Overview
Roomance is an intelligent interior design software that simplifies the home decoration process, serving as a powerful self-home staging tool. The platform is designed to save time and energy by offering personalized style and customized design solutions. With AR integration for a real-space view, an extensive furniture and decor library, and tools for budget planning and tracking, Roomance aims to make the daunting task of home decoration accessible and enjoyable for everyone.

Problem
Many homeowners face significant challenges when trying to decorate and furnish their living spaces. Designing functional room layouts and staying within a desired budget can be overwhelming and time-consuming tasks. Without specialized knowledge or design tools, envisioning how potential furniture and decor will look and fit within a space becomes difficult, often leading to frustration and delays in achieving the desired home environment.

Solution
To develop Roomance into a user-friendly and effective solution, I began by deeply understanding the various needs and preferences of users in the interior design field. This process started with setting up a screener survey using Google Forms to recruit participants from the target audience. Through these surveys and subsequent interviews, I gathered valuable insights that helped shape the development of user personas using affinity mapping.

Persona 1 is Emily Wilson, who represents a user needing a home design tracker to manage her project timeline. As a novice in home design, Emily faces severe time pressure due to her new remote work situation and the need to quickly set up a suitable home office and educational space for her baby.

Persona 2 is Alyssa Morgan, who needs a budgeting tool and a personalized home design solution to help control her spending and save energy. With a limited budget, particularly for furniture, and a lack of professional knowledge, Alyssa struggles to achieve her ideal home design while adjusting to life in a new city and recovering from a breakup.

I conducted a competitive analysis of existing products in this space, including Target’s Homeplanner, Havenly, and Homestyler. This analysis highlighted the gaps in current offerings and informed the unique features and benefits of Roomance.

The design process involved several rounds of sketching and wireframing, along with the creation of a sitemap and user flows to develop the app’s navigation and functionality. I also crafted a paper prototype for the app, directly involving homeowners in the testing phase. Through this user testing, I gathered feedback and made multiple iterations of the wireframe, conducting A/B testing to enhance usability and overall user satisfaction.

A key feature of Roomance is its AR integration, which allows users to visualize furniture and decor in their actual living spaces. To effectively demonstrate this feature, I learned 3D and UI animation software during the prototyping phase, enabling me to showcase furniture within the AR feature dynamically. This strategic planning of the UI ensured that users would experience the full potential of Roomance’s AR capabilities.

The Roomance logo was designed to exude a fashionable and modern temperament. I chose the Continua Online Trial font for the combination logo, which enhances the brand’s chic appeal and underscores our goal of helping users find their personalized home style with precision and creativity. Additionally, the app icon merges a stylized ‘R’ with elements like a measuring tape and a door, symbolizing precision and personalization. This unique design ensures easy recognition on mobile home pages, making Roomance a go-to tool for homeowners.