Home Landing

Lowering the barrier to DIY home design

  • Home Landing is an AI - driven home design software. It enables users to DIY spaces via dynamic personalized suggestions and a user - friendly toolchain. Also, it turns individual tasks into shared creative acts through community - level collaborative sharing.

  • Data shows that 96% of American homeowners opt for independent design (Zillow Group）, covering all age groups, with those aged between 20 and 40 accounting for half of them. People are more inclined to use the Internet and social media to learn about and share related content. A typical American family only completes four DIY tasks each year. They are full of enthusiasm at the beginning, but 37% of them give up halfway.（Sensibledig）

  • Meet users' personalized and aesthetic demands, and lower the design threshold and enhance creativity through technologies such as artificial intelligence. Ultimately, by stimulating users' attention to their living Spaces and their participation in community collaboration, users can regain a sense of control over their lives and a positive mindset

  • As a product designer identified a gap: non - pro users eager for DIY home design lacked proper tools. I thus proposed and designed an AI - powered home design software.Preliminary UX research pinpointed user pain points. During UI design, user feedback indicated confusion over interface navigation and function operation logic. I promptly iterated, optimizing interaction design - from interface layout tweaks to operation process simplification. This made the product better meet user expectations.

Desk research

In this UX desk research, we aimed to understand the size of the DIY decoration market and people's areas of concern. By studying home decoration industry reports and relevant platform data, I found that DIY decoration spans all age groups, whether for renting, buying, or selling properties. Indoor decoration is the most popular project. People pursue personal style, property repair, future functionality … However, factors such as budget, time and energy, and difficulty with complex design tools often cause them to abandon DIY projects midway.

Competitor analysis + User voice

Next, I need to understand the products that are already on the market, help me understand the points that need to be covered in the basic design, as well as find problems and compare user feedback, so that I can position the product to better solve the corresponding needs of users.

Problem1：

Although there are interactive (3D) floor plans that are more convenient than flat editing software, they do not greatly simplify the interaction process.

Think 1：

Do users really need that precise data? Or do users just need a simple solution tool or a professional design tool?

Problem 2:

When searching for "DIY home design apps" on platforms like YouTube, even with "non - professionals" added, the software interfaces resembled those of mainstream designers' tools, indicating a high user entry barrier.

Problem 3:

Most AI home design offerings are for professional designers. Users either have to sift through countless options to find something of interest (needing prior knowledge) and get high - quality yet formulaic results, or use general - purpose image generators like Midjourney and constantly tweak prompts.

Problem 4:

Currently, users mainly rely on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest for design help. These are more popular than complex professional design tools as users can solve design problems following bloggers' sharing. But the videos are 12 - 20 minutes long. This requires users to spend much time learning, and the knowledge may not fit their actual situations.

Think 2:

Non-professionals are not considered by software developers related to home design, so does the emergence of AI technology help users？

Think 3:

There's a lot of information, too many options, and a lot of trial and error. Although it can meet the needs of a whim, it lacks data storage if it is to be used in stages.

Think 3:

However, platform success reveals the potential of community features in DIY home design. However, we need to think about how to balance the proportion of community functions

Define the problem

Therefore, the core needs of users are to overcome many of the obstacles faced in the current DIY design process by having a low barrier to entry, a design tool that can respond quickly to their design ideas and have a high degree of freedom.

Digression

After collating research data, I developed user personas and built the entire prototype aligned with their goals. To offer an intuitive view, I'll present the project's final results by integrating user portraits and key user journey maps, reflecting the outcomes from the users' perspectives. 

（I'll cover more of the design derivation later）

Let's welcome Ray


A 35 - year - old historian with a discerning aesthetic, currently dressed in ancient Greek style and wearing paper glasses, browses the website. He's seeking a design drawing that blends postmodern decorative beauty with modernist power as a reference for his new house.

