DueBox 1.0
Empower interior design teams for construction
/ B2B SaaS CRM
CLIENT
Self-initiated
MY ROLE
End-to-end Product Designer
TIMELINE
April - August, 2023
TEAM
Roxy Shi
And fellow interior designers
/ INTRO
DueBox is a project management tool that empowers interior design teams in the construction field.
The design and solutions combined my hands-on industry experience with user research with fellow designers, architects, and trade partners.
I initiated and led the end-to-end design process from ideation to final user testing, and everything in between.
/ CONTEXT
the domino effect is painful
Imagine you are going through renovation for your dream home and one day discover that, instead of painting the walls in red colour, the painter got the wrong information and painted all the walls a bright neon green.
What are the damage control steps?
1. Purchase new buckets of paint to cover the neon green
2. Purchase new buckets of paints of the correct red colour
3. Reschedule labour + cost to redo the work
4. A few days to wait for the paint to get dry
5. Delay for the whole project
6. Rescheduling other appointments on the timeline
The neon green walls could be replaced with anything in the construction field, and it could lead to costly damage control.
/ USER RESEARCH
Complains are similar
The message was loud and clear. Through user interviews and card sorting, I was able to discover the top problems and identify product opportunities.
Painpoints and Opportunities
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North Star Design Principles
Style Guide
The Bauhaus movement, one of modern history's most influential design movements initiated the conceptual understanding of architecture and design.
I chose the Bauhaus theme as the style guide to communicate between the architecture world and the digital world in a sense that is familiar to interior designers as well.
Style Guide Moodboard
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Hi-fi Design and Solutions
Hi-fi Component Overview
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/ FEATURE 01
Effective Data Visualization
The home dashboard is a hub of data visualizations that provide user with comprehensive progress information at first glance. User are empowered to quickly prioritize their tasks and goals and stay on top of the games.
/ FEATURE 02
Smart File Sorting
Sort files based on people’s roles - everyone has work to do here. Instead of memorizing the filing system, users can intuitively sort files based on other team member’s roles. This speeds up the process for users to allocate the file they need and saves a lot of time on file coordination.
/ FEATURE 03
Task Management
The task list and all shared working files both live in the DueBox system. Users can create tasks and invite team members to collaborate and track progress together as the construction project progresses.
/ FEATURE 04
Replace Paper
When working on architectural projects, printout drawings in various sizes are with the designer/architect every step along the way. In the post-pandemic era, we embrace digitalization to replace paper, boost efficiency, and be more mindful of the environment.
The Notepads feature allows users to bring in working drawings, generate digital sticky notes, add comments, sketch on top and easily share with teams without going through the hustle of recognizing handwriting, scanning paper or combining PDFs.
Usability Test
After testing on 4 users - designer, millworker, contractor and project manager, I’ve collected insightful feed towards the next revision.
Impact
Through usability tests, I also pleasantly discovered the improvements compared to the old workflows.
Project Takeaways
The DueBox is the product I would want all the fellow interior designer to utilize and make our lives better. Through the process I learned that the demand is there from designers. Here are a few things I’ve learned from this journey and would carry the learning forward.
