CRAFTING A RESPONSIVE WEBSITE FOR CHENNAI'S LEADING PROPERTY DEVELOPERS AMIDST COVID-19

My Role

Project Management
UX Research
UI/UX design

Duration

17 months

Tools

Figma
Mural
Illustrator
Photoshop

Team

2 Founders
2 Content Strategist
1 Media Manager
1 UI/UX Designer
1 Developer
1 Photographer

Summary

I had the incredible opportunity to work with a developer and photographer in redesigning the website for KCee Properties - a leading construction firm in Chennai, India.

Since 60% of their clientele were expats buying homes in India it was important for KCee Properties to have a strong digital presence, especially during Covid.

Click to view Brand discovery documentation

Some of our initial challenges

When we partnered with the company, both founders were senior leaders in their industry but had limited knowledge about the value of a robust online presence. Recognizing this, I had to advocate for a responsive website and high-quality images of their apartments, as well as individual portraits of the founders and their team.

It was quite challenging when we requested high-resolution portraits —they simply didn't have any. Requesting them to get professional photos taken was a delicate negotiation since they were initially hesitant about the cost. However, we effectively communicated the potential value, finding a happy medium that convinced them to invest.

Also, we observed inconsistencies in their logo across digital and physical platforms. This inconsistency highlighted the need for a redesign to unify their brand identity. By addressing these critical elements, we successfully demonstrated how a cohesive online presence could significantly enhance their market value.

How we decided to pitch and add value to KCee Properties online precense

Lead Generation: Develop a website that efficiently communicates with potential customers and includes a contact form to capture leads. Ensure there is a high conversion rate and people who visit the website are compelled to choose KCee over its competitions.

Brand Image: Create aesthetically appealing visuals, bold typography, and minimalistic designs to promote Kcee Properties' style and cater to high-end clients.

Online Visibility: Improve the company's online presence, making it easier for customers to find them when searching for apartments in the area, and boost visibility through testimonials and Google reviews.

Credibility: Establish Kcee Properties as a credible and trustworthy business by showcasing their expertise, their service offerings, past work, and unique features of their apartments through virtual 360 degree tours.

Here's how we re-designed the Web and Mobile experience

We first conducted an audit of the current application and had an informational interview with the founders, senior project consultants in the firm. After re-creating a site map that would align with their current offerings and requirements, we had a discussion with some of the staff members and one of the founder to understand if we had a clear understanding of the requirements and minimize any additional costs and time that we might incur in designing the responsive website.

Once we had a point of contact within the organization who would be able to answer any of our questions and help build out the website, we leveraged low-fidelity, medium-fidelity and high-fidelity to share ideas with them, the hi-fid prototypes were also used to conduct user testing with 5 of KCee’s existing clients. During this process, we identified several issues, such as readability issues and certain ambiguity with navigation, which we swiftly rectified using the design components I created in Figma which helped improved the user experience during the testing process. Proactively receiving feedback helped us to make consistent updates across all screens, ensuring we adhered to AA and AAA contrast standards and maintained WCAG guidelines as well apart from creating a seamless user experience for our target audience.

How we collaborated with the client

I find that rapid prototyping, especially through paper prototyping and whiteboard sessions, is invaluable for quickly generating and refining ideas. Snyder, in "Paper Prototyping: The Fast and Easy Way to Design and Refine User Interfaces" (2003), explains why this approach encourages creativity and collaboration. I opted for a quick whiteboard session as a means to swiftly gather feedback from the team as well as the POC in the firm before embarking on the construction of website pages.

Low-Fidelity

while the paper prototypes got me started on the design direction, creating medium fidelity prototypes helped shared my vision with the developer and gain some insights on his requirements especially when it came to creating the documentation for preparing the design system.

Communicating vision with developer

For our project, I built the design system on the robust foundation of Google’s Material Design 3 color and typography systems. This approach not only ensured an aesthetically pleasing design but also seamlessly integrated accessibility features. Moreover, the flexibility of the color system allowed us to implement quick and efficient changes, enhancing both the user experience and our workflow.

Design System

Responsive Mobile screens

Desktop screens

Here Is How We Improved The User Experience

Clear Call To Action

Contact Section Optimization

Prototype Walkthrough

Additional Recommendations That were provided to KCee Properties

Branding and Logo Redesign

We recommended KCee Properties' to revamp their brand identity, creating a modern and minimalistic logo that reflected their clean aesthetic. The new branding guidelines ensured consistency across all marketing materials, solidifying their brand recognition.

Recommendations to Increased Online Visibility

By optimizing the website for search engines and integrating testimonials and Google reviews, we provided SEO consultation and significantly improved Kcee Properties' online visibility and credibility as a trusted real estate brand.