RentBuddy

A mobile application for college students (made by college students 🤓) to discover off-campus housing and connect with potential roommates.

The Problem

Finding college housing sucks 👎

1. There are few online resources available to students that highlight reliable and available housing, which leaves students scouring the internet with untrustworthy sellers and outdated/inaccurate reviews.

2. Finding roommates is also painstakingly difficult when the only options to find roommates are through social media platforms like Facebook which are highly susceptible to scams or through on-campus events, which can be difficult for introverted students navigating college life for the first time.

The Goal

How might we create an easy-to-access mobile application that provides a reliable and trustworthy platform for Cal Poly students to find potential roommates and off-campus housing?

Timeline

I was given 8 weeks to conduct research and complete my Senior Project. Due to such short time constraints, it was important for me to work efficiently and diligently. To ensure an appropriate amount of time was dedicated towards research and ideation, I created a timeline including temporary deadlines and progress markers.

Background Research

I designed an anonymous survey through Google Forms to uncover the pain points regarding the search for off-campus housing and roommates in San Luis Obispo. To categorize pain points according to housing versus roommates, I divided the survey questions based on the two respective categories. Most respondents found the housing and roommate search difficult and believed a mobile application would be helpful.

Branding

Below is a screenshot of a moodboard I created on Pinterest. For the branding, I wanted to create something that was friendly and reminiscent of vintage poster designs. I liked the idea of using designing a mascot to fulfill the role of a friend or buddy that would guide users through the app. I also wanted to stick with the color green to match Cal Poly’s school colors.

Logo Designs

For my logo design, I was inspired by 90’s mascots and various character logos. In my initial sketches, I played with the idea of turning a house into a mascot with human features. I wanted the mascot to look friendly and cute. Having a friendly mascot would entice users, develop brand awareness, and trust.

Color Palette

Although I chose to stick with the color green, I decided to use lighter shades of green that seemed friendlier and more welcoming.

Typeface

Nunito Sans was the typeface I selected because it was a sans serif font. Sans serif fonts are perfect for increased readability and legibility. It is also inviting and casual.

Low Fidelity Wireframing

I spent 20 minutes sketching different screens and features that I would like to include in the mobile application. To illustrate the user journey, I sketched each screen from log in to log out.

Mid Fidelity Prototpye

User Testing

Reflection

My biggest regret is waiting until Weeks 3-4 to conduct user research and begin my mid-fidelity prototype. If I had started earlier, I think I would have been less stressed out during the last weeks of the quarter. Instead of waiting until later in the quarter, I would start working on my project much earlier. The one task I would highly recommend starting earlier would be the branding of the app. I believe this took me the longest time to complete and it was responsible for most of the project’s delay. Next time, I will also send out my survey much earlier. Despite the quick turnaround time, I am incredibly proud of the project I created this quarter. This is an idea that I have been playing around with for a few months, so I am very happy to see it finally come to life. These past couple of weeks I have learned so much more about the design process, conducting user research, and project management. I will definitely be applying the skills I’ve gained from this project to my future career.

References

Almeida, Balaji, H., & Tiwari, M. (2022). DORMMATE - A Room-Mate Personality Matching Application. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) Conference Proceedings.https://doi.org

Burke, M. (2022, September 29). How California is responding to dire student housing shortage.EdSource. https://edsource.org

Davis. (2023). Responses of Colleges and Universities on Meeting Homelessness and Housing Insecurity Impacted College Students’ Needs and Its’ Impact on Students’ Academic Success: A Comparative Case Study Analysis. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

Interactive, D. (2021, June 23). Unimate - A UX/UI case study of collegehousing. Medium. https://davisdesigninteractive.medium.com

Jones, S. (2002). The internet goes to college how students are living in the future with today’s technology. Distributed by ERIC Clearinghouse.

New Roommate-Matching App Launches Solutions for Renters During COVID-19 Crisis: ROOM8’s new in-app video calling and virtual property tours allow users to find roommates and apartments safely and securely while social distancing. (2020). In PR Newswire. PR Newswire Association LLC.

Pisupati, A. (2023, September 15). Cal Poly’s off-campus housing program partners with EDUrain to ease the hunt for housing. Mustang News. https://mustangnews.net

Sherman, S. (2021, October 12). Enrolled and unhoused: Students struggle to find housing weeks into Fall Quarter. Mustang News. https:// mustangnews.net

Smartphone and app usage among college students: using smartphones effectively for social and educational needs. (2016). Issues in Information Systems. https://doi.org

Tikoo, Jain, R., Sheth, P., & Dalvi, H. (2022). MyRoomie: A Roommate Finding App. International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology, 10(3), 1937–1943. https://doi.org