Nest
Time: 2023
Duration: 2 months
Intro: Nest is a mobile app that optimize the home design experience and efficiently create customized home design plans.
My role: This is an independent design project for which I conducted user research, user interview, contextual inquiry, user journey mapping, competitor analysis, speculative design, lo-to-hi fi prototyping, usability testing.
Overview
Background: During my internship as an interior designer, I found a common challenge in the industry-clients needing assistance in making design decisions that align with their needs and facing communication barriers with designers.

Design goal: Simplify and enhance the home design experience, reducing stress and time demands.
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Problem statements:

How might we make it easier for users to better design their new homes？

Solutions:

The app allows users to curate their inspirations, explore design ideas, and share their personal experiences and stories within a vibrant community within a vibrant community.

1. Enhanced Filter System: Provides users with highly accurate recommendations tailored to their preferences.

2. Visualization Tool: Enables users to visualize and make informed decisions about design elements within their own living spaces.

3. Communication Platform: Bridges the gap between users and designers
Matching styles
Adding accessories
Finding designers
Research
Online feedbacks
To gain deeper insights into the challenges and user needs within the realm of home design, I conducted an analysis of user feedback on interior design websites Houzz and HomeAdvisor, identifying keywords that specifically highlight the issues and requirements expressed by users.
Painpoints
Comparative analysis
Navigating Home Design Information Access
During my research, I found that people access home design information through online and offline sources. I evaluate and compare different methods to access home design solutions and identify their strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement.
Problems space
Overload of inspiration
Many people struggle to define their personal style and choose a design that fits their lifestyle, personality, and the building’s architecture.
Lack of professional knowledge
Creating a floor plan for large furniture and room layouts takes time and effort.
Finding the right team
Finding the right interior designer and workers is crucial for a smooth process, but clients struggle to learn enough about them in a short time.
Budget

Budgeting for a home build is challenging due to the need for constant communication with professionals.
Questionnaire
To collect feedback about users' past experiences with their home design and the barriers they encountered, I carried out a questionnaire. Findings revealed that most respondents were unhappy with their living conditions, and the final design didn’t meet their expectations, highlighting a gap between their needs and the solutions provided.
Top findings:
Not satisfied with the current design
  • There's a desire for a home design that better caters to their emotional needs.
  • The users need to share opinions about design layout with their family member.
Professional design and guidance
  • Users seek professional guidance for home renovation suggestions.
  • There is a demand for better planning on the schedule of design work, quoting, labor,mconstruction, installation, and styling.
Communication and record
  • Users require enhanced communication channels for expressing concerns and addressing their needs.
  • Users seek tools to efficiently record the entire process of home renovation.
User profile
Unveiling user insights through semi-structured interviews
Through conducting semi-structured interviews with two potential users, I got more comprehensive information from them: who they are, their jobs, and their needs and pains when looking for home design. Out of all the concerns raised in the research, three pain points have emerged as the most critical areas for improvement:
Lack of organization in the design schedule
Limited engagement in the design process
Insufficient visualization tools for decision-making
Defining the Target Demographic and Crafting User Personas
The target demographic comprises adults aged 18-45 actively seeking improved design ideas to enhance their living standards.
Building upon the insights garnered from prior research, I engaged in design deduction, distilling several key design features:
  • Style Library/Collection: Gallery of Design Ideas and Solutions
  • Professional Communication: Providing Professional Advice and Insight
  • Family Collaboration: Achieving Better User Experience for the family
User Journey
Creating effective communication platform
After talking to the users, I created a user journey map to visually demonstrate the actions being taken and the thoughts behind the actions. During the process, I discovered that customer smooth communication significantly impacts whether the users' journey is enjoyable. This is why I incorporated a platform for family-designer interaction.
User flow
Flow 1. Finding examples and matching design styles
This flow is designed to provide users with inspiration, helping them find styles that match their preferences through browsing various design examples. Users can then save their favorite designs into a list for future use, ensuring that their home renovation project stays aligned with their personal taste and needs.
Flow 2. My design plan
This flow is designed to offer users a personalized sketchbook where they can create a design mock-up for their spaces. Users can customize accessories, wallpaper, lighting, and flooring within their rooms, allowing them to visualize the rendering effect. This tool enhances communication with designers by providing a clear visual representation of the user's preferences and ideas.
Flow 3. Customizing home information
This flow is designed to help users create an archive folder that stores information about their family and home. Users can save and organize examples they’ve collected, input detailed home and family information, and easily access this data for future reference.
Flow 4. Meeting designer
This flow is designed to create a platform that enhances communication between the family, designer, and workers. It includes a virtual meeting room where users can conduct remote meetings, collaborate on a shared idea board, and perform remote site visits via video calls.
Usability testing