GOAL：

  1. Functional task: Lower the threshold for design operations to enable non-professional users to quickly produce feasible design solutions

  2. Emotional task: Provide users with positive feedback to enhance their confidence in their own design capabilities

  3. Social tasks: Provide personalized design display Spaces to help users showcase their unique aesthetics within their social circles

Design Strategy:

  1. CaseCase-based trust:

    With a real case library, it helps users quickly get started with design.

  2. AR scanning and flexible editing: Combined with the real environment, it reduces the pressure of trial and error with features such as unlimited undo and branch saving.

  3. AI personalized customization: Generating unique designs.

Nice to see you

“Ready to design? Skip the ‘what’s your style’ quizzes. Dive in—explore features directly.”

"Oh my God, there are so many features"

😲😲😲

"Oh my God, there are so many features" 😲😲😲

01.A simple ad got Ray to notice and download Home Landing. Because he doesn't want the hassle of learning complex design tools or choosing from a multitude of paid AI mapping software.

02."It's easy to sign up", "Wow, is there really so much functionality like an introductory card?" I've got to try! ”

Okay! Welcome to main page!

"No Rigid Steps—Create Freely!”

I can do whatever I want

😌😌😌

I can do whatever I want 😌😌😌

03.Through the home page, Ray can quickly browse or enter the interface of tasks to be completed or completed in any functional section

Here is the AI tools page

Prompt words activate the desire to explore

So I can just ask directly?

🧐🧐🧐

So I can just ask directly? 🧐🧐🧐

04.In order not to let Ray be distracted by the overly complicated layout of the features, the input interface was cleanly organized

Here is the AI Advanced settings

Allow users to lead AI workflows rather than passively accept results,

thus enhancing their sense of control.

06.Home Landing has anticipated that Ray the perfectionist will not let go of any arrogant AI software. Advanced settings allow Ray to create his own workflows with free-format and simple module chains based on the his individual aesthetics

"That's kind of interesting."

🫡🫡🫡

"That's kind of interesting." 🫡🫡🫡

AR + AI

Solve the "uncertainty of design implementation" through AR, solve the "complexity of creative generation" through AI, and reduce the abandonment rate

07.Everyone is creative, and we should bring it to life and not be eliminated because of these tools. As a result, Ray can visualize his design ideas by presenting and documenting any whimsical ideas through AR+AI. And these ideas will be saved for the next time to continue creating and AR viewing

05.With the help of hints, Ray can also explore more features

"It's so convenient, I just have to say or type whatever I want."

😀😀😀

"It's so convenient, I just have to say or type whatever I want." 😀😀😀

Wait! Here is the community page

62% of DIY users hope to gain recognition through social platforms

07.The community provides a platform for the sharing of aesthetics and experiences. Ray was able to create his unique aesthetic image and increase his sense of acquisition here, thus moving away from the notion that "non-professionals are not worth designing".

Let's welcome Lena


Lena is a freelancer who loves to experiment with making all kinds of desserts, and recently she wanted to remodel a photoshoot-friendly kitchen in the house she rented, but she didn't know how to get started due to fear of uncontrollable factors and a huge network of information

GOAL:

  1. Functional tasks: Turn abstract ideas into executable solutions without specialized software skills.

  2. Affective Task: Rebuild self-confidence through intuitive plans/cases and combat uncertainty in the creative process.

  3. Social Task: Win more social attention with a good-looking kitchen design

Design strategy:

  1. Progressive toolchain: Set up a full-process guidance tutorial, adopting a combination of text, images and videos, providing step-by-step guidance from basic operations to complex designs

  2. Real-time feedback and plan formulation: Develop plans based on the actual situation of users, provide budget forecasts, etc

  3. Social sharing: Provide a community platform

Start here

"Okay, I'll follow your lead”

Thanks to it always giving me the right to choose

😌😌😌

Thanks to it always giving me the right to choose 😌😌😌

Moving on to the privacy page

40% DIY plans linger in imagination—this page drives them forward

06.The privacy interface is designed to encourage Lena to have the confidence to complete tasks bit by bit, thanks to Home Landing's ability to make renovation plans based on Lena's finances and timing, as well as the ability to keep a diary, provide to-do reminders, and record her emotions and renovation records. Eventually, she finishes remodeling her kitchen.

