Designed by Praire Siri

As part of an immersive design course at General Assembly, our team redesigned Renopedia, a platform connecting Singaporean homeowners with interior designers. The existing site left users lost and frustrated. We aimed to resolve usability issues, improving navigation and engagement to better support homeowners in their renovation journey.

Problem

Homeowner are confused about what product/services Renopedia are providing. Thus resulting them bouncing off, or not being able to find the relevant information on the site.

Discover

Deliver

Define

Design

Insights

Affinity Mapping

User Personas

Journey Map

Problem Statement

HMW Statements

Problem Definition

Research

Product Research

User Interviews

Usability Test

Competitor analysis

Ideation

Design Studio

User Flow

Wireframing

Usability Testing

Redesign

Feedback

iterations

2nd Usability Test

re-iterations

Final Protype

Design Method Chosen - Double Diamond Method

Solution

A desktop first website that helps homeowners to visualise their dream home inspirations and ultimately find the right ID firm for future house renovation.

CONTEXT

The Challenge with Renopedia

Understanding Renopedia

Renopedia aims to simplify home renovation by connecting homeowners with interior designers and offering inspiration. However, instead of a seamless experience, users often feel overwhelmed by cluttered information, unclear navigation, and a lack of trust in the platform.

Many visitors leave the site without engaging because they struggle to understand what Renopedia offers or how to find relevant services.

Current Renopedia Website

THE PROBLEM

Why Users Are struggling

Key Pain Points

Lack of Clarity

Users don’t understand what Renopedia offers at first glance.

Overwhelming content

The landing page is cluttered with excessive text and ads.

Trust issues

The website feels promotional rather than informative, making users skeptical.

Navigation confusion

Visitors struggle to find relevant services, leading to high bounce rates.

RESEARCH SUMMARY

Research & Findings: Understanding User Needs

User Interviews

To understand why users struggled with Renopedia, we conducted user interviews and a usability test with six potential homeowners. We mapped their journey, pain points, and expectations to identify critical usability issues affecting engagement and conversion rates.

6 Participants

No. of Participant

Potential Home Owners

Criteria

Remote Moderate

Method

6 Participant

No. of Participant

Potential Home Owners

Criteria

Remote Moderate

Method

Understanding How Users Find

& Choose Interior Designers

Understanding How Users Find

& Choose Interior Designers

Understanding How Users Find & Choose Interior Designers

Moodboard Creation

Users save inspiration from Pinterest, Instagram, and renovation platforms, often taking screenshots to create a moodboard for reference.

Preference for Video Content

Users trust video tours over static images, as they provide a better sense of space, design, and atmosphere.

Shortlisting Interior Designers

Different users have varying priorities: some focus on budget, while others prioritize quality, craftsmanship, and style.

Step 1: Gathering Inspiration

During this process, users are browsing and saving the inspiration for their dream home. We identify 2 main inspiration source they like:

Photos | Internet

“I search for inspiration through open source tool such as Pinterest, Instagram, or even Renovation platforms”

“I save those inspiration to create a moodboard, so I can show to the ID that this is what I want”

Video Tour | Clips

“I prefer to watch video tour or house tour of the interior design project”

“I can feel the actual atmosphere of the house better through video”

Step 2: ID Research & Shortlisting

After the users has some inspiration in mind, it’s time to search for the designer to craft their dream home. However, also comes with a lot of criteria needed to be filled.

Research ID Firm

“I like to explore through firms and designer’s previously completed projects through their websites and social media”

“I will judge if their work is similar to the style that I like”

Shortlisting ID

“I do have some ‘Budget’, ‘Craftsmanship’, ‘concept / styling’ concerns”

Step 3: Hiring Process

After users has shortlisted numbers of Interior Design firms that fits their selection criteria, users tend to outreach to find out about the IDs, prices and compare to select their best fits.

Selection Process

“I reach out to multiple firms that I like to compare the price of the quotations”

“I want to communicate directly with the ID firm”

“I chose designer base on conversation I have with them, if they understand my preference”

Usability Test Insights:
Where Renopedia Falls Short

Usability Test Insights: Where Renopedia Falls Short

To validate our findings from user interviews, we conducted a usability test to uncover key friction points on the current Renopedia platform. While users expressed a need for an inspirational, trustworthy, and easy-to-navigate renovation portal, the platform failed to meet these expectations.

