Role | UX design, Research, Ideation, Branding, Prototyping Timeline | May - Aug 2021 (12 weeks) Tools | Adobe XD, Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Keynote Mentor | Brian Boyl, Myles Larson
Oneroof
A smart co-living system for housemates. It gives young professionals the tools to prevent conflicts, set clear expectations, and maintain harmony in shared living spaces.
Context
In big cities, many young professionals choose to co-live to save money while enjoying a social and convenient living arrangement. However, sharing a home with strangers often comes with challenges. Housemates may have different habits, schedules, and expectations, which can lead to conflicts over noise, privacy, chores, bills, guests, and even thermostat settings. Communication gaps and unclear boundaries make these issues more likely, highlighting the need for tools that help maintain harmony in shared living spaces.
The rise in shared living may have implications for the nature of household finances—that is, how income and expenses are shared among members.
Pew Research Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement (IPUMS)
Nearly 1-in-3 adults in U.S. are ‘doubled up’ in housing
Pew Research Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement (IPUMS)
People are using small DIY projects as a means to beat stress.
Pew Research Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement (IPUMS)
The Problem
Don’t have all the tools at first
Don’t have a space for crafting
Not familiar with tools
Don’t have a creative community
A design challenge emerged....
How might we design a system for makers that brings tools, spaces, and communities together?
User Goals
Goal 1 To easily reserve a creative space
Goal 2 To access necessary tools
Goal 3 To be part of creative community
The Solution
Oneroof is a smart co-living system for young professionals in big cities who want to save money without sacrificing peace of mind at home. Our goal is to provide a respectful co-living experience by preventing common roommate conflicts, making it easy to set clear ground rules, communicate efficiently, and ensure fairness among housemates.
App
Dozone app is designed to be used at the beginning phase of the crafting journey where users look for inspiration to start any DIY project, reserve a space to work, and complete the demo before accessing the workshop.
Key Features
Get inspired
Users can choose any zone they want and browse ongoing DIY projects that other Doers are working on.
Collaborate
Users can see the details of the projects and choose to participate if they want. Once they participate in the projects, users are allowed to access and share resources with other Doers.
Book the Zone
After deciding what projects they want to participate in, users can book a Zone where they can work on the project. For example, if they're participating in "Leather Card Holder" project, they can book 'Leatherzone'. Users can choose either 'on-site' or 'on-the-go' to access the workshop.
Complete Demo& Receive a Code
Users will be asked to complete the demos on how to use the equipment at the specific zone prior to the visit. Once they complete watching the demos, they'll be receiving a validations code which they can scan to check in and out of the zone and rent out tools.
Autonomous Workshop
Autonomous workshop is one of the main parts of Dozone system which provides an on-demand space for DIY projects. There are different types of workshops including Leatherzone, Woodzone, Ceramiczone, Metalzone, etc.
Tool Vending Machine
Measuring Success
To measure the success of the platform and its future iterations, I’d track: • Reservation Completion Time • Reservation Success Rate • NPS (Net Promoter Score) • Project Competition Rate (% of completed projects from all the 'participated' projects) • Retention Overtime • Engagement
Design System
Guide Words
Logo
App Icon
Color
Layout System
Button
Icon
Design Process
Challenges
01 Having different life style & Not knowing how to compromise People who co-live together may have backgrounds very different from one another. They may be from another culture, and may have an entirely different lifestyle, ideology, and perspectives.
02 Having different Expectations & Being Irresponsible In co-living situation, there are set of responsibilities that should be evenly shared with people living in the same place. It could be financial, legal, duty or moral responsibilities.
03 Communication Issues When sharing a living space, roommates have to respect each other’s needs and preferences. Communicating these needs, preferences and expectations will save them a lot of conflict.
Magic Moments
01 Wouldn’t it be nice if it was easy to set guidelines that provides clear expectations among the roommates prior to moving in?
02 Wouldn’t it be nice if those guidelines are flexible enough for roommates to update them based on each others’ opinion?
03 Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way to openly and efficiently communicate with roommates while respecting their private-time?
04 Wouldn’t it be nice if a device / technology can be Mr. Annoying who says the right things? such as asking to lower the volume of music in the midnight.
User Goals
01 Prevent Conflicts Users would want to keep the peace at home by preventing conflicts with roommates.
02 Efficient Communication Users would like to have more efficient way of communication between roommates.
03 Respected Privacy Users would want their privacy to be respected including their private time at home.
04 Sense of Community Users would want to express and hear from others about experience of co-living.
Competitive Analysis
Positioning Matrix
Target Market
Demographic • 25-35 years old / Working Professionals • Makers, Creatives, Artists, Designers • Looking for creative outlets • Wants to learn new crafting skills • Wants to be surrounded by the creative environment • Wants to collaborate with other creatives • Like: crafting, exploring, self-learning • Dislikes: binge shopping, over-priced goods
Design Criteria
Mission Statement
Dozone is a unique, on-demand DIY platform that empowers makers. Our goal is to bring tools, spaces, and communities together to help users to bring their creative vision to life.
Interview Experts
• “When I was looking for a crafting space, I was considering how far it was located and how much it costs. I couldn’t find the one I wanted. They were either too pricy or too far away.” • “I wish I had a garage. If then, I’d buy some tools and equipment there.” • “Opening hours are really important for me since I work 9-5. I prefer 24-hour access.” • “I wish applying process was easier like just submitting the form rather than calling them or writing an email from the scratch.” • “It was intimidating to use the equipment for the first time. Especially the loud ones.” • “It’s inspiring to be working around people who already know what they are doing.“ • “I wish there was a price clearly written on the website so I don’t have to call them to ask.”
• The last time when I was making a painting easel, I got the wood measurements from the tutorial video and followed the steps. When I completed the piece, the actual size of the outcome was larger than I expected in real-life. I wish I could have gotten a sense of the actual size of the outcome beforehand. • It was fun to browse and pick wood pieces at the store but I wish getting wood pieces were easier where I wouldn't need to go to a store to purchase and pick them up in my car which barely fit in. • Accessibility to various equipment directly affects how far you can create your vision. Last time I wasn’t fully satisfied with my outcome because I didn’t have certain tools to further develop my piece.
Summarized Findings
User Persona
Based on the research, I created a user persona to synthesize and communicate the findings. This strategy helped me to empathize with the target users and keep in mind their pain points and motivations to design digital products that are tailored to their needs and wants.
Stages involved in the system
User Journey
I incorporated a user journey into the design process to examine the different stages that users go through to start a new DIY project. This strategy helped me to identify the moments of opportunity to make the experience better for the users.
