Day 1: The Problem

The Problem

For this modified design sprint, I was tasked with finding a solution for the House2Home app. Many people are looking to furnish their new home or apartment after moving but don’t know where to begin. Especially for people on a limited budget, there is a hesitancy to purchase decorations because they are unsure how the items will look in their space. They can also be worried about said items clashing with other decorations they already have or will buy further down the line. Many people browse social media sites like Instagram or Pinterest for inspiration, but don’t know how to translate that inspiration into buying the right items for their own living space.

 Pain Points

Many of those experiencing this problem have an idea of what sort of style they like, but feel it is hard to achieve for themselves. This problem seems to be particularly prominent with recent graduates or young people living on their own for the first time. Since they have not furnished a living space before, it is as though they are starting from scratch with a blank canvas. They are worried about wasting money, which leads to them being reluctant to purchase anything at all. People with this problem express a willingness to dedicate their time and money towards finding a solution, but want to be sure they don’t regret the purchasing decisions they make.

 The Process

As this was a modified design sprint, I completed the sprint on my own aside from the testing of the prototype on day 5. On day 1 I defined and worked to understand the problem, on day 2 I did a lightning demo and sketched some possible solutions, on day 3 I decided which solution to proceed with and further sketched out the app’s different screens, on day 4 I created a prototype, and on day 5 I tested that prototype with users. In a normal design sprint I would have worked with a team in order to fully understand the problem, for ideation, design, and decision making.

 The Persona

In order to help understand the users I was designing for, I was given the persona for Ally. Ally is a 23 year-old recent graduate who lives in a studio apartment in Chicago. She browses Pinterest for interior design inspiration, and prior to moving into her apartment she was excited to decorate her space. However, upon moving in, whenever she dedicates time to shop for decorations she gets overwhelmed and ends up putting off the task. She knows what kind of look she wants to have, but is unsure of how to achieve it for herself. As she is a recent graduate, she is working with a limited budget. Because she is a renter, she cannot make any major changes to her studio like painting or renovations, so she is looking for decorative items to bring her home to life. Sometimes when browsing she will see an item she likes, but hesitates on purchasing it because she isn’t sure how it will look in her space or whether it will fit with her other items. Overall, she’s looking for a facelift for her studio without having to shop for too many items. Her main goal is to find decorative items in her budget to get the look she desires.

Based on Ally’s persona, I created a map of some potential paths a user could take to achieve their goal. While these paths all have the same end goal of the user purchasing a new item for their home or apartment, I tried to think of different steps users could take in order to reach that goal and selected the one I felt was best for the task at hand.

 Day 2: Sketch

 Lightning Demo

Before I began sketching possible solutions, I conducted a lightning demo where I researched a number of similar apps on the marketplace to see what they did well or what they could improve on, and to see what type of solutions already exist for users in this space.

The app Houzz had some interesting features that served as inspiration for my own design for House2Home. On the home screen for Houzz, I liked that users could shop by certain departments in order to target the type of decor they are searching for in their home. Houzz also had a similar feature to one which I wanted to incorporate, where users can use their phone’s camera for an AR experience and view items of interest within their own home to get a better sense of whether or not the items would work for their needs.

Another home decoration app I browsed for the lightning demo was Homestyler. Although it prominently featured a social component I am not looking to add, it also allowed users to snap a photo of their living space and overlay 3D furniture models on top of the image. Homestyler featured a technology feature that seemed particularly useful, displaying measurements of the user’s space in real-time when viewing in AR mode so users can ensure any items selected would fit in their living space.

Roomle was a home decorating app similar to Houzz. It also featured an AR option so users can use their phone camera to preview items in different areas of their home. Users are also able to select a category, such as sofas, and be presented with a list of different sofa options they can then view in the AR section of the app or click to see further details about the piece or purchase.

In addition to their e-commerce site, home goods retailer Wayfair offers a mobile app for consumers looking to decorate their space. In the Wayfair app, users can browse goods and add them to lists, such as “Living Room”, or save items for later in a favorites section. The app also allows users to use their camera to place items in the room, and gives users the ability to place an item and walk around it to see how it would look from different angles in real-time. This feature improves on the AR features from the aforementioned apps, as users might want to see items from multiple angles and not only how they would look when viewed straight on.

These apps helped to validate my idea for House2Home, specifically that an AR feature would feature prominently in my solution. Judging by the high ratings these apps had in the app store, users seem to find them useful and they appear to remove some of the obstacles users face when trying to decorate their living space.

 Sketching

I selected the AR overlay screen as the most critical screen for my House2Home solution, as it allows users to preview items in their home, which may lead to more purchases than if users viewed inspiration photos that may not accurately reflect their space. The AR overlay allows them to preview items they are interested in and make sure the items are good fits without needing the physical items in their apartment. Users will feel more confident about their purchases and not have to struggle with the uncertainty regarding the size of items or how well they match the rest of their decor. This AR overlay allows for an additional step between the user seeing the item on a page and adding to their cart, which helps to provide more utility from the app and control over their decisions.

