CookShop Online:
Designing and launching a digital curriculum platform during COVID-19
The problem:
When New York City schools closed during COVID-19, CookShop's classroom-based nutrition curriculum could no longer be delivered as designed. I led the development of CookShop Online, transforming the existing curriculum into a digital experience that teachers could use remotely with their students.
What began as an emergency response became a permanent part of the program. The platform ultimately supported approximately 600 educators across participating New York City schools, and 56% of educators continued using CookShop Online after returning to in-person instruction.
My Role:
I owned the product and design direction from concept through launch and ongoing iteration.
- Designed the site structure, navigation, page layouts, visual hierarchy, and interface mockups in Adobe Illustrator.
- Created Illustrator templates that my team used in Canva to produce consistent digital curriculum materials.
- Led my team in building the first working version in Salesforce Site.com Studio using basic HTML and platform tools.
- Launched that version with participating schools while the permanent public-facing platform was being developed.
- Worked directly with an internal developer, providing the working site, design mockups, content structure, and product requirements for the public version.
- Made final product decisions about workflows, content organization, visual presentation, and the educator experience.
- Gathered feedback from teachers, administrators, and staff and used it to guide improvements after launch.
Design approach:
Teachers were being asked to adopt a new way of delivering CookShop while simultaneously navigating remote instruction and rapidly changing school requirements. The product needed to be easy to understand without extensive technical support.
I designed the experience around the tasks educators needed to complete: finding the correct grade-level curriculum, understanding the lesson sequence, accessing instructional resources, and moving through materials consistently from lesson to lesson.
Rather than waiting for a fully developed platform, my team built a usable first version ourselves. That allowed us to launch, learn from actual educator use, and give our internal developer a functioning product to improve rather than a specification alone.
Working with development:
I was not the developer of the permanent public site. I owned its design and product requirements.
I have basic HTML knowledge, and one member of my team completed a one-day Site.com Studio training. Together, we built the version used for the initial CookShop Online launch. I then worked with an internal developer to translate that experience into the permanent public-facing platform.
That division of responsibility let me stay closely involved from early design decisions through implementation without overstating my technical role.
Research and iteration:
I worked directly with teachers, school administrators, and program staff to understand how they were using the platform and where they encountered friction. Feedback from real users informed changes to content organization, instructions, resources, and the overall experience throughout the life of the product.
Tools & Technologies:
Adobe Illustrator, Canva, Salesforce Site.com Studio, HTML/CSS, Google Classroom, Google Workspace, Zoom, and other digital collaboration tools.
Outcomes:
Launched a digital alternative quickly enough to maintain CookShop delivery during COVID-related school closures.
Supported approximately 600 educators across roughly 60 school sites.
Established CookShop Online as a permanent program resource rather than a temporary COVID workaround. 56% of participating educators continued using CookShop Online after schools returned to in-person instruction.
Continued improving the platform after launch based on educator feedback and usage.