Project Type: Academic Capstone Project
Timeline: Three Months
Brief: Find a problem from the Interior Design Industry and create a solution.
Solution: Coalesce is a project management platform that is geared towards those within the Interior Design and Architecture Industry. Glanceable information, service integration, and a clean, no-fuss UI are at the center of the Coalesce experience.
How Might We improve the collaboration efforts between architects, interior designers, suppliers, and contractors in order to facilitate more efficient project progress?
Making sure everyone stays on track is harder when working remotely.
“Another major challenge (of working remotely) is staff development. Generally, the more junior the staff person is, the more difficult it is to help them develop at the same pace as when there was in-person interaction.
Tom Mroz, President of the American Society of Landscape Architects; senior vice president, SmithGroup
94 %
Of participants in a survey were dissatisfied with current collaboration tools used in the Architecture & Design industry.
Zhaner Architectural Manufacturing
Poor planning/scheduling,
lack of information about the project, changes to the initial specifications, and available of resources are the most common causes of project delays.
Cornerstone Projects UK Survey, 2017
Professionals in the Architecture and Interior Design Industry need to change their mindset.
“In fact, architects in the coming years will be needed less as content providers of design intent than as facilitators, orchestrators, collaborators and integrators (or FOCI) of this information and process.”
Randy Deutch, Design Intelligence
User Interviews
"Sometimes you have managers, team leads, or principal (designers) that don't manage client expectations properly."
"We had an Excel file that everyone could be in at the same time. I found that to be overwhelming.
"Half the time, the firms asking us for product didn't know what they were talking about."
Key Learnings:
- Communication breakdown happened both at an internal level and with external partners
- Managing expectations plays a huge role in design projects, both on the designer's end and the client's
- True collaboration between everyone involved is at the heart of any good project
- Most collaboration happens virtually as well through cloud services like BIM (Building Information Modelling)
Competitive Analysis
What on the current market would be used in this field for project management?
Asana
Microsoft Teams
Trello
What they do right
- Trello and Asana have visually pleasing UI elements and layouts on their desktop counterparts
- Microsoft teams is a well established platform that exists within a robust ecosystem (Microsoft office)
What they do poorly
- Asana's mobile app is visually cluttered
- Microsoft teams is clunky manner, especially on desktop
- None integrate BIM (Building Information Modelling)
Lauren Bonhomme
Who Is Lauren?
Lauren is a newly promoted intermediate designer for a medium-sized architecture and interior design firm in Toronto, ON.
Painpoints
- She often experiences breakdowns in communication
- Managing multiple projects has been overwhelming
- Keeping track of her team members can be difficult at times
What does she want?
- Lauren strives to finish projects on time
- She values both existing industry relationships and strives to form new ones
- She is open to using new methods to get the job done
Task Flow
After the user stories were created and organized, the main task to be demonstrated by Coalesce would be Accessing A Project's Status. This can also be summed up in one further user story, stated below.
“As an interior designer in a large architecture firm, I want to be able to keep track of the project progress of external parties/firms that I'm working with in order to help us keep on schedule.”
Prototyping
Build Prototype / User Testing / User Feedback / Improve Prototype / Repeat
Initial Prototype
Second Prototype
Changes Made - Version One Vs. Version Two
Third Prototype
Key Features
Design Impact, Key Learnings, and Next Steps
Design Impact
With the introduction of Coalesce, it is hoped that the product’s experience will help improve collaboration within the Interior Design and Architecture field.
This means:
- Better maintained industry relationships
- Less miscommunication
- Less delays
Key Learnings
- The creative process within both the UX design and Industrial design fields is extremely similar
- Speaking to users to get their insights, perspectives, and feedback proved to be one of the most useful tools during the creation of Coalesce
- The UI of a product is just as important as its UX
Next Steps
- Further user testing of the high-fidelity prototype to refine Coalesce even more
- Speaking with developers about how to effectively build the product out
- Creating a marketing campaign to target Interior Designers and Architects
- Getting approval for distribution of the product on the Google Play Store (Hypothetical)
