HomeTurf

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This project began as a design challenge. After submitting the challenge I returned to the problem and developed a brand identity and visual design.

Challenge

Create a better shopping experience for college students who want to buy furniture on Craigslist

Solution

Launch a new site that leverages the content and existing community of Craigslist sellers, but is designed to focus purely on furniture.

Introducing Home Turf

A mobile first experience focused on buyers’ and sellers’ decision points.

Process

I wanted to follow a design thinking approach, but I had to compress the process in order to accommodate the abbreviated timeline. Instead of interviews I started with a brainstorming session and role played user case scenarios. From there I developed user personas and modeled the key decision points in the furniture buying process.

Competitive Analysis and Site Audit

Along with developing personas for buyers and sellers I took a look at the competition and conducted an audit of the current site features.

Conclusions:

Craigslist is an entrenched brand with a large user base
Craigslist’s reputation is both a strength and a weakness

Many of the direct competitors have a mobile first design approach - Craigslist doesn’t

A Question Arose:

Since buying furniture is not a habitual practice - would an app be the right approach or a mobile first website that integrates native phone features like location and camera?

Wireframes and Visual Design

I completed the initial wireframes for the abbreviated timeline of the design challenge I came back to the problem and created a brand identity and developed a look and feel.

Beyond the Interface

I wanted to explore how the app could function on emerging platforms, from a voice activated interface to augmented reality.