Background information

In 2013 when Windows Surface was released, Realtor.com needed an app for both Windows 8 and Windows Phone to ensure more of their userbase would benefit from using a native app rather than the web app.

My role

I worked with a senior UX designer to extend the use cases for this app for both the Windows 8 app and the Windows Phone app; she set the baseline for the overall design, and I extended UI design to the additional use cases and interaction specifications. I studied the Microsoft design language, Metro UI, and used those UI components along with the brand of Realtor.com to define the interface.

The process

When I first started working on this project with the senior UX designer, she already set up most of the foundation of the overall design. First, we talked about the current status, what the product goals were, who the target audience was, what needs to be done, and what deliverables we have so far.

After gathering the requirements, I looked through the use cases, sketched out the app information architecture to help identify the missing screens. I worked with her to ensure she understood the scope of the remaining work, and started to extend her designs for the features I worked on, including filters, and the different listing views.

I iterated on designs by presenting my progress to the senior UX designer, she shared the updated work to our client, and relayed the feedback to me. I created redlines specifications for key screens to handoff to our in-house developers. I also included interactions and intended behaviors as a separate page in the document to reduce the amount of specifications shown on one page.

I extended the visual design from the top-left to the top-right design. I stylized the original bottom-left design to the bottom-right. For both screens, I did some research to uncover the primary information homebuyers would look for when browsing homes.

Challenges

The list views were a challenge because the space I was working with per tile was fairly small, so I had to determine what information potential homeowners would encourage them to dig into a listing to find out more. I studied the Realtor.com website to understand their own information architecture and values, as well as a few competitors. I quickly interviewed coworkers to understand what information they would look for if they were buying a home. Per my analysis and coworkers’ input, I created a few high-fidelity options and discovered which one is the most effective by presenting these options to my coworkers.

Results

Both the Windows 8 and Windows Phone app were successfully launched in the app store. News articles reported that the extended mobile app coverage would help maintain its competitive edge in the online real estate space.