A project to explore the growing potential of home swapping as a sustainable alternative to conventional travel accommodations.
As many people are impacted by the effects of mass tourism yet still desire to explore new places, this platform offers a way to travel more responsibly and foster community connections.
Overview
Year: 2024
Role: Ux Researcher & Ui Designer
University Project
Problem
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Traditional accommodations are expensive, contribute to housing shortages and inflated prices, and lack authentic cultural experiences.
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Many platforms that initially focused on offering local experiences have quickly become expensive and unsustainable.
Solution
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I designed a platform that provides a sustainable, affordable, and community-driven alternative to traditional accommodations by enabling home swapping, which reduces costs, alleviates housing shortages, and offers authentic cultural experiences without the drawbacks of mass tourism.
Desk Research
The concept of swapping homes can be hard for people to accept and building trust is crucial for users to try the platform.
I began by researching the most famous booking platform to develop ideas on how home swapping can become comfortable and appealing to users, ensuring it meets their needs and expectations.
But this idea isn't new
Competitive Analysis
Quantitative Research
What did I know?
I had never used a home swap app, and my first concern was how to trust someone with all my belongings in my home.
My online research confirmed that many people shared this concern. I wanted to understand other potential concerns and see what aspects of holiday rental platforms people liked, so I could incorporate these features into my own design.
What do users actually think?
To gather data for my design, I conducted a online survey to identify preferences, and concerns. I collected numerical data on aspects such as age groups, motivations for using a swap platform, and concerns about booking accommodations.
Insights
The majority of the participants were aged 20-35 and are familiar with peer-to-peer rental platforms, valuing cost savings and unique experiences, therefore more open to sustainable and cost-effective travel alternatives.
However, for a home swap platform must emphasize on security measures, effective communication, and positive user experiences to attract users.
User Research
Empathy Map
Putting myself in the users' shoes was easy for this project. Like many, I struggle to find sustainable tourism options.
Hotels lack a personal touch, and after experiencing the convenience of full apartments through Airbnb, it's hard to go back to hotels.
This made it easier to empathize with potential users seeking more sustainable and home-like travel accommodations.
I went further to empathize with the user
While experimenting with other home swap websites, I documented my experiences in the user journey map and try to imagine various user perspectives.
This process helped me understand user behaviour, identify pain points, and improve the overall user experience.
Persona
Creating Rachel as a representation of my target user allowed me to delve deeper into the specifics and prioritize features.
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Design
Since this isn't a new concept, my design aims to address the issues found in other apps and provide a overall better user experience.
Landing page &
Profiles
On the landing page, I emphasize sustainability to set the platform apart from conventional booking platforms. Unlike other swapping platforms where you can't see available homes until you sign up, we offer a sneak peek of homes without showing specific dates or full details.
To foster community, I created the Profiles section. This is dedicated to members who share their travel experiences with the DOMO MUTUO community. Users can write articles about their trips, and fellow members can comment and ask questions, creating an engaging and supportive travel community.
Each article's tags are clickable and function as filters. When you click a tag, it brings you to a page where you can find all articles related to that city or category.
You can also view the profile of the article author, which provides a brief introduction of that person, how many swaps they have done, where they have been and the articles that they wrote.
When you click the "Cities" button, a list of all articles related to that city will be displayed.
How does it work?
In my questionnaire, respondents highlighted that the most appealing aspect of home swapping is the cost savings compared to other platforms.
I also felt it was important to address people's insecurities when swapping homes. To tackle this, I introduced solutions such as allowing users to book cleaning services and purchase various travel insurance options through the platform.
Explore Section
While browsing the Explore section, users can immediately see the next available swap dates for each place.
They can also view details such as the number of rooms and bathrooms, and whether the place has any pets.
On this page, you'll find three sections:
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Listing Overview: Provides details about the house, including the number of people living there, pets, and features like internet, dishwasher, and other amenities.
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Neighborhood Section: Hosts can share pictures and offer tips on what to do around the neighborhood, such as local shops, where to buy bread, and hidden gems.
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Family Section: A personal touch where the host shares activities their family enjoys and includes family photos, offering a glimpse into their lifestyle.
Sign - up
During my research, while using other home swap apps and documenting my experience, I often found the sign-up process frustrating. Therefore, simplifying it became a priority.
The sign-up process now only requires a phone number or connection through social media or email for initial verification, with final verification completed through ID authentication.
Design Decisions
Color Scheme
Hex
#81B214
Primary
Hex
#206A5D
Secondary
Hex
#D1E4C3
Secondary
Hex
#FFFFFF
Primary
Hex
#000000
Primary
For the overall color scheme I decided to use vibrant green for key elements, symbolizing sustainability and drawing attention to call-to-action buttons.
A light beige/white background keeps the design open, clean, and easy to read, fostering trust and clarity.
Black text for contrast with the light background, enhancing legibility and clearly defining sections.
Subtle yellow-green accents are used sparingly to highlight important areas, guiding user attention without being overwhelming.
With this combination I aim to create a balanced, eco-friendly, and user-focused design.
Typography
Krona One - Title & Subtitle
Copytext
Nunito Sans
The font style is modern and minimalistic, supporting the idea of a straightforward and user-friendly platform. It contributes to the platform's welcoming tone, making it easy for users to navigate and absorb information.
Bold headers: The use of bold fonts for the main headings makes the content hierarchy clear, while the body text remains light and accessible.