ckbk — Premium Cookbook Library Mobile App Redesign

Duration: 6 Weeks

Client: ckbk (1000 Cookbooks Ltd)

Category: Mobile App

Platform: Android

Here to Know About This Project

ckbk is a subscription-based mobile app that grants users access to a curated library of over 1,000 cookbooks and more than 160,000 recipes from leading chefs and authors worldwide. ckbk+2play.google.com+2 The client sought to elevate the mobile experience, improve discovery of content, and enhance subscription conversion, while maintaining the rich cookbook experience across devices.

The Challenge of the Project

Key challenges included:

Designing a user experience that allowed effortless browsing of a large collection of cookbooks (by author, region, cuisine type) while preserving readability and performance across phones and tablets.
Supporting advanced features: recipe-filtering by diet/cuisine, full cookbook browsability (not just recipes), list creation/sharing, and measurement conversions—while ensuring smooth performance under heavy content load. play.google.com+1
Ensuring the monetization model (free access to limited recipes + premium subscription) was clearly communicated and conversion-friendly, without disrupting the user experience.
Maintaining high-quality media (book covers, full text view) and seamless performance—especially given the large content library and diverse device specs.

Our Solution & Approach

We began with a full audit of the previous app: analysing navigation flows, search/filter performance, subscription funnel, device compatibility (phones/tablets) and load times. From there, our team delivered a revitalised app architecture and interface:

Designed a tablet-optimized layout and mobile-first UI that adapts elegantly across screen sizes, improving usability for cookbook browsing and reading.

- Implemented a new content indexing and caching layer to manage full book text, images, and recipe filters, ensuring fast load and offline readability.
- Updated the subscription flow: clearer premium vs free access paths, streamlined trial activation, and in-app prompts designed to increase conversion.
- Enhanced discovery tools: advanced filters (diet, dish type, national cuisine, author) and personalized “recipe playlists” feature to encourage sharing and deeper engagement. play.google.com

Key Deliverables & Implementations

Result & Impact

The redesigned ckbk app empowered users to explore a vast library of cookbooks with genuine ease—whether browsing by author, cuisine or dish. The improved layout and discovery tools increased engagement with deeper content (full book reads rather than just recipes), and the clearer subscription funnel led to more premium sign-ups and better user retention. Internally, the client’s team gained a more maintainable mobile architecture and a stronger platform for adding titles, features and subscription offerings.