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May 23, 2000


A recipe for recipes?
Posted in :: Information Design ::

Well, I'm trying to find my recipe for pate brisee and all I can find is quiche. One more day of being a housewife, then I return to my more comfortable role of user centered design (IA, whatever)

I can't help but think about what makes a good recipe... my quiche recipe is of course a stellar example of the worst... no instructions, in two languages, fuzzy measurements: if it was a website, Jakob Neilson would mock it. Still, it is useful to me; I recognize the crust as pate brisee, and remember how to assemble it. If this was a recipe for only me, I would give it high usability marks. Since it is the public area of my website, I cannot. Always remember who the audience is is the first rule of usability.

A good recipe - I think - would have clear measurements in both metric and imperial, clear instructions, links to basic cooking techiques (such as kneading bread, sautečing, etc) pictures of the dish and variations. I have always enjoyed Tavola (formerly Digital Chef) for just these reasons. They also have an excellent search. A quick search for Quiche Lorraine turns this up.

Nice!

Posted at 03:29 AM, May 23, 2000
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