Role

Product Designer, UX Researcher

Timeline

1 month

Tasks

Research, IXD, Usability testing, Stakeholder management

Collaborators

1 PM, 2 Engs, 1 PD

Context

The initiative for rich media didn’t originate from customer demand—it came as a reactive directive.

Historically, apartment-specific media was a top pain point for renters, but only recently had partners begun requesting this feature.

The challenge was determining whether rich media was truly valuable or simply a competitive checkbox feature.

To validate the need, I led qualitative and quantitative research and collaborated with stakeholders across Product (Demand), Sales, Engineering, and Operations to explore feasibility.

Listings had a 1% conversion rate, leading to missed revenue and a poor user experience.

Impact

This wasn’t just about adding more media—it was about creating a richer, more engaging apartment search experience.

This initiative highlights the reality of UX in fast-moving companies—success doesn’t always lead to expansion.

Conversion

3%

Engagement

24%

Ticket reduction

40%

Solution

Goal of the proof of concept
• Remove friction.
• Increase transparency.
• Give renters more details.

Core design enhancements
• Dynamic unit cards – Featured eye-catching visuals to immediately hook renters.
• Refined content hierarchy – Made key information stand out, reduced fatigue.
• Enhanced listing view – Created seamless, scrollable image galleries and intuitive virtual tours.

Aligning the team & designing for speed

My research validated that renters had long sought apartment-specific photos, videos, and 3D tours.

However, partners’ internal systems weren’t set up for apartment-specific content, meaning we had to work with what was already available.

Focused on speed, I designed a north star concept and segmented launches based on existing partner data structures.

This meant:
• Minimal engineering lift – Using available media instead of requiring partners to upload new content.
• Seamless UI integration – I experimented with card treatments and interaction patterns to ensure different media types (3D tours, videos) were surfaced intuitively.
• Iterative approach – I focused on small, high-impact changes for speed to launch to increase engagement without disrupting workflows.

Work Single Main Image

Dynamic unit cards

Featured eye-catching visuals to immediately hook renters.

With different iterations and aligned with usability testing, I landed on a deliverable that resonated with renter's primary content use cases.

Design enhancements
• Dynamic media content to showcase arresting visuals.
• Hover interactions to provide moments of delight.
• Organizing content in a way that resonates with renters.

Iterations of unit card component

Enhanced listing view

To maximize decision's ease, I created a listing view that showcased the information that mattered most to renters and designed immersive experiences.

What didn't ship? An immersive gallery

Retrospective

While research-backed design increased engagement, internal priorities dictated that further media enhancements wouldn’t move forward. We set out to achieve what we wanted:
• Validation before execution – Ensuring executive directives align with user needs.
• Strategic prioritization – Moving fast by working within technical constraints.
• Cross-functional collaboration – Aligning teams on a high-impact MVP despite competing priorities.

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