During the development of the Nest app, usability testing emerged as a pivotal process in refining the user experience and addressing key pain points identified in the home design industry. Here's how usability testing contributed to the improvement of the app's functionality:
Takeaway:
  • Users were overwhelmed by the app's filter system due to the excessive number of style recommendation options.
  • Users want designer recommendations relevant to their search and prefer to see detailed profiles showcasing designers' past experience.
  • Users want to see design progress while chatting with their designer.
  • Users want to track design progress over time with better time management.
Suggestion:
  • Refined the filters to prioritize accuracy and relevance by limiting options for room type, color, and size.
  • Add a designer recommendation feature to the design plan, include design stories in designer profiles, and display client feedback.
  • Add a progress checklist to the chatting interface, allowing users to track design milestones and updates in real time.
  • Add a calendar feature to track important deadlines, helping users stay updated on their design project's progress.
Prototype
Finding design styles
Unlocking Design Style Discovery with an Intuitive Filter System
Users can easily find their ideal design style using a streamlined filter system that tailors options to their project parameters. This facilitates a more efficient selection process and opens avenues for inspiration.
Finding matched designer
Identifying a match through compatibility in passion, style, and expertise
The designer's profile showcases their passion, approach, and design philosophy, along with a curated selection of their best work, highlighting their diverse skills. This helps users find a designer whose style and expertise match their needs. The before-and-after storyboard, along with client feedback and testimonials, offers social proof of the designer's abilities and professionalism.
Adding accessories in real home setting
Empowers users to customize spaces in real home settings
By integrating accessories with real home references, users can virtually visualize how they will look in their spaces before making purchases. This feature helps with decision-making by offering a realistic preview, allowing users to customize and experiment with different options, colors, and styles. It also assesses the scale and proportion of accessories within the existing layout, ensuring a harmonious fit in the final design.
Meeting designers
Meetings facilitate and guide the design process
Designers can use meetings to present design concepts, mood boards, and 3D visualizations, helping users visualize and provide feedback. Meetings also allow for the discussion of incorporating personal items, choosing materials and colors, and assessing the space to create a design that maximizes its potential.
Following up with design schedule
Timely updates and discussions ensure effective project monitoring
Meeting and communicating with workers allows for detailed planning of the construction or renovation process. Workers can discuss task sequences, allocate resources, and set timelines. Regular updates help designers and project managers stay informed and address issues promptly. Meetings also provide a chance to review quality expectations, including material standards and craftsmanship, ensuring the final result aligns with the design vision.
Customized home information
Personalized information ensures practicality and optimal outcomes
Incorporating customized home information, like family size, lifestyle habits, and daily routines, ensures the design is practical and functional. It also considers potential lifestyle changes, ensuring the home remains adaptable over time. Integrating details about hobbies and preferences allows for personal elements, such as a dedicated workspace or display area for collections.
Reflection
Designing the Nest app has been a transformative journey, shaped by my experiences as an interior designer and driven by a passion for addressing the common challenges faced by clients and designers in the home design industry.
Empathy-Driven Design Approach
The goal of improving home design and customization shaped the app's development. Using my client experience, I focused on understanding the needs and challenges of both clients and designers. This led to features like an enhanced filter system, visualization tool, and communication platform to address industry challenges.4o mini
Continuous Iteration and Improvement
Throughout the design process, I focused on continuous improvement by gathering feedback from users, designers, and industry experts. Usability testing provided valuable insights into user behavior, guiding iterative enhancements to the app's functionality. This approach ensured the Nest app continually evolves to meet the changing needs and expectations of users and designers.
Opportunities
Integration of Machine Learning for Personalized Design Advice
Integrating machine learning will enhance the system's ability to provide personalized design advice. By analyzing user-input keywords and engaging in virtual dialogue, the system will become a more intuitive design companion, offering tailored guidance and transforming the user experience into a highly personalized, expert-led journey.
Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality for Immersive Interaction
In the future, we can further enhance the visualization tool by advancing our use of Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and other immersive technologies. Users will be able to fully immerse themselves in virtual environments, experiencing and visualizing their design choices in real time, overcoming the limitations of traditional design presentations.
© Jinlan Huang 2024