🍽️ Project Overview
COC (Cooks on Call) is a conceptual app that connects local home cooks with busy professionals and students looking for affordable, homestyle meals — either for delivery or in-home cooking.
This project was designed during my UX studies as a response to the growing need for accessible, culturally diverse food options that feel personal, not packaged.
Role: UX Designer
Timeline: June- Aug
Tools: Figma, Miro, Canva
Team: Solo project
🧐 Problem & Opportunity
Many international students and working professionals in urban areas struggle to find time or resources to cook healthy, comforting meals. Existing food delivery platforms are either expensive, impersonal, or lack variety.
On the other side, many local home chefs are looking for flexible ways to earn and share their cooking with their communities.
Opportunity:
Bridge the gap between people who want homely meals and home cooks looking for work — with a platform that’s easy, personal, and community-driven.
🎯 Goal
Design an inclusive platform that:
Lets users find affordable home-cooked meals
Helps cooks get visibility and flexible work
Offers delivery or in-home cooking
Creates a trustworthy, frictionless experience for both
🔍 User Research
I conducted interviews and surveys with two core groups:
Users (Students & Professionals)
Cooks (Home chefs & part-time kitchen workers)
Key Insights:
👥 Personas
I brainstormed features, sketched ideas, refined them, and tested with users to enhance the app's experience.
Sarah, International student
John, Busy professional
Jaime, retired chef
Affordability: Needs budget-friendly meal options.
Convenience: Requires easy access to order and receive meals.
Variety: Desires a range of meal choices, especially traditional and homemade.
Efficiency: Wants quick and hassle-free meal ordering and delivery.
Healthy Options: Prefers nutritious meals to maintain a balanced diet.
Customisation: Needs to customise meals
Opportunity: Seeks a platform to reach new clients and grow their business.
Flexibility: Desires the option to choose when and where to cook or deliver.
Feedback: Wants to receive reviews and improve their service.
🧠 Design Process
Moodboard & Logo: A cozy house with plate, spoon, and fork—symbolizing comfort and home cooking.
Core features designed:
Smart Pickup & Order Scheduling – users select time/location effortlessly
Student Discounts & Coin Rewards – cost-saving and motivational
Cook Profiles & Stories – build trust and connection
Meal Customization & Nutritional Info – adds flexibility and health value
Home Dining Option – open-invite parties with live cooking
Dine in with cooks
Your favourite cooks
Stories by cooks
Daily and weekly meal plans
Cook's page
Food customisation
Hosting a party? Worried about cooking?
You can invite our cooks home. They will cook your delicious homemade meals for you!
Collaborated with peers for usability testing and gathered real feedback to refine UI and flows:
Simplified booking flow based on user navigation tests
Enhanced chef profiles for clearer trust signals
Adjusted gamification mechanics for better engagement
🧪 Testing & Iteration
📈 Outcome
While this was a conceptual project, peer feedback showed:
100% said they’d try the app
80% felt it was easier to use than other food apps
90% said they loved the human touch of chef bios and in-home cooking option
💭 Learnings
Designing for two user types (cooks and customers) was a balancing act — prioritizing their goals equally was key.
Small touches like rewards, chef stories, and meal photos created emotional resonance.
I learned how critical trust-building is in food platforms — from reviews to UI consistency.
🏁 Final Reflection
COC gave me the chance to dive into real-world UX problems—cultural, logistical, emotional—and solve them through inclusive design. I hope to build it further with more real-world data, dashboard features for cooks, and delivery integrations.