CASE STUDY
HomeMate — Designing Confidence in the Rental Journey
A conceptual product design project exploring how renters can search, compare, and book property viewings with greater confidence and less decision fatigue.
Project Overview
Project
HomeMate — Real Estate Rental Platform
Type
Mobile-First Product Design & UX Research
Role
Product Designer & UX Researcher
Timeline
6 months
Scope
End-to-end platform design: Search & Discovery → Listing Detail → Saved Homes → Booking Flow → Renter Dashboard
Deliverables
User Research · Journey Mapping · Information Architecture · Wireframes · Prototype · High-Fidelity UI · Usability Testing
Overview
Finding a home in the UK is often stressful, time-consuming, and emotionally draining for both renters and buyers. Existing property platforms frequently overwhelm users with outdated listings, inconsistent information, and a lack of transparency — making the search harder than it needs to be.
HomeMate was created to redefine this experience.
This project explores how a digital platform can simplify the home-hunting journey through clarity, organization, and meaningful insight. HomeMate empowers users to find a home that fits their lifestyle, priorities, and long-term needs — not just their budget.
Problem Statement
Problem Statement
People struggle to make confident housing decisions because:
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Listings are outdated or unavailable
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Costs and contract terms lack clarity
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Neighborhood information is limited or missing
As a result, users waste time, miss opportunities, and feel overwhelmed during a process that should feel exciting — not exhausting.
Research
Understanding the Rental Search Experience
Having moved homes multiple times myself — and witnessing friends go through the same — I understood how overwhelming the process can be. To gain deeper insight, I explored how people search for homes, what they prioritize, and where friction occurs.
Research methods included:
Interviews with renters and buyers in London
Observation of how users browse listings, shortlist properties, and schedule viewings
Competitive analysis of major UK property platforms (Zoopla, Rightmove, OnTheMarket)
Surveys conducted with friends and family across the UK
Key Finding
This confirmed the lack of transparency and clarity as a core usability problem.
User Quotes
It's exhausting trying to organize viewings and keep track of all the details — I feel rushed to decide or offer more money just to secure a place.
— Daniela
UX Insight
Users experience cognitive overload during the viewing and comparison process, creating stress and rushed decision-making.
I hate finding a good property and then having to fill out forms and wait forever for a reply — I just want to contact the owner directly.
— Laura
UX Insight
Slow communication flows and fragmented application steps create friction and reduce trust in the platform experience.
It's frustrating when listings are outdated or missing key details — I waste time checking properties that don't even exist anymore.
— Leonel
UX Insight
Users need clearer listing transparency, better information accuracy, and stronger availability indicators.
DISCOVERY
Defining the Opportunity
Target User
A typical HomeMate user is a busy professional relocating for work who needs to make fast, confident decisions. They want reliable information, real-time availability, and clear property details — all in one place.
User Needs & Why They Matter
Research Insights
Real-time availability signals
Users abandon searches when listings feel stale or unconfirmed
Remote-first property evaluation
Most decisions begin long before any in-person visit
Neighborhood context, not just location
Proximity data alone doesn't answer 'will I feel at home here?'
Guided scheduling, not more steps
Cognitive overload peaks at the booking and viewing stage
Verified details and contract clarity
Trust erodes quickly when information feels incomplete or inconsistent
Persistent organisation across the search
Users manage multiple properties at once and need structure to stay confident
Research revealed that renters value clarity, trust, and decision confidence above listing volume. Reducing uncertainty at key decision points mattered more than adding more features.
Design Principles
Guiding the Experience
With user needs mapped, I defined five principles to guide feature prioritization, interaction patterns, and the overall product tone.
These principles transformed research insights into practical interaction patterns — guiding every persona-driven design decision that followed.
User Personas
Who We Designed For
With design principles established, I developed two representative personas from research — each shaped by distinct goals, frustrations, and decision-making patterns.
User Journey
Understanding the Decision Journey
To better understand the emotional experience of moving homes, I mapped the end-to-end renter journey and analyzed where friction, uncertainty, and cognitive overload appeared most frequently.
Customer Journey Map — end-to-end renter experience, emotional arc, and design opportunities
What the Journey Revealed
Emotional highs and lows
Users began the property search feeling optimistic, but confidence gradually declined as uncertainty and information gaps increased throughout the journey.
Trust breakdowns
Incomplete property information, inconsistent listing details, and limited transparency reduced trust during key decision-making moments.
