they weren't near the hob, useful for long cooking times, and it gave Morphy Richards a way to manage firmware and content updates so the product stayed current.
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Let's partner to create brand, product, and experience solutions that move people and markets.
The Solution.
A companion app built to handle every step, and every challenge.
Mapping a user journey from unboxing to problem-solving.
One major challenge was mapping and streamlining the user journey to cover every stage of use: onboarding, initial connection, first use, ingredient preparation, cook setup, cooking, serving, cleaning, updating, problem-solving and seeking further assistance. Each step had to feel intuitive and seamless, especially for inexperienced cooks unfamiliar with cooking terminology or basic processes, so the interface had to harmonise with the physical hob while making cooking as straightforward as possible.
Building safety into the app, not just the hardware.
Safety compliance was paramount throughout development. Users had to interact with the physical device itself to initiate heating, preventing accidental activation through the app alone and ensuring the product met applicable safety legislation.
Testing everything from grilled steak to sous vide.
Testing numerous recipes posed its own challenge: the app had to reliably handle a wide range of ingredients and cooking styles, from grilling steak to boiling pasta and sous vide. We developed a robust two-way Bluetooth communication protocol to keep the app and hob talking to each other consistently and accurately, and fully internationalised the app's content, including regional metrics, to serve a global audience.
Designing over 300 icons to guide every step.
We built the app for Android, iOS and iPadOS, giving Morphy Richards wide reach across devices. The interface includes over 300 custom icons and hundreds of animations to guide users through each stage of cooking, and every recipe was fully tested with end users, with sourced imagery for every ingredient and recipe step, to keep the experience accurate and visually engaging.
Giving Morphy Richards a CMS to manage it all.
We created a bespoke online content management system for creating, testing, translating and deploying new recipes, allowing content to be regionalised and managing the secure release of new firmware, so the app and hob could stay up to date with the latest features and recipes long after launch.
The impact.
A sophisticated, user-friendly app that bridges old and new cooking.
By solving each of these challenges, we created a sophisticated, user-friendly cooking app that bridges the gap between traditional cooking and modern technology, giving Morphy Richards' next-gen cookware concept an interface confident enough to guide even the most inexperienced cook through a complex recipe.
