Homi
Connecting Future Roommates Over Shared Values
Course: CMU MA in Design, Intro to Prototyping
Role: UX Research, Copywriting, Brand Identity
Team: Lorin Anderberg, Yaezi Lee, Rui Ying
Tools: Figma, Illustrator
Duration: 5 weeks
brand identity
user research
Design Challenge:
One-third of students report that roommate issues negatively impact their mood, academic performance, and social life. Finding the right roommate is essential to creating a stable and healthy living environment.
How might we make the roommate search the least stressful part of the housing process while increasing the likelihood of supportive, compatible living dynamics?
Research:
Mapping the current roommate search journey and uncovering pain points through interviews and ecosystem mapping.
We began with an ecosystem map to understand the phases, touch points, and interactions in the roommate search journey.
Defining Research Objectives
Understand existing pain points and frustrations in the roommate search
Understand what features people would value in an app like this
Understand what people value most in a potential roommate
Understand the importance of compatibility
Understand what constitutes compatibility
Understand how to build trust within this app
Defining Our Assumptions:
Trust is important
Personality type will play a key role
Users need help communicating and knowing what to ask
Users need help understanding healthy roommate dynamics
A more engaging platform will lead to better results
Saying no might be awkward
Users will look for roommates before housing spaces if they value the relationship more than the logistics
Based on these interviews, we created a user journey map to better understand the needs, emotions, and touch points our user would experience in the process of searching for a roommate.
Brand Identity:
Designing a visual language that feels youthful, trustworthy, and focused on healthy relationships.
We aimed to create a playful brand that would resonate with Gen Z and younger millennials while appealing to those who value strong roommate relationships.
Our goal was a brand that felt intuitive, memorable, and trustworthy. The final palette conveyed authority and warmth, while our logo and illustrations softened the overall tone.
Questionnaire Design:
Testing onboarding flow and content structure through card-sorting sessions.
We interviewed six participants and conducted a card-sorting activity to understand which questions should appear during onboarding, which should be optional, and how users would interpret profile information.
Participants sorted pre-written questions by relevance and placement in the flow. They were also asked to create an ideal roommate profile using demographic data and personality traits.
This activity helped us refine our onboarding structure and clarify how much autonomy to give users when customizing their profiles.
This feedback was extremely valuable in the development of our user flow. We were able to distinguish between which questions belonged in onboarding, optional profile details, and the chat question feature.
Wireframes:
Translating research insights into a working prototype with guided conversations and clear match profiles.
Our wireframes focused on clarity, simplicity, and usability. We emphasized profile transparency, conversation prompts, and trust-building features that guided users toward open communication.
Outcomes:
What we learned, what worked, and where we’d go next.
Through five weeks of rapid iteration and testing, we developed a validated concept that resonated strongly with users.
With more time, we would further test brand tone and onboarding flow. Some participants said the app felt “too similar to Hinge,” especially in its profile view.
Our greatest opportunity lies in enabling users to ask the right questions before living together, giving them more autonomy to shape their shared environment.