Establishing the Problem
While the population in Philadelphia has continued to grow over the past seven years, the primary housing option has stayed the same, the rowhouse. Many homeowners are in homes that are 100 years old or more and are first-time homeowners. Some are unfamiliar with home maintenance and need help determining how to modernize their home and make it more energy-efficient. Others have purchased a new rowhouse that shares some similar characteristics to an older home like flat roofs, space limitations, and being physically connected to your nextdoor neighbor that can cause unique challenges. There are also programs many Philadelphians do not know exist, that can financially help with repairs, plant trees, and other home-related resources.
Competitive Research
Research began with an overview of mobile applications for homeowners, both regional and national. These apps spanned the ability to keep house inventory to being a virtual project manager. For each app, a logo, description, and screenshots were cataloged for reference. Below please find a selection of a portion of the research.
Interviews / Survey
Using competitive research, a survey was created for an in-person focus group. The survey included an overview of the app, general data collection, brainstorming exercises, and a possible functionality list. We invited sixteen rowhouse owners to the event. Upon arrival, each participant completed a survey. Next, we broke into smaller groups to facilitate sharing and encourage conversations to discuss three questions asked:
• With home maintenance/rehab in mind, write down three pain points of being a homeowner?
• Can you think of three examples of home maintenance that only applies only to rowhouse owners?
• Are there any other functions you would want to see in this app?
To conclude the event each participant ranked what functions they thought were most important. The survey was also sent out to participants who could not make it out to the in-person event.
User Flows & Content Mapping
To narrow down the design process I made the decision to focus phase one on the onboarding process. The onboarding process begins with allowing the user to “build” their rowhouse. Paper prototyping is a quick way to start the UX design process. When content mapping we take all of the information gathered from the interviewing process the content was organized and mapped out.
Design Explorations
The design process explored various visual directions and screen layouts for the onboarding process. Low-fidelity wireframes were created to work through the onboarding process. High-Fidelity Wireframes were made for the final design works through the entire onboarding process.
Logo Design and App Icon
Alongside the design of the app, I worked through logo design and development. The final logo combines a 2-story rowhouse with a folder representing a place to store information about your rowhouse. The logo was also used for an app icon.
Awards and Recognition
Temple University Summer Research Grant / Temple University / Awarded for RowKeeper
Presidential Humanities and Arts Program Award / Temple University ./ Awarded for RowKeeper
Award of Excellence—Silver / Communicator Award / Juried international competition
Runner Up / Creative Quarterly #55 / Juried international competition
Honorable Mention / Graphis Design Annual 2020 / Juried international competition