CoHab | Branding & App Development

Cohab reimagines roommate matching as a social-first experience, helping newcomers find both a home and a community. The project covered brand development, visual identity design, and app UX/UI, creating a platform that feels welcoming, intuitive, and human-centered.

Cohab — Building a Brand and App for New Beginnings

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Project Overview

Cohab is a social-first roommate matching platform designed to help people moving to a new city find not only a place to live, but a community to call home. This project focused on building both the visual identity and app experience to feel approachable, energetic, and easy.

Brand Foundation

Early Logo Exploration

Cohab is a social-first roommate matching platform designed to help people moving to a new city find not only a place to live, but a community to call home. This project focused on building both the visual identity and app experience to feel approachable, energetic, and easy.

Early logo explorations focusing on themes of home, connection, and conversation.

Final Logo Selection

The final logo combines a house symbol with a chat bubble, reinforcing the idea of finding a home through social connection. Its bold, playful structure feels welcoming and energetic—just like the experience Cohab offers.

The final Cohab logo — minimalist, bold, and playful, balancing home and social energy through a house and chat bubble.

Color Palette

The color palette was designed to feel vibrant and fresh, balancing high energy with trustworthiness. Neon yellow brings vibrancy and approachability, grounded by deep charcoal and accented with softer, friendly tones.

A vibrant neon yellow paired with grounded charcoal and fresh secondary colors to create an energetic, welcoming visual identity.

Typography

Typography plays a key role in making Cohab feel youthful but professional. Nebulica was chosen for expressive headers, while Lato ensures body text remains clean and highly readable across the app.

Nebulica for bold, expressive headlines. Lato for clean, approachable body text.

Iconography and Illustration Style

Icons and illustrations are minimal, rounded, and friendly—making the platform intuitive and approachable without feeling overly serious.

The style helps reinforce that Cohab is about connection, ease, and community.

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Applying the Brand to the Product — The Cohab App

With the brand identity established, I translated the visual system into a social-first product experience.

Soft Onboarding

First impressions matter. Instead of overwhelming new users with a long form, Cohab asks just two quick questions at login, helping them jump right into the experience while collecting deeper preferences later.

Dashboard Prioritization

Unlike traditional apps, Cohab puts people first.

Roommate matches appear at the very top of the dashboard, while personalized housing listings are placed second—supporting the idea that a home is built around the people you share it with.

Prioritizing people first. The dashboard highlights roommate matches above listings, aligning with the social-first brand philosophy.

Profile Pages

Profile pages are designed to feel personal and relatable. Instead of focusing only on logistics, profiles highlight shared interests, lifestyles, and a more authentic glimpse into potential roommates.

Listing Filters with Pre-Filled Preferences

When users browse listings, their original answers are already used to pre-fill search filters—creating a seamless, thoughtful experience. Users can adjust filters anytime, keeping control and flexibility.

Pre-filled filters based on user preferences make browsing faster and more relevant.

Match Profile Example

When browsing matches, users see quick snapshots of personality, lifestyle, and dealbreakers—helping them connect with the right people faster and more naturally.

Friendly, detailed roommate profiles help users feel confident when reaching out and connecting.

Progressive Profile Completion

Instead of forcing users to fill everything at once, Cohab uses a gentle progress bar to encourage users to complete their profile gradually—unlocking better matches over time without adding friction.

Gentle prompts encourage users to complete their profile at their own pace, improving matches without overwhelming them.

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Reflection

Designing Cohab taught me how much brand and product must align to create a truly human-centered experience. Every visual and interaction was crafted to reduce stress, build connection, and make starting over in a new place feel exciting—not overwhelming.