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Many home cooks have extra meals but lack an easy way to share or sell them. At the same time, busy individuals seek nutritious, affordable home-cooked food. Plateful bridges these needs by connecting local cooks and eaters through a community platform that reduces food waste, increases meal accessibility, and creates new income opportunities, fostering a more connected, sustainable, and nourishing food ecosystem.
A personal UX/UI project designing a food-sharing platform, working through the entire process from user flows and high-fidelity prototypes to logo and design system.
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Outfit Semibold 13 pt
After years of cooking for family and friends, she now shares her favorite comforting dishes with the neighborhood. She finds joy in turning simple ingredients into heartwarming meals
Outfit Semibold 20 pt
More than just a meal.
Every shared plate nourishes you, your community, and the planet.
Montserrat Alternates Bold 54 pt
PlateFul
Design System
Sex/Age: Female, 37
Job: Interior designer
Location: Upper East Side, NY
Michelle
Sex/Age: Male, 24
Job: Graduate student
Location: Flatbush, NY
Daniel
Sex/Age: Female, 45
Job: School administrator
Location: Tarrytown, NY
Karen
User Stories
Goal: Share or sell extra homemade meals to reduce waste and connect with neighbors.
Frustration: It’s hard to find a safe, simple way to offer extra homemade meals to people nearby.
Goal: Access convenient, budget-friendly homemade meals within walking distance.
Frustration: Restaurant food is expensive, and affordable home-cooked alternatives are hard to find.
Goal: Get quick, homemade-style meals nearby without needing to plan, prep, or wait for delivery.
Frustration: Struggles to find quick, healthy homemade options, as delivery is slow and takeout feels repetitive.
Sex/Age: Male, 32
Job: Accountant
Location: Woodside, NY
Jona
Project Vision
As an eater, Molly explores nearby home-cooked meals, selects a dish that fits her needs, and completes an order through a simple, guided flow.
As a cook, Sabrina manages her home kitchen — posting meals, updating availability, and tracking earnings in a clean cook-side workflow.
"I cook every day, and there’s always more than my family can eat. I wish someone nearby could enjoy it too."
Goal: Earn modest side income by selling small batches of homemade meals.
Frustration: There’s no simple or accessible way for home cooks to sell homemade meals.
"I'd love to earn a little extra from cooking, but opening a restaurant is too expensive and complicated."
"Delivery costs add up so fast. I’d love something homemade but still affordable."
Competitive Analysis
"Most days I skip meals because I’m too busy to cook or wait for delivery. I just need something quick nearby."
User Flows
Learning & Reflection
• Built a complete two-sided marketplace flow with clear user roles.
• Created a scalable design system with reusable components.
• Clarified problem areas and validated needs through personas & competitive analysis.
• Strengthened ability to design from concept → wireframe → prototype → brand system.
• Identified future features like leftover meal distribution and group orders.
Additional Features
Food-focused platforms cover parts of the food-sharing space, but none enable a true peer-to-peer exchange of home-cooked meals. Plateful fills this gap with a community-driven marketplace for everyday cooks and eaters. Similarly, Airbnb and Poshmark transformed sharing in housing and clothing — yet food remains the missing category, which Plateful finally brings to life.
Mapping the cook and eater flows to ensure both sides of the platform experience a clear, intuitive journey—from managing a home kitchen to discovering meals.
A collection of supporting features that enhance the Plateful experience — from favorites and messaging to order history, invites, and gift cards.
TYPOGRAPHY
UI COMPONENTS
ICONS
COLORS
Lofi Wireframe
Exploring layout options for search and listing flows, focusing on how users browse, compare, and access home-cooked meals efficiently.