Moments of decision fatigue
Comparing multiple properties, coordinating viewings, and managing conversations across agents created cognitive overload.
Opportunities to simplify the experience
Users needed better property context, streamlined scheduling, and centralized communication to reduce friction and improve confidence.
The journey map revealed three critical friction points: lack of trust in listing information, cognitive overload during property comparison, and fragmented communication throughout the viewing process. These insights directly informed the opportunity areas explored in the next phase of the design.
From Research to Strategy
Three strategic themes emerged directly from the journey map — each one pointing to a clear product direction.
Strategic Opportunities
Three themes shaped the product direction
Trust & Transparency
Listings felt stale and unverified. Trust needed to be visible — through real-time availability, verified photos, and clear costs — before a user makes an inquiry.
Discovery & Decision Confidence
Users lacked context, not listings. Neighborhood atmosphere and lifestyle fit were missing — forcing external research to answer basic questions.
Coordination & Scheduling
The post-shortlist experience is where trust broke down most. Users needed one place to book viewings, track properties, and communicate directly.
Constraints & Considerations
What shapes the solution space
Real-time data access requires partnerships with portals (e.g., Zoopla, Rightmove).
Verifying listings and reviews introduces operational cost and moderation needs.
GDPR compliance is essential for user profiles and direct communications.
Neighborhood and cost data depends on reliable third-party APIs.
Real-time notifications require robust backend infrastructure.
These constraints shaped feature scoping — prioritizing decisions that deliver the highest confidence gains within realistic boundaries.
Experience Strategy
Designing the Search-to-Decision Flow
After identifying key user frustrations, I mapped the complete rental journey to understand how users search, evaluate, compare, and decide on properties. The flow was designed to reduce friction, improve clarity, and support confident decision-making across multiple user paths.
Reduce Friction
Simplify discovery with guided filtering and streamlined actions.
Improve Trust
Verified details, transparent info, and clear communication touchpoints.
Support Decisions
Help users compare properties and evaluate options efficiently.
Return Engagement
Saved searches and notifications keep users connected throughout.
User flow diagram — complete rental decision journey from discovery to commitment.
Project Planning
Plan Development
To manage scope across an 8-week timeline, I mapped the project into five phases: Wireframing, Stretch Goals, Hi-Fi Prototype, Testing, and Dev Hand-off.
Each task was assigned to a screen, typed as Core or UX/UI, estimated in hours, and tracked to a deadline — keeping design decisions intentional and time-boxed from low-fidelity exploration through to hand-off.
HomeMate Concept Gallery
HomeMate Wireframe Gallery
With research direction established, I translated early sketches into low-fidelity wireframes — prioritising structure, hierarchy, and flow over visual detail. A first usability round validated the overall architecture and surfaced friction points before moving to high-fidelity design.
Fig. 1 · Low-fidelity wireframes — Home Page, Property Listing, Engage Steps, Saved Homes & Inbox flows
Round 1 · Structure & HierarchyWireframes were intentionally kept at low fidelity to stay focused on structure and flow. Visual refinements — color, typography, and component detail — were introduced only after usability testing confirmed the underlying architecture was working.
UX Breakdown
Each screen was designed to address a specific user frustration identified during research — progressing from discovery through to communication.
01 · Home Screen
Home Screen
Leads with predictive search and quick filters to reduce time-to-first-result. Personalised recommendations surface based on saved listings, so returning users don't start from zero on every session.
Property Listing Page
Structured to build trust progressively — large photo gallery first, then transparent cost breakdown, verified landlord badge, and lifestyle tags. Information is ordered by the questions users ask, not by what's easiest to display.
Favorites & Comparison
Designed for the decision-making phase. Users can save listings, build side-by-side comparisons, and add personal notes — reducing the cognitive load of managing multiple options across different platforms.
Viewing Scheduler
Centralises all viewings in one dashboard with live availability, reducing the back-and-forth communication with agents that users identified as a major frustration. Alerts for cancellations prevent wasted journeys.
Inbox
Centralises all landlord and agent communication in one place, giving users a clear record of responses and confirmation of bookings without needing to switch between email, WhatsApp, or phone.
Design Rationale
Every wireframe was anchored to three principles: Clarity, Trust, and Control.
Each screen was evaluated against three questions users consistently asked during research:
Is it available?
What does it cost?
Can I trust this listing?
These became the filter for every layout and interaction decision.
Home Screen
Leads with predictive search and quick filters to reduce time-to-first-result. Personalised recommendations surface based on saved listings, so returning users don't start from zero on every session.
