AI Technology in Housing Search
Project Context
Role: UX Designer
Timeline: April - August 2023
Responsibilities: Branding, Research, Wireframing, Prototyping, Usability Testing
What is this Project about?
As a UX designer at a startup company called "Roamer AI", I played a pivotal role in shaping the company's identity and product experience. I led the branding and designed the product, ensuring a user-centric and visually appealing interface.
My contributions extended to creating a seamless and engaging user experience even with a new technology that might not be familiar to many users.
Product/Organization Goals
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To create a prototype to showcase the property search experience through new AI technology
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To have a product with a clean, modern design that is easy to navigate for users
User Goals
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Have a property search experience that is as seamless and enjoyable as possible
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Find a housing with their own words
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Find housing from an image of a house that they want
Research
User Research:
I began the design process by conducting user research about AI and real estate.
Internet Search:
Nearly the same amount of Americans view AI favorably as they do unfavorably.
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Favorably: 39%
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Unfavorably: 43%
A third of Americans think AI will fundamentally change American society.
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36%
Americans don’t fully trust companies to develop AI systems with the public’s well-being in mind – while 25% have a great deal or somewhat trust AI companies to do so, 75% have little to no trust.
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Great deal or somewhat trust: 25%
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Little or no trust: 75%
Americans report having ever used a text-based or visual generative AI system, such as ChatGPT, DALL-E, Bard, Midjourney or Stable Diffusion
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16%
User Interviews:
Key Findings about Online Real Estate Search:
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Many users spend about 1-2 minutes looking at photos before reading descriptions.
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Some users have had a hard time connecting with agents through websites so they end up calling them directly.
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Users decide if they use filters based on the number of results that come up.
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Ads are annoying but understandable that businesses have to have them.
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Users don’t like when they have to download a mobile app to open a listing that was shared with others.
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Users prefer less text-based information in the description.
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Many users use a property cost calculator and they seem to trust it.
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Some users open Google Maps in separate a tab or a window because they feel that maps on the website are not easy to navigate/ not detailed enough.
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Users often have a hard time finding apartments’ names or their official websites in the description.
Key Findings about AI:
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Their familiarity level with AI drops significantly compared to other technologies.
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Other technologies: Average Score: 6.2
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AI: Average Score: 2.5 out of 10
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Users are intrigued by AI’s ability to generate something personalized from scratch.
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Users felt that Google has a bigger database than chat GPT.
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Users felt that Chat GPT was taking longer to present initial results, but they were more tailored than Google so the overall process to find what they wanted was quicker.
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Users did not like that Chat GPT doesn’t provide references for information
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Some users feel that the chat-based search is a little too much
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Users felt that if they don’t work things correctly, AI has a hard time understanding them
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All of the users said that they skipped informational pop-up boxes when they started using new software because they didn’t seem to answer users’ questions and gave them unnecessary information.
Competitive Analysis
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Strength and weaknesses
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Content Organization (Filtering)
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How they navigate users to find what they want (navigation)
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Design Patterns
Define
Personas
I created 2 representations of the main groups of users for this application. Visualizing future users' backgrounds and needs helped me to deliver more effective designs.
Design Requirements
Prior to starting the development phase of the design process, I made 3 important design requirements that kept me on track with why and how I would design this product.
Goal - making users feel excited and engaged when they search for properties without feeling overwhelmed by the new workflow that comes with new technologies.
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Simplicity - Avoid showing too much information on the screen. Keep the design simple clean and modern.
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Familiarity - Workflow, screen layout, and components need to be fitted to the industry standard so that users can be familiarized with how our product works without feeling overwhelmed.
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Engagement - Embrace the differences and new features of our product that most people have not experienced by making it visually entertaining to engage the user’s attention.
Develop
Ideation
For the ideation process, I started with gathering raw materials by collecting sample products and images from the internet, brainstorming sessions, and rough sketches. Then, I categorized rough ideas to find out connections and how I valued them. From these exercises, I was able to come up with hypostasis and possible solutions to move forward with.
Hypothesis:
If we create a web application that…
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Shows just the right amount of information that users need to accomplish tasks by using more graphics than text (simplicity)
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Has a simple similar workflow that users are already familiar with (familiality)
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Intrigue users' interests visually and functionally
Users would have a property search experience that is as seamless and enjoyable as possible.
User Flow
After the Ideation phase, I created User Flow with FigJam to organize the task flow of the product to start designing for screens.
Prototype development
After creating the user flow, I moved on to the prototyping phase. I first sketched a low-fidelity prototype to visualize the basic layout of screens, CTA buttons, and the functionality of this product.
Visual Design
Logo Creation
INTELLIGENT, INNOVATIVE, CREATIVE
The stakeholders, Roamer AI is built on the principles of agility, intelligence, and flexibility - characteristics embodied by the roaming fox, a creature known for its wandering spirit, resourcefulness, and ability to adapt to different environments.
I was also responsible for the company's branding. I designed their logo and created a design guide to effectively communicate the identity and values of the company.
Logo Variations
Final Design
Design Spec
I created comprehensive guidance on layout, colors, and typography.
Deliver
Usability Testing
With the low-fidelity prototypes that I created, I conducted user tests with 3 people. I gave them tasks to do with a scenario, had them walk through the process, and asked them to gain their insights.
Key Findings:
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All of them managed to complete tasks which are to search a house using both text and image input, apply filters, and get details of results.
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One person was not familiar with the feature of drawing on a map to specify locations, but all of them liked it.
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All 3 users liked the visual design and layout, but one preferred more images for more engagement.
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All users wanted more explanations on the differences between AI text search and regular search that they see on other real estate websites.
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Two users wanted to input desired location in the initial search query.
Final Design
The Final Thoughts & The Future Possibilities
I enjoyed creating a user-friendly design that incorporates AI technology and reflects the company’s mission!
I see significant business potential in this product, benefiting users by:
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Engaging them in more personalized housing search experiences
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Providing flexibility with multiple ways to find ideal options
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Encouraging people to explore the housing market and recognize its potential.
In the future, I would love to explore further in
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Researching the aspects that matter most to users when searching for housing.
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Developing a housing search engine that learns from users’ preferences, behavior, and feedback.
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Utilizing VR allows users to explore properties from the comfort of their homes.
