Designing the Search Journey of a Real Estate Website
Client
Hageman Realty
project type
UX/UI,
Web Development
Team
Design, Development
Overview
Modernizing Hageman Realty's website to improve usability and make exploring property listings seamless.
The challenge
Reducing friction during the search journey by establishing visual hierarchy the indexing page
The property index page was a core landing page for users an key step in the lead generation generation process. I wanted to ensure that it was not only seamless for users to search for specific properties but also enticing to explore other properties. To achieve this, I centralized and exposed all filtering functionality in the left-hand panel to increase usability. Visually, I also used bold design components to call out property types during the search journey to make it as easy as possible for users to comprehend what they are looking at.
My Work
Elevating clarity through data visualization on individual property listings.
Another major pain point of the website was the lack of a standardized and easily digestible layout for individual property listings. I focused on how to display data-rich sections of content (i.e. acreage, soil type, property tax) while balancing aesthetic appeal while still prioritizing the main call to action, contacting a real estate agent. To accomplish this, I established standardized iconography to improve information comprehension and a modularized page layout to allow the contact CTA to always remain visible.
My Work
Designing an intentional and ergonomic mobile search experience.
Because this user journey presents a lot of dense information and required robust functionality, I knew I wanted to create a unique and intentional search journey for mobile. To accommodate for smaller screen sizes I applied my knowledge of mobile design usability to nest complex controls (i.e. filtering and contact forms) in a slider menu to retain constant access while minimizing screen real estate.
reflection
Growing my end-to-end design skills through collaboration with development and quality assurance.
This project allowed me to develop my skills as an end-to-end designer. From project meetings with the internal business team, creating designs in Figma, to QA testing and pushing to production, I had a hand in each phase of the development process. This multidisciplinary approach reinforced critical aspects of the design process for me such as the importance of familiarizing yourself with the data you're working with while also designing from the perspective of users who aren't technical experts. Throughout this project I asked myself, "What would I like to see if I had never bought or sold land before?" and let these answers guide my choices.