Coco Coffee House is a women-only social platform by Women In Work, built around safety, trust and belonging. While the mission was strong, the app experience felt a bit impersonal and clunky, and its branding didn’t quite live up to community expectations. My role was to reshape the Coco app into something warmer and more human, while making new features effortless to use.
Understanding the Real Problems
I worked closely with the team and spent time observing members online and at in-person events. Two pain points stood out immediately:
- Paper-based attendance tracking was frustrating;
- The matching experience lacked context and emotional connection.
Making Event Attendance Effortless
The old system relied on four paper vouchers per month to track attendance—easy to use, hard to manage. I reimagined this as a digital stamp card, inspired by familiar loyalty programmes.
Now, attendance is tracked visually and intuitively. Members can top up beyond the monthly limit, scroll to view stamps and clearly see expiry dates—all in one place.
Humanising the Matching Experience
Matching used to feel random and forgettable. I redesigned it around trust, shared context and sa sense of anticipation:
- (Left) More relevant matches based on shared interests and group activities.
- (Middle) Easier access by moving matching into the Chats tab.
- (Middle) Story-like progression with circular indicators and hidden profile pictures to build anticipation without pressure.
- (Right) A moment of celebration through confetti and highlighted common interests.
The result feels intentional, personal and quitely delightful.
Refreshing the Brand, Smoothing the Workflow
Alongside UX improvements, I led a brand refresh with more accessible colours, updated logos and new illustrations to make Coco feel modern and inclusive.
I also tightened up documentation and workflows so design and development move faster, together.
What I Learned
- Familar patterns work. Loyalty models and story-like UI reduce friction and spark joy.
- Design what comes next: Clear visibility and small celebrations keep engagement feeling natrual, not forced.
Impact
Members shared that the app now feels more welcoming and connected. Attendance tracking became simple and matching felt thoughtful instead of random. While my involvement ended, the redesign moved Coco closer to its core mission of safety and genuine connection.
| My Role | Freelance Designer |
| Platform | iOS and Android |
| Responsibilities | Product Strategy UI/UX Design Branding Project Management |
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