RENTAL PROPERTY WEBSITE

Project Overview

Dwell Rental Properties is a fictional company I created for the Google UI/UX course. The website will be a portal for renters to find housing options and a place where managers will be able to list available properties.

In addition to the website design, logo, and branding. I was responsible for administering all interviews, developing personas, user research, wireframing, journey mapping, low-fidelity, and high-fidelity prototypes. The course presentation can be viewed here.

If you would like to see my full process please read on, otherwise, feel free to skip to the high-fidelity prototype version below.

GO TO FULL PROTOTYPE »

The Logo

The primary focus of the certification program's goal was to create a responsive website. The UI portion is something I enjoy and saw this as an opportunity to expand. Although, the function is important; I feel that design is equally as important during testing and beyond.

I started sketching and remembered most companies used a house in their logo. I liked the idea of a house. However, I wanted it to be a little abstract. The D with the door was the perfect combination of modern and friendly. I went back and forth with the architecture of the door. I finally decided an arch doorway was the best version to use. The roundness offers a very welcoming approach. You see doors every day. Doors represent change. The open door also represents their open-door policy. They are open to talking with anyone. The arch door provides a cottage feel and mimics the roundness of the D.

MOOD BOARD

Once I had the logo finalized, I created a mood board to get a feel for what I wanted the experience to feel like. I wanted the company to feel professional, inviting, and very friendly. I recently was inspired by a real estate commercial I saw on TV. The company chose to show a different side of the real estate business. Their main purpose was to make you happy. With that, I started to think of things that were inviting to me. I remember as a child my friend's house always had a fresh bowl of oranges on the kitchen table. I do not believe you can be more inviting than a full bowl of peeled oranges. His mother loved the smell, and it added color to the table. However, anyone could take an orange if they wanted. That is the feeling I wanted to convey since this experience stayed with me all these years. The hope would be that users would feel the same way when using the site.

UX PROCESS

User Pain Points

Uniform Communications

There were complaints that competitors were using different looks for communication. This makes signing up for these sites confusing. It also makes the user feel they cannot trust the website.

Low Resolution

Users also mentioned that the photos featured were not large enough and they were sometimes not the most recent look of the property.

Archiving

Users mentioned wanting a place to archive properties. So I created where you can save your rental properties, and compare them. This will also be a quick way to refer to past properties you have saved.

Low-Fidelity Prototype

The sketches have similarities to the lo-fi and hi-fi versions I created. After extensive research, I quickly noticed certain websites using similar tactics. I opted to use a layer-cake format for the website. I think this website style fits with the audience and the website's purpose. It also lends itself to easier transition for the tablet and mobile versions.

HI-FI MOCKUPS

VIEW PROTOTYPE »

Project Takeaways

The overall design was well-received by all users and viewers. The brand mark, colors, and branding were said to be very strong and many said it resembled a real company. The app prototype was easy to navigate and users enjoyed the prototype. Many users said they would buy from this business if it existed. This is a success in my eyes, as this was one of my first apps designed.

I learned quite a bit with this app project. I learned about Adobe XD and its capabilities, working text fields, and using existing design systems. I gained knowledge about rental properties and what they have to offer. I also learned that many of my close friends have rented temporary homes for multiple reasons. Each has had their own experiences. Some have been positive, but many have been negative. I hope that the in the future more companies take user feedback in to account when designing their website.