Overview
About the client
Titiro Digital is a company aiming to innovate in the real estate sector by offering its IT service for smart condominium management to all new structures through a simple and effective app. This app is capable of managing in one place all the possibilities new structures offer, such as home automation control, booking internal/external services, and handling all administrative aspects. The company was founded in Milan, but its goal is to expand its range of structures throughout Italy.
The original request
We approached the initial request by undertaking a definitive restyling of the app to make it first and foremost more intuitive and, especially, suitable for use with multiple condominiums. The first version of the app had been designed solely for a specific condominium in the center of Milan. The basic concept of the app was validated so it could then be expanded to other new structures.
The challenge
Create a comprehensive ecosystem where condominium residents can manage all aspects of their daily lives, both inside and outside their homes, and where administrators can manage residential structures in a facilitated, innovative, and smart way.
Moreover, it is necessary to link the user experience and the interface within the app to the entire complex and limited technical part that uses advanced condominium automation systems.
Research and analysis
Context and moodboard
We had to identify the context from which to start the research, as the market for home automation apps is vast and scattered. There are hundreds of applications dedicated to configuring and managing smart and electronic devices, but in this case, the integration had to occur with the house itself, and therefore all the devices within the apartment. Thus, the user would only need to control their existing devices and not add new ones, as is the case with more recent apps.
The research
The research focused on three specific points:
- identifying a functional way to correctly cluster all the necessary information on the first page;
- selecting dark themes to draw inspiration from for the app’s dark mode and building an accessible system for all types of users.
- carefully reconstructing all screens from the previous version, taking into account the already integrated technical aspects without radically changing the behaviors but improving the existing ones.
Users and customers
The main user categories for the app are apartment owners, their family members, or potential renters.
Solution and design process
First concepts and wireframe
Building a super-app for condominiums, capable of handling both home automation functions and bookings for amenities and external services, was not easy. Finding a minimal style that didn’t appear too heavy on the eye and maintained order and clarity was particularly challenging.
The initial ideas built on Figma used white space to give the interface room to breathe, adding levels of detail and complexity only where strictly necessary. The choice of icons for the types of services and amenities was later set aside because it wasn’t explicit enough.
What we were trying to achieve was to reconcile the elegance of the structure expressed by the photographic part (more evocative for some types of pages) with the interactions within the pages, thereby creating an interface that could convey a sense of trust to the condominium user. Every user should think:
“This is my condominium app. I am in the right place, so now I can complete this action.”
Following client feedback
After some consideration, we decided to create more empathy between what the client saw on their smartphone screen and the environment where the app and all its services were used.
We needed to identify a clearer and less “subtle” style, one that wouldn’t blend in with the interface but would express its character.
These feedbacks were very important for the entire design team, who revisited the moodboard to reconstruct some of the preliminary concepts used to design the initial iterations.
Problem solving approach
To maintain a clean and minimal design, starting from scratch, we asked ourselves:
“Can we still create a design that dynamically accommodates multiple condominiums, recreating each time that feeling of “it’s like being at home” without having to construct a custom design for each structure?”
All interaction points within the app were identified. Then, names and logos of other structures that could potentially use the service were sampled, and using the coordinated image of each (which included logo and color palette), we tested various solutions.
Final Project
Figma limited file
Frames and screens
- Onboarding
The initial flow where the user is introduced to the app’s features and appears the first time the user downloads the app if they do not have an account. - Navigation
All the screens visible within the app once access has been gained and all the app’s full functionalities have been unlocked. - Home Automation
All the parameters regarding the climate, the opening of the shutters and the apartment’s anti-intrusion system. - Bookings for amenities and services
The booking of internal and external condominium services works very simply by combining physical and hourly availability in the spaces dedicated to all types of services.
Conclusions
A simple app, connected to our daily lives, can help us greatly simplify all those actions for which we usually take a lot of time and that, thanks to simple integrated systems, can assist us in managing a multitude of “complex” and time-consuming aspects.
What we learned
- Before acting on the interface (even if it already exists), it is always necessary to construct the customer journey based on actual and real data, not on market assumptions or mere user requests. This process can help product teams save a great deal of time in developing effective solutions to very complex problems.
- Never overlook the limits and potentials of the technical part. Although we live in an era where 99% of the options are feasible and achievable, there will always be a parameter or a situation that we are not designing with the front-end or back-end in mind. Working closely with a development team can make a huge difference.
Some stats
From 2019 to 2021, the application received a very positive response, establishing itself as one of the most intuitive and accessible apps in its category.
- Net Promoter Score: 43/50. Net Promoter Score (or ‘NPS’) is a way of measuring customer satisfaction. It presents customers with a simple survey, then feeds their answers into a formula to produce a single figure for benchmarking.
- +96% of tenants adoption
- +92%, the task completion rate of UserTesting
I’m thrilled you’ve come this far – thank you! 🥰