L'Aquolina Mission Statement: "We are L’Acquolina Pasta and our pasta is homemade locally on the East End. Paying homage to techniques perfected in Gragnano, the pasta capital of the world, L’Acquolina Pasta is made of the best ingredients we can find: Organic Durum Semolina flour milled by Molini del Ponte in Sicily, Whole Wheat flour from Amber Waves Farm, and water. It is slowly extruded through bronze dies in the traditional method and delivered fresh to enjoy as you wish."
About
L’Acquolina Pasta (which means “mouthwatering” in Italian) makes and sells a variety of fresh pastas locally out of Long Island. They needed help writing their cooking instructions for their customers. They wanted directions that were on-brand to their company, identified with their customer base, and were easy to understand.
Problem
Fresh pasta requires different preparation than dry pasta, and most people don’t have as much experience cooking it. Since results can vary with even the slightest changes, L’Acquolina wants to make sure their mobile website offers clear, concise instructions that will help all customers prepare the pasta correctly. Most importantly, they want customers to feel confident, have fun, and enjoy cooking!
How might we write directions that are easy and fun so they resonate with the customer while maintaining a consistent company voice.
Solution
1. Research on Tone & Voice for L'Aquolina Pasta
2. Define UX Writing Guidelines
3. Design the “cooking instructions” page
3. Review content with Brand and Stakeholders
4. Test UX Writing with Users
Voice & Tone
First, it was important to start with stakeholder research by looking at existing writing from L'Acquolina Pasta, including things like Instagram posts, cooking instructions, and website descriptions. This will help establish a guideline to follow of key language and tone.
Then, we compiled 3 core brand voice principles that embodied L'Aquolina:
Next, it was time to compile these voices and tones by scenarios:
Content mining
Content mining and vocabulary list can be created using research to find the right words. Understanding the UX writing for a company can start with the source, how they speak about their product, what it means to them, etc. So after watching an interview with the Founder of L'Acquolina, we found several useful words & phrases:
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"Mouthwatering"
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"Montecale"
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"Cohesive"
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"Don’t forget to mix it"
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"Marrying the pasta"
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"Save the magic water"
Secondary & Competitive Research
Next, it was time to assess the different tones of different food-centric competitors, specifically honing in on 3 different types of tones ranging from conversational to formal.
Theme: Conversation with a causal and open-minded tone
Phrase 1:
"This is Fresh homemade pasta, with Alfredo sauce from scratch with real Parmesan. So, if you can imagine the flavors, this totally belongs."
Phrase 2:
"New to homemade pasta, have some questions about elevating the flavor of the pasta itself. (black pepper, garlic powder, basil) wondering if anyone has experience in that. Thanks in advance!"
Phrase 3:
"Any places near downtown that sells fresh pasta? Looking for fresh pappardelle to go with some braised short ribs tonight."
bon appetit
Theme: Formal, yet informative
Phrase 1 -
"Because fresh pasta is a perfect food, and you should be graced with its presence more often."
Phrase 2 -
"When pasta is about 4 minutes away from being done, transfer 1 cup pasta cooking liquid to pot with beans (make sure to keep heat on medium so that the liquid doesn’t evaporate too quickly). Using a wooden spoon, gently mash about three-quarters of beans into a creamy sauce."
Phrase 3 -
"A weeknight pasta that utilizes simple pantry ingredients in a luxurious way."
Joy of Cooking
Theme: Vague and classical cooking terms for more complicated recipes
Phrase 1 -
"Add the pasta and boil, stirring occasionally, until tender, 7 to 10 minutes depending on the pasta shape. If the liquid has evaporated before the pasta is tender, add more liquid and continue cooking."
Phrase 2 -
"Cook pasta as directed in salted boiling water"
Phrase 3 -
"Turn the tuna into a bowl and flake with a fork. Do not mince. Stir in the hot cheese sauce, then add the cooked noodles, parsley if using, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix together well. Pour the mixture into a baking dish. Mix together the topping ingredients and sprinkle over the top."
Content First Designing
As a team, we used this conversation prompt to uncover new insights about how we can make cooking instructions more clear & conversational.
"Can you tell me how to cook this?"
Our insights were:
- Less intimidating
- An open and casual tone
- informative and educational in a less intimidating fashion
- friendly and inclusive
- Passionate and excited to share the tradition
Some Phrases
"Can you tell me how to cook this?"
"Yay! We just received your order and are as excited as you are. We can't wait for you to try our pasta."
"Making beautiful pasta is our job, but pasta is only half the recipe. That's where you come in because it's your job to make it delicious!"
"Next, drop the pasta into the boiling salted water, and stir it for just 10 seconds."
"Dads like pasta too! Don't forget to order him our special Father's Day pasta package"
Conclusion
While this content process would be simultaneous with wireframing and beginning a style guide to hone in on the visual design, I want to focus solely on the writing and content portion that would exist within the wireframes. Using the language insights we have found to inform our final solution it was easy to beging compiling a tone. That not only follows the 3 core brand voice principles that embodied L'Aquolina: Authentic & Accurate, Inclusive & Inviting, and Enthusiastic & Encouraging, but is also informative and educational without the threat! So, now that we know how to wire the UX copy - Let's make some pasta!!
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