" So let me see what I'm going to do next？"

😀😀😀

" So let me see what I'm going to do next？" 😀😀😀

01.To ensure a free and inclusive experience, the Guided Mode uses animation, voice, and on - screen subtitles. This benefits people with disabilities and also empowers Lena to keep exploring. Additionally, the cancelable bootstrap and progressive toolchain enable Lena to work efficiently at all times, and she eventually completed the design work

Wake up! The last prototype is up

"If...maybe… if in case…you know, I'm still not at ease with the data”

06.The private interface deals with a lot of personal data. Since account login and the AR function may connect to other devices, Home Landing has an interface - level password - setting feature for data protection. Lena can set a password as she likes.

"I didn't realize it for so long."

😲😲😲

"I didn't realize it for so long." 😲😲😲

The user's happy path is over, but my journey is not yet complete.

To explore the design process further, scroll down.

During competitor analysis, the concept and functions of Home Landing gradually took shape. First, I incorporated user personas to create a flowchart and define the basic framework. Next, I experimented with logos and names to spark ideas, which was effective. Then, I proceeded with the flowchart and created page wireframes based on the basic process. However, a major flaw was that I failed to gather feedback, leading to numerous visual and process issues like information recognition problems.

Visual identity：

In order to strengthen the concept of Home Landing's progressive toolchain, different standard colors are set for each section. On the one hand, it helps new users to quickly identify the functional interface they are in when they use it for the first time (given the variety of content in each section); On the other hand, strengthen the brand visual. At the same time, user-defined colors are supported during the concept phase. The color selection is mostly low-saturation tones, so as to avoid users inhibiting creativity due to color interference.

Feedback:

Due to poor timing, I had to complete the coursework quickly, so I designed a high-fidelity prototype before inviting my teacher and friends to do usability testing.

They provided valuable feedback that some of the fonts in the guide were too small, that there were data privacy concerns, and that there was a lack of user-directed guidance. They also questioned the purpose of the search box at the top, how to prioritize multiple subsections in the community function, and more. Although it was hard to change at the time, I am really grateful to them.

Iteration：

1.Adjust visual specifications

In response to their feedback, I revised the font size standards and adjusted the layout. Despite the teacher's opinion that the search box was outdated, I retained it. The search box allows users to quickly navigate to desired function interfaces. Although I didn't have the opportunity to observe its usage frequency, its utility for user convenience seemed significant.

2.Prioritization

The teacher assisted in prioritizing the information architecture and functions. As a class, we each answered 26 questionnaires from each other (which took one morning). Overall, most results met my expectations. However, based on the survey findings, I adjusted the order of sub - functions within the community feature.

3.Interaction design optimization

My friend said, "I didn't know what to do at first." My teacher also pointed out my prototype lacked a user onboarding process. So, I decided to create an animation to demonstrate product usage and enhance user - product interaction.

During preliminary research, many users disliked mandatory commands and passive operations with AR/AI tools. So, instead of using a startup pop - up to instruct “what to do", I enabled free exploration and exit. Visual cues are used to imply "try clicking here first".

This is a reprioritization of content in the top navigation bar of the community

Conclusion:

This was the last assignment of my Product Interaction Design course. The teacher trusted us and made me realize the importance of solving problems from a user-centered perspective as a product designer. Since I used secondary materials, I missed the most authentic user voices, expressions, and behaviors. However, I worked hard to curb my bias by learning user experience research methods and iterating based on user feedback. I took a deeper step in learning Figma, standardized my interface designs, and created interactive animations. Most importantly, in design, I no longer rely solely on inspiration. Instead, I analyze the validity and importance of each decision I make, ensuring that they are fully based on user needs and user experience principles.

This is a demonstration of visual guidelines for animation

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