Case Study:
Purdue Apartment App
An apartment app specifically designed for Purdue University Students, providing them with a seamless experience to discover apartments conveniently located near campus.
ROLE
UX Researcher
UX/UI Designer
TEAM
JiaJie Saw
TOOLS
Figma
Adobe CC
Procreate
In the bustling community of Purdue University, finding suitable accommodation can be a daunting task for students navigating through the complexities of off-campus housing. Recognizing this challenge, I embarked on a mission to streamline the apartment-hunting process for Purdue students by developing a dedicated mobile application.
DESIGN CHALLENGE
Existing platforms do not offer sufficient filtering options for specific requirements such as location, price range, and pet-friendliness.
There is a lack of authentic reviews and ratings from Purdue students, making it hard to make informed decisions.
This results in students spending too much time on unsuitable listings, causing frustration and leading to less-than-ideal living situations.
By creating a mobile application tailored to Purdue University students that offers detailed filtering options, including location, affordability, and pet policies, along with authentic reviews and ratings exclusively from the Purdue community, we hypothesize that students will be able to find suitable off-campus housing more efficiently and with greater satisfaction, thereby reducing time spent on unsuitable listings and improving overall living situations.
Grounded in the hypothesis, let's turn our attention to the heart of our design journey — the Target User. Through their lens, I validate the assumptions and craft a solution not just for Purdue students but with them, ensuring the foundation is as robust and relevant as the community it serves.
HYPOTHESIS
TARGET USER
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Purdue University students, both current and prospective, looking for off-campus housing.
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Currently/ was looking to rent a property for an academic year.
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Uses search engines and property listing platforms and applications to source information online.
USER RESEARCH
To gather direct insights from each individual, I distributed surveys among the target users—Purdue University students. These surveys were carefully designed to delve into the specific pain points, preferences, and features students deemed essential in their quest for suitable off-campus housing.
Based on the data collected, it is primarily Senior students and International students that answer the survey.
Users prefer to have reliable and trustworthy Reviews from previous tenants
Most participants voted Location as the most essential information when evaluating potential apartments
USER PERSONA
SKETCHES
WIREFRAMES
PROTOTYPE
SOLUTION
This case study detailed the iterative process of designing an apartment-finding app tailored to Purdue University students' unique needs. From identifying the initial problem that existing apartment search platforms do not adequately cater to the specific needs of Purdue students to conducting user research and moving through the design phases of sketching, wireframing, prototyping, and selecting an appropriate color scheme, this project aimed to fill a significant gap in the market. By focusing on precise filter accuracy, ensuring completeness and reliability of information, and creating a clean, user-friendly interface, the app seeks to streamline the apartment search process, making it more efficient, reliable, and tailored to the student population at Purdue.
CONCLUSION