Roomeasy Design Mobile App

My role

UX/UI designer

Project duration

Jun 2022- Feb 2023

Scope

Discovery + Desgin + Validation

Collaborators

Solo

About the Project


Context


Amidst the shift towards quality home living post-pandemic, the interior design industry is experiencing rapid growth. With more people looking to create beautiful, functional, and comfortable living spaces, the demand for furniture products and effective design solutions has surged. This product streamlines the furniture sourcing process and help users to design and shop seamlessly.

Problem


The current furniture sourcing process is inefficient and laborious, with limited inspiration sources available for easy access. This leads to frustration and often results in a long design process.

Hypothesis

Users face challenges in achieving their ideal design due to inefficient process for design and sourcing.

Goal

Aim to help users achieve optimal interior design by providing users with a streamlined experience that facilitates the process of sourcing design solutions and also offers powerful design tools, all in one location.

"How might we execute our design more efficiently?"

Research

Potential Solutions

Breakdown the problems

Design

Purchasing

Communcation

Budgeting

01.

Core problems

Specific obstacles

  • Finding inspirations.

  • Visualizing the design.

  • Comparing prices of products.

  • Inquiring about pricing.

  • Purchasing options.

  • Tracking orders.

  • Communicating with vendors

  • Sharing with clients, friends or families.

  • Budgeting the project.

  • Looking for products within specific budget.

  • Create a digital community that provides sources of inspiration from retail users, designers and brands.

  • Direct message to vendors for price inquiry.

  • Sharing features to allow easy collaboration.

  • Budgeting tools.

  • Price filter while searching for products.

  • Price comparison tools

  • Direct source of purchasing platform

  • After sale tracking order feature.

Target Users

02.

Roomeasy targets three key user groups including homeowners, design professionals and brands, seeking to invest and design their permanent interior spaces. The platform will help to connect and facilitate seamless collaboration between users.

Quantitative analysis

03.

After conducting extensive market and user research, I have identified strategic ways to harness and leverage data to increase efficiency and reduce costs for users, resulting in a more streamlined and effortless experience.

Questions asked:


  • Describe your design research process from start to finish. How long do you spend? Which part takes the longest?

  • Tell me about your methods for looking for design inspiration, how effective are they? Could they be better?

  • Describe a time when you can’t find the most satisfactory pieces, what would you do?

  • Do you think you achieved your desired design goals? If yes, what were the methods; if not, why?

  • Which part of the design process do you find most difficult and why?

  • (For brand representatives) What are your company's marketing strategies, how effective are they? What's the ROI?

Competitive analysis

04.

In order to better understand the interior design app market, a competitive analysis of several existing apps is conducted to evaluate each app on several criteria, including user experience, feature sets, target audience, monetization strategy, and other competitive advantages.

  • Vast library of user-generated content for inspiration

  • Easy-to-use and accessible platform for all users

  • Wide range of design styles and ideas available

  • Users can follow and connect with other users for inspiration

  • Monetization strategy based on advertising and sponsored content

  • Limited design tools and product purchasing options

  • Users may encounter outdated or inaccurate product information

  • Lack of personalized recommendations based on user preferences

  • Users face content overload while searching

  • Lack of ease in purchasing items displayed in the photo

  • Complex to use for homeowners and design enthusiasts

  • Limited product library and user-generated content compared to other apps

  • Expensive subscription plans for small design firms or individual users

  • Limited customization options for designing spaces

  • Only available on webpage

Houzz

Pinterest

StyleRow

  • Extensive product library and user-generated content

  • 3D room planner and visual search tool

  • Personalized product recommendations based on user preferences

  • Large user community for inspiration and sharing idea

  • Monetization strategy based on advertising and sponsored content

  • Overwhelming for users who are not familiar with interior design

  • Limited customization options for designing spaces

  • Some products may not be available for purchase in all regions

  • Limited project management features for design professionals

  • Advanced project management and collaboration features for design professionals

  • Customizable 3D rendering tools and product sourcing options

  • Monetization strategy based on subscription plans

  • Allows for easy collaboration with clients and vendors

  • Cloud-based platform accessible from any device

Cons

Cons

Pros

Pros

Cons

Pros

Key Insights:


One of the main issues revealed during the user interviews was the lack of streamlined features from the competitor's apps, they would have to download multiple app to achieve their design goals. To address this, I took a holistic approach and organized the critical features for my final solution.

