Baked-In UX
Hi, I'm Kate.
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By day, I work at Apple, leading Human Evaluation for new features in Apple Music and Apple Music Classical.
By night, I’m a UX designer completing my Master’s in Digital Media Design at Harvard – who also happens to bake now and then.
This website is my baking portfolio. It lets you, the visitor, leave feedback on my creations and request new pastries.
This website is also what happens when a UX designer decides to demonstrate the value of user experience through the lens of baking…
Because being a UX designer isn’t just a job title – it’s a mindset, a way of thinking. ​​
So what if we approach baking through the lens of UX...
After all, don't all great products have UX baked into them? Okay, pun intended... moving on...
STEP 1: User Research
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I believe that all great products start with understanding the user. You have to empathize with your users, understand their needs and problems, and identify what matters most.
Coming from a data background with a Bachelor's degree in Math and Statistics, I’ve found that user research is often the most neglected step in UX. But data is powerful – it can transform product ideas and lead to truly great designs.
That’s why, in my baking portfolio, you – as the user – can like and comment on the pastries you've tried in my baking feed, as well as request new pastries.
This helps me understand what kinds of baked goods people enjoy most and want to see more of. As a result, I don’t waste time baking pastries that don’t resonate, and you're more likely to be delighted by what I create.
The request form is intentionally open-ended.
If you have a specific dessert in mind – that’s great.
But I’m not asking you to provide the solution. I’m asking you to describe your craving or desire, and it’s my job as a baker and UX designer to interpret and fulfill it.
So it’s totally okay if you’re not sure what you want. Maybe you're just in the mood for “something fruity,” or “comforting flavors like my mom used to bake,” or “an unusual combination I’ve never tried before.”
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Leave your idea with me, and I’ll use my expertise to bring it to life for you.
STEP 2: Making the Product
Once we've understood the user's needs, it's time to create the product itself.
No, you most likely won’t get it perfect on the first try. That’s where rapid prototyping and user testing come in.
With baking, the first test happens in the kitchen – right out of the oven. Tasting it yourself (and checking the ingredients, dough, and fillings consistently during the baking process) is an important initial pulse check on product quality.
But that’s not enough (unless you’re baking just for yourself).
To create something truly great, you need to bring the product to real users, proactively collect feedback, analyze the data, and iterate on your design.
That process is what forms a solid foundation.
That’s how you find your flavor.
STEP 3: Presentation
Oh, it’s important.
We're not done when we have the product functionally ready.
You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve heard someone say I’m a great baker just by looking at photos of my creations. For all they know, it could’ve been a decorated brick... but it looks appetizing, it looks professional, so people already perceive it as a good product without even tasting it.
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Use that mental trick to your advantage.
Of course, the product actually being good is the bare minimum.
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But it’s the presentation on top of it – the UI of things, the smooth user flows, the nice box with a little decoration on top – that creates the wow effect.