Rice Design-a-thon • 5 min read
Nest Roommate Finder
Winning 2nd place out of 300+ participants with a novel app aimed at helping undergraduate students
ROLE
Product Designer
TIMELINE
January 2024 (48 hrs)
TEAM
4 Designers
DELIVERABLES
Secondary research
User surveys
Interactive prototype
Presentation
✨ HIGHLIGHTS
Tried out a new experience. First design-a-thon, first all-nighter with design friends who made it worth it!
Impressed industry design leaders, who scored our project based on User Experience, Visual Design, User Research, and Design Thinking Process.
The prompt
Our solution
Nest—an app that turns the roommate search into a delightful experience, helping undergraduates find the perfect match for compatible living.
PRESENTATION
Our Pitch
Click through for the scoop on our design process. You can also check out our demo on Devpost.
DESIGN SYSTEM
Scored 11/12 points in Visual Design
Despite the fast pace of the design-a-thon, I spent time creating a design system for the team. This allowed us to establish cohesive visual design and work efficiently with reusable components. We strived for a clean, modern look to resonate with Gen Z target users.
Nest logo drawn on Procreate :)
LEARNINGS
Working under time constraints
What this looked like: thinking on my feet, rapid prototyping, and making tradeoffs. For example, I set a hard cutoff for designing so we could spend time practicing our pitch.
Innovative thinking
Identified a real problem, which involved pivoting from our original project direction. Ideated a solution that addressed a market gap.
