REAL Web
RESEARCH / UX / UI Design / ART Direction
Real, the real estate brokerage of tomorrow, uses technology to provide agents with the tools, listings, marketing materials, platforms, technology, lead management and support they need through a fast, intuitive, technology-driven platform.
1.
MY ROLE
Shortly after joining the company as Art Director, I led the design team in researching and analyzing competitors. This was the most efficient way to gather the information needed to design wireframes and prototypes. Working closely with the developers we were able to test our concepts with real estate agents, receive their feedback, make necessary adjustments and eventually introduce the final product to the market.
2.
THE CONCEPT
A website that, through the power of technology, provides a modern full-service brokerage for agents and potential buyers and sellers. Taking real estate brokerages out of the office and into the 21st century. The biggest challenge was redesigning the pre-existing website and mobile app, creating a more streamlined and up to date design with a wider selection of features.
Research and Exploration
1.
RESEARCH AND AGENTS INTERVIEWS
I started the project using competitor analysis to research the real estate market. I took a look at popular sites like Zillow, Realtor, Redfin, Trulia and Realtor. Later we felt it was important to conduct interviews with real estate agents as well,since they were the company's primary users and had their own unique needs.
2.
EXPLORING IDEAS
I mapped out the scope of the project, focusing on my new found knowledge about the market and the target audience. I had to cover a lot of categories while keeping it simple and user friendly. Drawing it out on one large board allowed me to visualize the big picture and see which areas would need more attention.
The Challenge
I’m a paragraph. Double click here or click Edit Text to add some text of your own or to change the font. This is the place for you to tell your site visitors a little bit about you and your site. I’m a paragraph. Double click here or click Edit Text to add some text of your own or to change the font.
The Challenge
1.
THE PROBLEM
One of the first problems we needed to address was the homepage. Potential real estate customers and agents needed a great first impression that was both beautiful to look at and easy to navigate. We had to find out what they wanted to see, what would grab their attention and decide which were the most important features to highlight
2.
THE SOLUTION
We held several brainstorming sessions involving the designers, developers, management and in house real estate agents. Working with such a diverse team was incredibly useful and brought many insights. Hearing all of the different perspectives on the product we were building and renovating was extremely important and helped keep our goals realistic for such an ambitious start-up company!
The Design
Look and Feel
Since our firm was re-envisioning the real estate industry and re-inventing the old school perception of a real estate brokerage, we wanted to go for a modern, friendly (even a little cool) yet still traditional look and feel. We created different variations of the new homepage to present our ideas. A workshop with the board of investors and sessions with our in house agents allowed us to get more constructive feedback.
Mobile Website Design
OVERALL Takeaways
Personal Conclusions
All in all, I really enjoyed the chance to collaborate on Real's homepage with some truly amazing people! My main takeaways include:
Key Takeaways
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Always test with the right target audience -This is true anytime you are designing an effective user experience. For this specific project, having limited knowledge about the market, our target audience was able to give us invaluable input which we wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.
Map out a detailed schedule for complex projects - Plan out each step and every team members responsibilities along the way. This avoids two designers working on the same task unnecessarily. Staying organized allows everyone involved to work simultaneously to speed up collaboration.
Stay open minded - We all have our preferred working and communicating methods. If a suggestion is introduced that strays away from your original plans, don’t say no right away. Start using it, test it, see if it works. You never know which ideas may surprise you.
The experience I had working with Real in its start up phase was very challenging and extremely valuable. Learning a new market and understanding how to cater to the needs of a specific audience are lessons that can be applied to any future UX projects. Successfully launching the redesign of the app and website and seeing the positive impact my work had in the real world was inspiring and an experience I will always be proud of.