Role:

Co-founder (Product and Design)

Responsibilities:

  • Product strategy

  • Product design

  • Leading a user researcher & a UX designer

Synopsis:

Leading design and research at Lofft, where finding the perfect flatmates is inclusive, efficient & driven by the community

Find the Lofft of your life (Work in progress)

Product overview


Lofft is an inclusive flatshare search solution. By making the process transparent and connecting searchers with similar personalities, we make the home-finding experience for expats and young people a breeze.

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Problem statement


Flat searching can be a scary, intransparent and daunting experience, especially for young students and expats who are not familiar with the new city. This lack of local information coupled with the housing crisis in major cities in Europe makes it easy for scammers and even jeopardising the safety of the minorities whose needs are often neglected by existing digital solutions out there.

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Processes

User & market research

We wanted to get to the bottom of the pains in the experience of flat searchers in order to identify the areas most impactful for the product. Together two user researchers, we sent out surveys and conducted interviews with young locals and expats.

Product strategy

Through findings from our own research, strengthened by statistics and other desk research findings, we scanned for opportunities in critical area in the user journeys and developed the scope of the MVP.

Brand & product design

We brainstormed the brand values for which I created the brand assets. I thereafter created the design system and interface design.

Market overview

37%

of over 1.5 milion registered students in Germany live in shared flats since only 1 out of 10 get a university accommodation.

2x

cost per square meter has doubled over the last few years in Berlin, making shared accommodation a viable option for affordable living.

58%

of young tenants take social impact into consideration when choosing accommodation.

User research

Research questions

  1. How does the journey of finding shared apartments look like? What are the most common pain points, especially for minority groups?

  2. How does the journey of finding flatmates look like? What are the most common pain points?

Methods

  • Survey

  • Interviews

Main findings

  • It's frustrating having to write so many messages (quickly) and adjusting them for apartment offers

  • The process of finding a flat is time consuming. It can take up to a week for the searchers to get a first response.

  • Most flat searchers indicated that waiting for responses is the most frustrating aspect in their journey

Product strategy: defining the scope

Example: user flows for the users who are searching for shared flats

Branding

Brand values

Ethical

Inclusive

Playful & exciting

Interface design

I am more than a sum of pixels.

I love facilitating collaboration, understanding different points of view and taming chaos.


When not in front of the screen, you can see me roam around museums, forests, or ceramic studios. I'm also often found concocting culinary creations in the kitchen.


Recently, I've been exploring alternative design approaches. Need book recommendations or just fancy a chat about sustainability? Hit me up anytime!