After selecting the most critical screen, I then performed a Crazy 8s exercise to envision this screen in different ways. As this exercise is time-sensitive, I was forced to ideate quickly without spending too long thinking about minor details. I came up with eight different solutions, one of which I picked to sketch in more detail for a three-panel board featuring my critical screen, as well as the screens which would appear before and after.

 Day 3: Decide

 Storyboarding

For my storyboard I followed the path a user would take in the app to buy an item. It begins with the app home screen, and the user decides they want to buy a lamp and some chairs. They click the filters tab at the bottom of the screen, then click “view more” under the Shop By Item Type section to view all available options. They select “lighting” from this list and their camera app opens with an AR feature to view the items in their living space. They use the arrow buttons on either side of the screen to move through the different items until they find one they like. The user decides they want to purchase it, so they click the “add to cart” button. They repeat this process for finding chairs. After the chairs have been added to their cart they click the “view cart” button. The cart page loads where they see the three items in their cart along with the order total. Once they decide to purchase, they go through the checkout process, entering their address, selecting a shipping method and payment method, and viewing the order summary. Once they place the order, they can check on their order status by clicking on their user profile from the app home screen.

 Day 4: Prototype

 Prototype

My prototype was created from start to finish in Marvel. Screens were created using pre-made elements from Marvel’s library to accommodate the shorter time frame of the design sprint. The prototype allows for a user to browse categories, look for lighting, pick a lamp and add it to their cart, view their cart, and complete the checkout process. It also allows for the user to view their order from the profile page to see updates on their order. The Marvel platform made prototyping a relatively quick and painless task and helped reduce time spent creating the prototype and move to testing more quickly. My goal in testing the prototype was to see if users would find the prototype simple to navigate through and, more importantly, whether they would find it beneficial for choosing home decor. I hope to learn if there are any major usability issues, or anything that would hinder users from completing their goal of purchasing items for furnishing their living space. I also hope to learn if users will navigate throughout the prototype with the same paths that I envisioned on Day 3.

View the House2Home prototype

 Day 5: Testing

 Test Information

Testing my prototype with users allowed me to see the prototype through another set of eyes and get in the minds of potential users. I tested the app with five participants: Aaron C., Lydia G., Kelly P., Nick G., and Catherine D., who were representative of the type of user who would potentially use the House2Home app. The participants either recently moved or are planning to, or reported that they would like to do more decorating of their living space. When asking them questions before they tested the prototype, I learned that none of them had used a similar app before but they all expressed an interest in using an app that could help them furnish or decorate their homes.

 Conducting the Tests

Some participants did the testing virtually, while others I met with in person to conduct the sessions. For the virtual tests, I used Google Meet and asked the participants to share their screen so I could see both the actions they took to navigate the prototype along with their facial expressions. For those I met with in person, I loaded the prototype onto an iPad on which I had them perform the testing session. While the virtual sessions did have some benefits such as not having to travel to conduct them, I would have preferred conducting sessions in person as it allows for more of a connection with the participant. That said, I did not perceive a difference in quality of feedback or responses from the virtual testing sessions.

 What Worked for Users

During testing, most users had relatively few issues navigating throughout the app. No users had difficulty with the checkout portion, and moving through this section seemed to be in line with their expectations. Users liked the AR camera feature and felt it was useful to get a better idea of the look and fit of the items they were browsing. Lydia G. especially went through the app how I had envisioned it, and had no trouble finding the profile icon on the home page and added that she will typically go to the homepage on any app or website after making a purchase. Catherine D. commented that she liked how she was able to see the status of the order in her profile after completing the order, and added how not every app does that but she appreciates when they do. Nick G. said that he felt the app was pretty straightforward and seemed simple to use overall.

 User Feedback for Improvement and Iteration

A common thread in the feedback I received from the participants was that it took them a moment to find the profile icon on the home page, and that it was not located in a place where they first thought to look. After completing the action for ordering the lamp, both Aaron C. and Kelly P. commented that they expected the profile icon to be located on the bottom tab bar when they went to look for their order history. Both testers, however, were able to find the profile icon after looking over the homepage for a few moments. Kelly P. commented that in many apps she uses, the profile section and search function would be reversed in their placement - search at the top and profile on the bottom - which gave me something to consider. Nick G. commented that he did not expect to be taken directly to the AR camera after selecting a category to browse; he was instead expecting to see a list of results, click on one, and then have the option to view it using the AR camera. Lydia G. wondered what the difference was between the “Find your inspiration” and “Shop looks” sections on the homepage, and commented she would typically want to shop by room first instead of item type when looking for home furnishings. Catherine D. also had some issues starting the task, she expected the categories section to be on the homescreen and only after some time found the categories button on the tab bar at the bottom of the screen. After selecting a category, she also thought she would have been able to select from different items to create her own list of what to view within the AR feature.

 Synthesizing the Feedback

In general, the participants had an easy time with the checkout portion of the task which suggested to me that it worked intuitively for most users. However, the prior steps, including looking for an item and viewing it in the AR camera, were not designed in a way users necessarily expected. Overall, users expressed they thought an app like this would be useful and something they would use themselves when shopping for home decor. As my main goal of testing was to gather feedback around the usefulness and usability of the app, I found my testing sessions successful. Additional feedback around differing expectations or paths users may take in their usage of the app would prove invaluable for future design iterations.