ReStyle. An app to help you feel more at HOME
Hello friends!
My name is Nora Pirsch and I am a UX designer. I am grateful that I get to walk you through what I have learned in just 5 days.
I live in a small space and have always been challenged to fit things in it. Furniture, kitchen gadgets, shelves, etc. Since, many of us are staying inside our homes lately, I got curious if there was a greater need for a tool for improving one’s living space. Maybe a way to visualize a home ReStyle through Augmented Reality? Ikea, Ruggable, and other furniture/accessory companies, have integrated AR technology in their online shopping experience. But what about a tool that could help the user visualize a new way to re-organize their own furniture/accessories, without having to break their back? A fun, interactive measuring tool on your phone.
My Case Study schedule and procedures:
I conducted 7 video interviews. 4 men and 3 women. Here are some of the questions that I asked my interviewees:
- What is your favorite room and why?
- How does that room make you feel?
- In the last 6 months, how many times did you reorganize or redecorate?
- What was the motivation for that?
- Describe a room that you disliked?
- Tell me about your dream home.
I synthesized my research using an affinity map:
After pondering these answers and seeing a trend, I started to see a connection.
This information brings me to this problem statement:
Families, students, and people who work from home, need a superior way to visualize and/or create a home restyle, because deliberately placed furnishings and fixtures, produce a relaxed and more happy atmosphere.
Below you will see some sketches I made for a potential solution to the problem. An app that uses Augmented Reality, to help the user move around furniture, purchase furniture, and, most importantly, SEE what that room looks like in different lights.
Please notice the RED underline and the words above them. I got some feedback from one of my friends who works in Virtual Reality and AR tools. They commented that, once the AR scan is finished, make sure the user gets to the 3D page quickly, because using/working in AR can be frustrating. So I wanted to make sure this prototype incorporated that advice.
I also learned about Lidar technology through this process. Lidar technology is a method for measuring items, by using laser light and time frequency to determine the height, width, and depth, resulting in a 3D image. Which is why, you will see in my sketches and prototype, that one must scan the walls, doors, and windows of the room, to get a proper measurement. If you can’t see it, neither can Lidar technology. For example, if you wanted to move your couch in the app, you would need to measure the wall, so that when you move your couch (in the app) there is information behind it (the wall).
Below is my low fidelity prototype.
Questions for the future……
I would like to spend more time in the research phase of this product. Do a second round of interviews and also some more comparative research. I would also like to interview some builders and architects for context.
I would also like to go into more detail on some features this app would have. For instance, a feature that had professional organizing or Feng Shui experts, who can help you ReStyle your room/home.
Another feature would include the future of AR, where the technology can recognize furniture/accessories, so you wouldn’t need to identify separately. Saving the user time and making the app more user friendly.
Thank you for taking the time! I look forward to showing you many more projects in the future.
Nora Pirsch
