My Role
Concept I UX Research and Design I UI Design I Prototyping I Created in Figma
CY HOME
It is a real estate company in Cyprus that applies community values to its business activity.
The company wishes to reinvent its design language and rebrand the company.
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The company seeks to connect people who wish to relocate to Cyprus and those who already live there.
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The company aims to grant people who wish to relocate to Cyprus a sense of security, a source of information, and the opportunity to get to know their future neighbors and local amenities.
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Problem
Nowadays, people considering relocating to Cyprus are reluctant to make this life-changing move because of the intimidating unknown ahead.
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After the relocation, everyone needs to familiarize themselves with their future living area, ask themselves how they will adjust to life in a new country, and create active social life far away from their friends and family.
Solution
CY HOME solves this problem by giving its Internet site users a lot of information about their future neighborhoods.
Information about the local culture and custom-recommended schools. Parks and restaurants which are favorable by the community etc.
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The site allows the user to contact residents, get more information, and better know his fellow community members.
CY HOMES Internet site will enable users to access information quickly and conveniently.
The gathered knowledge and personal connection will ease users' concerns and allow a more secure decision-making process.
Usability Research
After further investigation, I discovered that no real estate site offers what the CY HOME site provides. Hence, I decided to expand the scope of my research to examine areas that include features and elements similar to those in CY HOME to get inspiration from those sites.
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To understand what is the best way to present the information conveniently and to use a map with a lot of information on it, to convey credibility and community to the user when using the site, or what information is required to make the user want to relocate to Cyprus and buy a house. I checked the sites green-acres, Madlan, Skyscanner, Airbnb, Zillow and Selina
User Research
To fully understand and define users who they are, their needs, and their frustrations, I have decided to conduct interviews with potential users.
In these interviews, I tried to indicate the main events that lead people to purchase property in a foreign country. I sent out a survey to potential users to better understand how most users feel about key points in the interface.
Based on those interviews, I created two types of personas to represent the app's target users.
The Jobs To Be Done process helped me characterize user actions.
Finally, I summarized the client's specific goal and the thought processes that would motivate him to use the application.
James Stewar
Age - 36
Occupation - Photographer
Location - England
Status - In a relationship
Socioeconomic - Middle
Bio
Lives with his girlfriend in London.
In a relationship for eight years.
Lives in a two-room apartment.
Works as a photographer and a
private teacher for completion of salary.
Goals
- Living a quieter life
- to work as a photographer only
- Want more time for hobbies.
- Want to start a family soon
Frustrations
- Works many hours a day.
- Considering starting a family, but would like to change
his lifestyle first.
- His life is always stressful during the day.
- Although he and his girlfriend work hard,
they still struggle financially.
Lisa Rivers
Age - 34
Occupation - Graphic designer
Location - Israel
Status - married
Socioeconomic - Middle
Bio
She lives with her husband and child in Holon.
Works as a freelance graphic designer from home.
Lives in a three-room apartment.
Dreams of building a house with a yard
and having another child.
Goals
- Living a quieter life
- Get a bigger house with a garden
- Raising children in a comfortable environment.
- Looking for more community life
Frustrations
- Lives in a very small apartment.
- Want to expand the family, but afraid financially.
- She cannot afford to purchase a private house with
a garden because of the high real estate prices.
- Even though she and her husband work hard,
they still struggle financially.
User Research Definition
Pain Points:
Emotional: Leaving one life behind and immigrating to another country is a scary and emotional event.
Security: Feeling insecure is common among people who relocate to a new country. Language barriers and a lack of basic knowledge about their surroundings lead to insecurity and anxiety.
Information: [22:16, 19.11.2022] Dori YaYa UX/UI: It's challenging to get information from Real Estate websites. Usually, such information is more common in local Facebook groups, which are partly not accessible to users.
Goals:
Emotional - A reliable source of relevant information combined with an opportunity to meet local people before arriving will allow for better preparation and will focus on the exciting part of the life changing movement.
Security - The possibility to read relevant information in a language that the user is comfortable with and the option to find locals with same background who dealt before with the same fears as the user is facing now is a tremendous boost to one confidence.
Information - The website allows a combination of housing opportunities and a lot of background local knowledge. Integrated with the option to meet actual locals, the website guarantees a comprehensive, all included, one source of information that the user will need.
Value
Discover Cyprus expats communities, where they are situated, and start searching for your new dream house.
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The CY HOME website contains a large variety of houses for sale at the desired locations and prices.
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The website allows direct consultation with local community members and gathering all the information needed to reach the right home for you.
Main values for the end user:
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Buy a property in Cyprus.
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Get to know the local communities.
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Understand the relevant neighborhoods.
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Acquire Information from the site's interactive maps, which elaborate on the cities and rural areas, local activities, parks, schools, restaurants, and more.