Confusing Navigation

Users felt lost and unsure where to start, struggling with unclear CTAs and overwhelming text.

Ineffective Filtering

The platform’s filters didn’t accurately refine search results, making it hard to find relevant designers.

Distrust & Over-Promotion

Excessive advertisements and celebrity endorsements distracted users, reducing platform credibility.

These usability gaps prevented users from smoothly discovering, shortlisting, and reaching out to interior designers, resulting in frustration and high drop-off rates.

CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES

Key Challenges & Design Opportunities

The Core Problem

Confusing Navigation

Users struggle to navigate and find relevant designers.

Ineffective Search & Filter

Filtering and search features don’t match user expectations.

Lack of Trust

The platform lacks trust signals and feels overly promotional.

Key Opportunities

Simplify Navigation

Create a more intuitive way to explore and save inspiration.

Improve Search & Filter

Improve filters to help users narrow down their ideal designers.

Build Trust

Build stronger trust signals to encourage engagement and lead conversion.

These insights defined our user goals—helping homeowners seamlessly discover, filter, and connect with the right interior designers. This set the foundation for our design decisions.

PERSONAS & USER STORY

Understanding Our Users: Personas & Their Journey

Personas

To create a seamless renovation experience, we needed to understand our users—who they are, what they need, and where they struggle.

Our research revealed two key homeowner personas, each with different priorities but shared frustrations in navigating Renopedia. By mapping their journey, we identified critical pain points and opportunities to improve the platform.

User Journey

To fully understand how users interact with Renopedia, we mapped their journey from gathering inspiration to hiring an interior designer.

Key Takeaways

Both Struggle with Navigation

Both personas struggle with navigation, trust, and lack of transparency

Fragmented Journey

Their journey is fragmented—there’s no clear way to transition from one step to the next

Need More Intuitive Platform

Addressing these gaps will create a more intuitive, trustworthy, and efficient platform

These insights shaped our design decisions, focusing on better navigation, improved search & filtering, and stronger trust signals.

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

How Competitors Address These Challenges

Key Takeaways

To understand industry best practices, we analysed Houzz, Qanvast, and Pinterest, identifying what they do well and where they fall short.

Houzz

Qanvast

Piterest

Houzz

Qanvast

Piterest

Key Strengths Across Competitors

Visual-First Experience

Strong focus on images for inspiration.

Save & Organise Features

Users can save inspirations into boards.

Defined Filtering

Effective tools to refine searches.

Project Discovery

Related project recommendations improve exploration.

Common Weaknesses

Overloaded Text

Some platforms present too much information at once.

Limited Designer Contact Support

No clear prompts when reaching out to IDs.

Navigation Issues

Small fonts, excessive scrolling, and inconsistent UX.

These insights helped shape our design approach—focusing on better visual exploration, intuitive filtering, and seamless designer connections.

HMW & DESIGN STUDIO

From Insights to Solutions: Designing a Better Renopedia

With our research insights in place, we conducted a Design Studio workshop to brainstorm solutions. We structured our ideation around key "How Might We" questions, ensuring that our ideas directly tackled user frustrations.

Results

After voting on the most impactful ideas, we focused on these features:

Personalised Journeys

Explored Page

Enhanced Filtering

Shortlist & Inquiry Flow

Moodboard Feature

USER FLOWS

Mapping the Experience

Transaction Reliability

After defining key features, we created user flows to visualise how users navigate Renopedia. These flows helped us ensure a seamless experience, integrating our solutions into the user journey.

These flows guided our wireframing process, ensuring the platform met user needs at every step.

IDEATIONS

Wireframes & Interaction Flow

With user flows in place, we moved on to mid-fidelity wireframes, translating our concepts into structured layouts.

Filters (Inspiration Page)

Users can refine their search with filters to narrow down results based on style, budget, and preferences.

Helps reduce information overload and streamline decision-making.

Personalised Journey

Tailored onboarding flow to curate content specific to the user’s needs.

Provides a more structured approach to finding inspiration and designers.

Save to Moodboard

Users can save, categorise, and visualise ideas for future reference.

Creates a personalised collection of inspirations to share with designers.

Shortlist & Enquire Feature

Users can save interior designers (IDs) of interest and mass send inquiries with one click.

