My role
Interaction designer, working with a project manager, two account managers, a visual designer, an iOS developer, and a QA team member.
Activities
- Information Architecture
- Interaction Design
The problem / opportunity
Rhode Island Housing, a non-profit organization that strives to help people responsibly purchase their homes, was looking for a way to position themselves as a valuable resource in the home buying experience. Also, they were seeking a potential revenue source from in-app purchases and/or advertising within the app.
From the user’s end, Rhode Island Housing had found that one of the key pieces of perspective they offer to their constituents is the ability to estimate what they called the “true cost” of the first year of home ownership, considering remodeling, repairs, furniture, etc. First-time home buyers wanted to be able to make better-informed decisions when they were searching for their homes.
The solution
Lists in the app featured the total first year cost as one of the key criteria so that users could keep that top-of-mind. Users could enter ratings and notes and take photos in order to organize their choices. Also, they could share their options with friends and family via Facebook and email.
I put together wireframes, making use of the iOS Human Interface Guidelines, specified interactions, and handed off to my colleague to design the final UI. The app was released for iOS only due to development budget constraints. More information at homecompareri.com.