Coco Coffee House is a women-only social platform by Women In Work. It aims to foster safety, trust and belonging for women. Initially the app felt a bit impersonal and clunky, and its branding didn’t quite live up to community expectations. My goal was to make the Coco app feel welcoming and easy-to-use, especially for new features.

Process & Decisions

I first discussed with the team and observed members online and at events to better understand their needs. These conversations helped me identify pain points with paper attendance recording and a missing sense of shared context in matching.

Event Attendance Made Seamless

Previously, members received four paper vouchers each month to track attendance quota. This was inconvenient for both members and operations. Inspired by convenience store loyalty programmes, I reframed the quota as a digital stamp card to make attendance tracking simple and straightforward.

Humanising the Matching Experience

The original matching felt random and disconnected from members’ interests. To address this, I focused the experience on trust, shared context and small moments of anticipation.

1. Relevant matches (left): Matches are now based on common interests and group activities.
2. Easy access (middle): Matching moved to the Chats tab for higher visibility and easier re-engagement.
3. Story-like matching (middle): Circular progress indicators and hidden profile pictures to build anticipation without pressure.
4. Celebratory moment (right): A confetti animation and surfaced shared interests make matches feel personal and rewarding.

Refreshing the Brand and Workflow

Beyond core UX improvements, I delivered a brand refresh. This involved accessible colours, new logos and new illustrations to modernise the platform and make it more inclusive.

I also streamlined project requirements and documentation to help the product design and development work together smoothly.

Key Takeaways

1. Borrow familiar patterns: Loyalty models and story-like UI reduce cognitive load and add delight.
2. Design the moment after: Clear visibility and celebratory moments keep engagement alive—natural, not forced.

Impact

Members reported feeling more welcomed and connected after the redesign. The concept of digital stamp card simplified attendance tracking and made matching feel more intentional and less random.

While my involvement ended, the redesign brought the platform closer to its 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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