Property Listing Page
Structured to build trust progressively — large photo gallery first, then transparent cost breakdown, verified landlord badge, and lifestyle tags. Information is ordered by the questions users ask, not by what's easiest to display.
Favorites & Comparison
Designed for the decision-making phase. Users can save listings, build side-by-side comparisons, and add personal notes — reducing the cognitive load of managing multiple options across different platforms.
Viewing Scheduler
Centralises all viewings in one dashboard with live availability, reducing the back-and-forth communication with agents that users identified as a major frustration. Alerts for cancellations prevent wasted journeys.
Inbox
Centralises all landlord and agent communication in one place, giving users a clear record of responses and confirmation of bookings without needing to switch between email, WhatsApp, or phone.
Validation
Turning User Feedback Into Design Decisions
I conducted moderated usability testing using a high-fidelity prototype focused on the Richmond, UK market — evaluating navigation, content hierarchy, interaction patterns, and user confidence across the property search journey.
Key Usability Findings
Participants had 5–10 seconds to explore the homepage before completing tasks — assessing whether HomeMate's purpose was immediately clear and whether the interface felt trustworthy at first glance.
Participants completed property-search tasks while thinking aloud — revealing recurring friction points that directly informed the next design iteration.
Moderated usability testing session using the Richmond prototype.
Core Tasks
Participants completed six representative tasks:
Search for a property
Browse and open listings
Adjust filters, including the price range slider
Sort and save properties
Share a listing and access the inbox
Navigate freely between key sections
These tasks were designed to validate assumptions around discoverability, content hierarchy, filtering, saved properties, and navigation.
Design Improvements
Connecting Feedback to Design Decisions
Improving Interaction Clarity
Finding
Users struggled with the draggable slide-up interaction and were unsure how to activate it.
Design Response
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Improved gesture discoverability
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Added visual interaction cues
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Reduced friction during onboarding
Making Filters Easier to Understand
Finding
Users had difficulty locating and understanding the price range controls.
Design Response
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Added clearer price range labeling
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Introduced helper text
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Improved filter hierarchy and visibility
Creating a More Immersive Property Experience
Finding
Users wanted richer ways to explore properties before booking a viewing.
Design Response
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Added video tours
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Prioritized high-quality imagery
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Planned support for more immersive property previews
Outcome
Usability testing validated the core property-search flow while uncovering opportunities to improve gesture discoverability, filter clarity, and property exploration. These insights directly informed the next design iteration, ensuring design decisions were grounded in observed user behavior rather than assumptions.
Visual Foundation
Building a Cohesive Design System
To create a unified product language, I established the HomeMate Design Foundation. This system brought together typography, color, imagery, logo standards, and reusable UI components to ensure consistency, scalability, and efficiency across the entire product experience.
FINAL EXPERIENCE
Bringing the Experience to Life
Research insights, usability findings, and the visual design system came together to shape the final HomeMate experience.
Prototype Highlights
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Location-first property search
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Streamlined filtering and discovery
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Interactive floor plan navigation
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Immersive 3D property walkthroughs
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Focused home tour booking flow
The prototype below demonstrates how these decisions work together to help renters discover, evaluate, and schedule tours with confidence.
Key Learnings & Design Impact
Key Takeaway
Confidence is the outcome of good decision-making support.
Throughout the project, the goal was never to help users browse more properties — it was to help them make better decisions with less uncertainty. Every design decision, from location-first search to immersive property exploration, focused on giving renters the context and clarity needed to move forward with confidence.
Learnings
Users think about location before property details.
Prioritizing location-first search aligned the experience with users' natural decision-making process and reduced friction at the start of the journey.
Complexity should be revealed progressively.
Advanced filters became more useful when organized into clear, digestible groups that supported decision-making without overwhelming users.
Visual context reduces uncertainty.
Floor plans and 3D walkthroughs helped users build accurate mental models of a property before committing to a viewing.
High-intent moments require focus.
Streamlining the tour booking flow removed unnecessary distractions and made scheduling feel faster and more intuitive.
Consistency builds trust.
Using familiar patterns across search, exploration, and booking created a predictable experience that helped users feel in control.
This project reinforced the importance of designing beyond individual screens. The most impactful improvements came from connecting research insights, interaction design, and visual systems into a cohesive experience.
By reducing uncertainty at every stage of the journey, HomeMate transformed property search from a task of comparison into a process of confident decision-making.