I used Pinterest as inspiration because it represents the kind of experience I wanted this meal planning app to create—one that feels visual, effortless, and inspiring rather than rigid or task-oriented. Pinterest makes discovery enjoyable by presenting an endless scroll of beautiful, personalized content that sparks ideas quickly, and that same approach works perfectly for recipes when people are hungry and looking for quick inspiration. Just like Pinterest allows users to save pins into boards for later, I wanted users to be able to easily save recipes and build their own “boards” of meal plans. Most importantly, Pinterest is mood-driven—it’s not about obligation, it’s about wanting to scroll—and I wanted my app to capture that same sense of delight, turning meal planning from a chore into something users actually look forward to engaging with.

I used Apple Music as inspiration because it reframes a routine activity—listening to music—into a personalized, curated experience that feels effortless and enjoyable. Apple Music doesn’t just give you a library of songs; it learns your tastes, suggests playlists for your mood, and turns choice overload into a few relevant, enticing options. That same approach fit perfectly with my vision for meal planning: instead of overwhelming users with endless recipes, the app would curate the right ones at the right moment, whether they want something quick after work or a cozy meal for the weekend. Just like Apple Music organizes listening around discovery, favorites, and playlists, I wanted my app to organize cooking around inspiration, saved recipes, and weekly meal plans.