Yan

Yan Digital Rice Cooker is a smart kitchen appliance designed for young professionals with busy schedules who still value cooking at home. Inspired by traditional Asian cookware, Yan combines cultural familiarity with modern convenience. With a built-in water tank, customizable presets, and a minimal digital interface, the product addresses common pain points—such as inaccurate measurements, forgotten timers, and inconsistent results—while enhancing the overall cooking experience.

This project explored how to blend tradition and technology in a way that supports users’ daily routines. Through interviews and iterative prototyping, I discovered the importance of emotional connection in product design—how users value both convenience and the feeling of ritual in their cooking habits. Yan responds to those insights with thoughtful features like steam-based cooking, customizable recipes, and a clean UI. Moving forward, further testing and refinement could optimize the interaction and bring this culturally rooted concept closer to production.