Skills
UX/UI Design • Product Design • Visual Design
Challenge
Vacation house and condos were going unrented and there was no way to discount them as they got closer to vacant calendar days. Owners were missing out on making money and last-minute travelers couldn’t find much of a deal.
How might we create a platform that allows people to book deeply discounted, last minute house and condo rentals?
Quick Test: Will People Use This?
To test if we had a viable idea, I threw together a few rough screenshots of the app to upload it to a “test” App Store to see if anyone would click on it when they came across it. The Result: they did indeed.
Screenshots from the test App Store
Next, I dove into some research.
Here are a few key quotes from the first person interviews I conducted as Primary Research.
Loose User Flow: Room for Brainstorming
I identified the tasks and user flows that would meet the personas’ goals. For this project, I had a few user flows to create based on both the property owner and the renter. Then I moved some of the frames around and left room for brainstorming and pivoting if necessary.
App’s Primary Features: Maps, Deals Near You
Using the user flows that I previously created, I developed wireframes incorporating the app’s primary features in a systematic and intuitive manner. All the while, I was ensuring that the Personas’ needs, desires, and goals were met within the context of their journey.
Last Minute = Easy to Book =Flexible Cancellation
For these wireframes, I used rapid proto-typing. I focused on creating the most intuitive experience by brainstorming solutions to the “how might we” question identified earlier in the presentation. Along with ease of booking, it was also important to the customer “ease of cancellation.”
Results
I liked working on this project because I’m a traveler at heart and love to explore what “a day in the life” is like for someone who lives somewhere else. I also like a great deal (who doesn’t!) There’s a real “locals” experience you get when you stay in a neighborhood vs. in a hotel district. It was my vision that this app could help the user do just that.
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