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Get in touch with your future neighbors and get the most relevant Information from the residents.
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Book a Zoom meeting for a one-on-one consultation with one of our experts.
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Get genuine recommendations from people who have already moved to Cyprus and reside there.
User Flow
To optimize the site's user experience, I created a fast and accessible route from start to finish.
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I adapted the flow and the information to the specific needs of the user, who is looking for a property and knows the area.
On the site, you can find information
In as clear and convenient a manner as possible.
Wireframes
The wireframes were designed in a process involving many drafts until the current phase. And they support the values ​​of the application.
The options were based on the concept of the application, usability study, and additional new features adapted.
Landing screen
Item
Property search
Neighborhood map
User Interface Design
The final user interface design of CY HOME aims to give the application a pleasant and modern look and a professional and reliable feel.
The design is bright and inviting, with many photos of properties, places, and people. The color palette consists of white and blue. In order to match the site's design language, icons and symbols were designed in a clean language
The overall design was created to give the user a clear and satisfying experience while navigating.
Design System
Style Guide
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Colors​
Primary colors
Gray
Primary
Error
Warning
Success
Secondary colors
Orange
Pink
Blue light
Turquoise
Typography
Icons
Layout, Components and Variants
Grid System
Desktop - 1440X1024 Pixels
Gutter - 24
Margin - 12
Columns - 12
Components
All components, layouts
and margins are following
the rules of 4.
Screens
from Wireframes to Design
1. Home
The platform's home page is divided into several sections designed to give users a glimpse and direction of the various features in the website interface. The primary motivation is to create curiosity and familiarity with Cyprus and its communities and, at the same time, encourage the user to look for the right property for him.
Hero section: CY HOME's Hero section begins with a background video that captures the user's attention. In addition, there is a filter bar which is the first step in the house
search process.
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Beyond the usual real estate search bar parameters like property size, price etc, the user is given the option to filter his personal preferences regarding the environment in which he would like to live.
Buyers tell: The second part of the home page contains testimonials from satisfied customers who are willing to share from their personal relocation experience.
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This section is designed to give the user a more personal and vivid information from other people who have gone through the same experience.
Houses: User can find samples of featured houses. A sort of a glimpse of popular properties available on CY Homes website.
2. Search
The property search page is designed to allow its user a convenient way to perform a search. This page displays all the available properties and the relevant information associated with it, keeping user's comfort and intuitiveness in mind.
Search: The page is divided into property listings and an interactive map. Such a presentation allows the user to easily and conveniently navigate around the destination of interest and find the desired property. The user enjoys one intuitive and clear page that displays all
relevant information.
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Another key element on the page is the "Know your neighbourhood" button
The button is graphically designed to attract attention and to encourage the user to click it. This button leads the user to a unique page that supplies the user with information relevant to the selected neighbourhood. Its environment landmark, necessary amenities, local residents and more.
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This information contributes to the user's knowledge of its new environment. Improves its confidence and ability to make the right decisions.
3. Get to know your Village
This page was designed to allow users to get a better understanding of their future area of residence.
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The decision to create such a page was taken after conducting extensive research among its targeted audiences.
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The page is designed to give its users additional value as well as to increase their sense of security and familiarity. This in turn, will facilitate their decision to purchase a house in Cyprus.
Search: This page presents a lot of information about the environment. Therefore it is presented in the form of a clean and intuitive map that is divided into different topics.
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Beyond the general information provided, the user will find a direct communication option with local residents that will allow for gathering additional, more
intimate knowledge.
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This feature makes the CY HOMES website unique. This direct communication option contributes to creating a sense of trust and confidence among its users, as well as being a platform for potential newcomers to get to know the community.
locals testimonials: In this section, the user can read genuine stories from locals sharing their experience and knowledge of the surrounding area. Directly from the source, the user will be able to get authentic information and tips. This feature contributes to user trust in the CY HOMES website interface.
Activities: In this section, the user will get a brief presentation of local activities and classes that are available in its neighbourhood of interest. Information that will increase user knowledge
and confidence.
4. Item
The specific property page contains layers of relevant information. From the property itself to its immediate neighbourhood. The page is divided into several sections using headings, paragraphs, maps and images as tools for delivering valuable information conveniently.
Details/Booking: This section presents relevant information about the property including high quality photos and videos.
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In addition, this page contains a "Book a viewing" CTA button and "get more information" contact options such as virtual tour, zoom meeting, phone call, email and social media interfaces.
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This part is emphasized and is designed to encourage the user to perform the action.
locals testimonials: In this section, the user can read genuine stories from locals sharing their experience and knowledge of their neighbourhood. The user will be able to contact them and get authentic information and tips directly from its future potential neighbours. Such contacts contribute to the user's sense of security and will improve the successful sales rate.