Analyze

User flow

01.

From registration to looking for a product and eventually checking out. With the purpose of improving user engagement, satisfaction and ultimately driving sales by streamlining the process.

Architecture information

02.

Structuring the system will help users easily identify and access relevant information, orient themselves within the app, and take action to achieve their goals.

Design

Wireframe sketches

01.

After conducting extensive market and user research, I have identified strategic ways to harness and leverage data to increase efficiency and reduce costs for users, resulting in a more streamlined and effortless experience.

Low fidelity Wireframes

02.

After establishing the main objectives and structuring the framework for the product, I developed low fidelity wireframes to begin consolidating the UI design.

Conducted moderated usability testing on 5 users


  1. How would you describe your initial impression of the app's interface and design?

  2. Were you able to quickly understand the main features and functionality of the app?

  3. Can you walk me through the process of "finding inspiration and purchasing the items" using the app?

  4. Did you encounter any difficulties or confusion while navigating through the app? If so, can you explain what caused the confusion?

  5. Were you able to find the products or inspiration sources easily? If not, what challenges did you face?

  6. How intuitive and helpful did you find the design tools, such as the 3D room planner or color selection feature?

Insights from testing

Gathering valuable insights from representative users to evaluate and refine the user experience of the project, drive iterative improvements and optimize overall usability.

Design style

03.

After establishing the main objectives and structuring the framework for the product, I developed low fidelity wireframes to begin consolidating the UI design.

High-fidelity Prototype

04.

Demonstrating the app's features and functionality, allowing users to experience a realistic and immersive interaction with the app. The high-fidelity prototype will include multiple screens and user flows, presenting various scenarios and user interactions within the app.

Creating account

  1. Land on sign in page

  2. Create an account

  3. Enter new account information

  4. Success

Onboarding Screen

  1. Viewing one product

  2. Selecting a product from saved collection to compare

  3. Share to others and invite to edit

Product Comparison

  1. Viewing one product

  2. Selecting a product from saved collection to compare

  3. Share to others and invite to edit

Inspiration

  1. Browsing on inspiration page

  2. Browsing through designers

  3. Entering designer's page

  4. Browsing through projects

  5. Adding item to cart

Moodboard

  1. Browsing through design space

  2. Clicking into one moodboard

  3. Sharing moodboard to other

Reflection

This project has been a rewarding experience that allowed me to bring together my expertise in both interior design and UX design. It was a fulfilling intersection where I could leverage my skills and knowledge to breathe life into the app. I thoroughly enjoyed the process of applying my first-hand experience to empathize with the users and bring solutions to create a user-centric experience. It is my belief that this app will empower users to create spaces that truly reflect their personal style and preferences.

Next steps

Develop various platforms

integrating Roomeasy with various platforms to expand its reach and enhance the user experience. This includes developing a responsive website version that allows professionals to access the platform at office setting. Additionally, I aim to optimize the app for iPad devices, providing a seamless and intuitive experience for users who prefer a larger touch interface. Furthermore, I envision exploring the possibilities of integrating the app with virtual reality (VR) technology. This would enable users to immerse themselves in a virtual environment, visualizing their designs in a more realistic and interactive manner. By embracing these different platforms, Roomeasy can cater to a broader audience and provide more flexible design experience that transcends traditional boundaries.

Integrate with AI and VR

Leveraging the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the app's features and provide personalized design recommendations based on user preferences and behavior. With AI, Roomeasy can build a larger product library, automate tasks, improve search capabilities, and deliver a more tailored and intelligent user experience. This integration of AI technology will further elevate the Roomeast's functionality, making it a smarter and more intuitive tool for users to explore, design, and create personalized spaces.