Improves efficiency by eliminating the need for manual, repetitive outreach.

USABILITY TEST & REFINEMENT

First Usability Test: Validating the Design & Reiteration

After creating the mid-fidelity prototype, we conducted remote moderated usability tests with three participants to evaluate the design’s effectiveness. Using an affinity mapping approach, we identified key pain points and areas for improvement.

Key Findings

Major Pain Points (3 out of 3 users)

Confused by filter options and struggled to close the filter bar.

Unclear "Shortlist ID" label – users didn’t understand its function.

Wanted alternative contact options (e.g., WhatsApp for faster responses).

Frustrated with login requirements just to save inspirations.

Additonal Issues

🔹

Confused by icons (💾 vs. ❤️) and the word "Board" in the moodboard feature.

🔹

Preferred to have pre-filled forms when inquiring via logged-in accounts.

First Iteration: Enhancing Usability & Clarity

Following the first round of usability testing, we identified key pain points in navigation, clarity, and interaction flows. Users struggled with exploring inspirations, filtering results, and understanding key actions.

To improve the experience, we made the following refinements:

These improvements ensure a smoother, more intuitive user experience, making it easier for homeowners to explore, save, and connect with interior designers.

USABILITY TEST

Second Usability Test: Final Validation

After implementing key refinements from the first usability test, we conducted a second usability test to validate the high-fidelity design. This round aimed to ensure the seamlessness of interactions, clarity of features, and effectiveness of the final refinements.

After analysing existing platforms, I identified a key structural pattern that best suited NHG’s needs: the Parent-Child Model.

This framework ensures scalability and flexibility, allowing partners to manage programmes efficiently while keeping sessions well-organised.

Key Takeaways

Successes:

Users easily navigated the platform and found inspirations faster.

The "Share" feature was well-received, especially for WhatsApp sharing.

Users could apply filters effectively and retrieve saved inspirations.

Remaining Friction Points:

🔴

1 out of 3 users wanted an option to relocate saved inspirations.

🔴

3 out of 3 users found "Free Quotes" unclear and preferred direct enquiries.

Final Adjustments

🔹

Added an option to relocate saved inspirations for better organisation.

🔹

Refined the “Free Quotes” feature to better match user expectations.

🔹

Allowed users to select which IDs to message instead of mass messaging all.

THE SOLUTION

A Seamless Home Renovation Experienced

View Prototype Here

With these refinements in place, we arrived at the final solution—a fully refined platform that simplifies the renovation journey—helping homeowners explore inspirations, connect with designers, and plan with confidence.

How it Solves User Pain Points

Every improvement was driven by user feedback, ensuring a frictionless experience:

Effortless Navigation

Users can now browse inspirations instantly with clear categories and structured content.

Smart Search & Filtering

Advanced filters help users find relevant ideas quickly.

Seamless Engagement

Users can save, share, and enquire without unnecessary barriers.

Improved Navigation & Clarity

Instant access to inspiration through Style & Room Type browsing as well as viewing video tour.

Enhanced Search & Filtering

Users can refine results by style, budget, and property type.

Save & Share Inspirations

Bookmark ideas and share with designers effortlessly.

Project & Designer Details

View real projects, pricing, and connect with designers directly.

Mobile-Optimised Experience

Designed for seamless browsing and inquiries on the go.

REFLECTION

Lessons Learned & Reflections

By improving Programme Management, we streamlined scheduling, reduced manual workload, and enhanced tracking efficiency. Partners could now create, manage, and oversee sessions with ease.

This project was a pivotal experience, marking my first end-to-end UX case study. It reinforced the importance of a structured design process—from research to testing and iteration—helping me develop a systematic approach to solving real user problems.

This project was a pivotal experience, marking my first end-to-end UX case study.

It reinforced the importance of a structured design process—from research to testing and iteration—helping me develop a systematic approach to solving real user problems.

What I learned

✅

User-Centric Validation

Features that seem effective in theory may not align with actual user needs, highlighting the necessity of usability testing.

✅

Iterative Design Thinking

Continuous feedback loops drive meaningful improvements and ensure the product evolves based on real insights.

✅

Holistic UX Process

Understanding the complete UX workflow has given me the confidence to tackle complex design challenges in future projects.

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