Project Intro.

Homey is a new platform designed to help international students who live or plan to study in Australia find suitable accommodations. Homey wants to provide a safe, comfortable, and convenient rental environment for international students.

How does this project work?

The end-to-end project needs to be completed in a week and a half, and this is my first experience with UX/UI projects. By referencing some successful UX cases, I made a compact and efficient work plan for myself.

In my new role as a start-up's boss, I thought about how I could get the resources I needed to succeed. I realized I met a group of international students when I volunteered at the church, and they often inquired me many questions about my living experience in Australia. If there were a platform to support these students, they would have a better living experience in Australia. In my desktop research, I found the four biggest concerns of international students are social life, study, finance, and living. Almost every website discusses these four aspects. But which topic is most important to students? So I interviewed to find out.

​

In this interview, six international students spent an average of 40-50 minutes per each and answered 40-50 questions. Firstly, I asked them to rank these four topics according to their greatest concern. I was surprised to find that half of the students said "living" was the most concerning issue, citing problems with safety and accommodation.

According to my knowledge, finding a place to stay is very easy now. Many resources are available online as well as on mobile phones. Schools also recommend websites. Why is this still the biggest concern among students? My curiosity led me to assume the role of an international student and search for housing online. Locals or people with jobs can't understand the deep reasons I found. Over 2,000 social investigation reports and research papers from Australian universities confirm the difficulties overseas students face in finding housing and studying in Australia.

​

I discovered that international students' housing issues could be divided into two categories from my research study. The first group comprises new international students who have just arrived in Australia, and the second group consists of those who have lived in Australia for several years. Their housing problems are similar but distinct.

​

To provide better accommodation to international students in Australia, I decided to design an accommodation platform.

My point of view

My project was done interestingly. From topic selection to website functionality,  the contents were decided by customer voting.