Listing terms assume local knowledge.
Words like "freehold" or "body corporate" were unfamiliar to most newcomers, who avoided listings rather than ask what the terms meant.
Welnest is a property search concept for newcomers settling into an unfamiliar city. Most listing platforms assume the user already understands local terms, trusts the agent network and can compare options confidently. New residents often have none of that context, so searching for a home becomes a source of stress rather than progress.
I treated the project as a trust-building problem before a search-interface problem. The work centred on plain-language listings, clearer comparison tools and a more transparent path to contacting an agent or booking an inspection.
Skills
User research
Information architecture
UI design
Usability testing
Design system
Background
Renting in a new country starts with a trust problem, not a search problem.
Newcomer families arriving in Wellington face a housing market shaped by unfamiliar policies, inconsistent listing quality, and processes that assume local knowledge. Existing rental platforms and guidance resources are fragmented across government sites, agent listings and word-of-mouth advice, leaving little support for someone navigating all of it for the first time.
Problem
How might we help newcomers understand, compare and trust property listings, so finding a first home feels manageable rather than overwhelming?
Solution
Plain language, clear comparison, transparent next steps.
The solution rewrites listing terminology into plain language, adds a side-by-side comparison tool and makes contacting an agent or booking an inspection a visible, low-friction action rather than a hidden form.
Outcome
A search experience built around confidence, not just listings.
The final outcome is a covering search, comparison and inspection booking, refined through six rounds of . I would describe this as a strong course deliverable rather than a validated product. The next evidence needs to come from real newcomer testing outside a classroom setting.
Feedback
Feedback pointed to clarity and a well-tested flow.
Reviewers responded most to the plain-language approach and the visible usability testing trail behind the final design decisions.
“The plain-language reframing of listing terms is a strong, practical solution for first-time renters and buyers.”
“Six rounds of usability testing show a genuinely iterative process, not a single round of polish.”
“The comparison feature directly answers a real decision-making gap rather than adding a generic extra tool.”
Process
From newcomer research to a tested prototype.
The project followed the framework, moving from open research on newcomer pain points to a tightly scoped, usability-tested prototype.
Research
Newcomers face a trust gap, not just an information gap.
Research combined interviews with recent newcomers and a review of existing property platforms. The goal was to separate confusion caused by unfamiliar terminology from confusion caused by genuinely unclear interface design.
The user journey traced four stages: an early, cautious search; a confusing middle phase of comparing unfamiliar listings; a more confident shortlist once terms became clear; and a final step of reaching out, which only felt safe once the listing already felt understood.
Three findings stood out as the most useful for shaping scope.
Users compare listings in their head, not on screen.
Without a built-in way to compare options side by side, people lost track of details across tabs and screenshots.
Contacting an agent felt like a risk, not a next step.
Unclear contact flows made users hesitate, worried about looking uninformed or committing too early.
Influence
The journey map showed that trust had to be built before the comparison or contact steps, not after. This moved plain-language listings from a nice-to-have to the starting point of the whole design.
Design
Six principles guided every design decision.
The findings were translated into six design principles. These worked as filters for deciding what to simplify, what to keep and what needed clearer explanation on screen.
Transparency
Show what a listing means and where information comes from.
Clarity
Replace jargon with language a first-time buyer or renter understands.
Efficiency
Reduce the steps and screenshots needed to compare listings.
Accessibility
Keep contrast, hierarchy and reading order usable for all newcomers.
Supportiveness
Make the next step, like contacting an agent, feel safe to take.
Inclusiveness
Design for users with different language backgrounds and confidence levels.
Influence
These principles directly shaped the develop phase. Clarity and transparency drove the plain-language glossary, while supportiveness shaped how the contact and inspection actions were surfaced rather than buried in a form.
Develop
From early sketches to a tested high-fidelity flow.
Development moved through ideation, , user flows and low-fidelity prototyping.
Three user flows shaped the core journey.
Design System
A token-ready foundation built for one product, not a full system.
The design system covers typography, colour and brand foundations. This is a foundation built for a single course project, not a complete production-ready design system.
Typography
Noticia Text carries headings for warmth and personality, while SF Pro handles body text for fast, comfortable reading across listing detail.
Welnest Yellow#FFB200
Welnest Orange#FB8A00
Welnest Cream#FFEFDE
Colour
The Welnest product palette uses warm yellow and orange tones with a soft cream background. These are the product's own brand colours, separate from the amber and gold used to present this case study on the HENEX site.
Brand
The logo combines a nest, birds and a house outline, representing newcomers building a sense of home and settling somewhere new.
Validation
Six rounds of testing turned vague friction into specific fixes.
Each round of testing surfaced a specific usability issue, which was then translated into a targeted interface change.
Navigation Feedback
Users lost track of where they were in the search flow, so the interface needed clearer state and location cues.
Terminology Confusion
Property terms were still unclear to some testers, which led to inline plain-language explanations on key terms.
Rating Ambiguity
A listing quality score was misread as a guarantee rather than a guide, so the design added a short explanation of what the score covers.
Comparison Feature
Testers wanted to compare more than two listings at once, so the comparison view was redesigned to support a short shortlist.
Agent Contact
Some testers avoided the contact button, unsure what would happen next, so the flow now previews what the agent will see and how they will respond.
Inspection Report
Testers expected to see inspection details before booking, which led to a short inspection summary added ahead of the booking step.
Influence
Usability testing moved the project from a single round of polish to a genuinely iterative process. Each fix was scoped narrowly, which kept the prototype focused instead of trying to solve every possible issue at once.
Delivery
A search flow that explains itself as you go.
The final design carries the plain-language and supportiveness principles through two key moments: the listing comparison view and the agent contact step.
Comparison View
Compare listings side by side, in plain language.
The comparison view lets users hold two or three listings in view at once, with terminology already translated into plain language so the comparison itself does not require extra research.
Contact and Inspection
A visible, low-risk way to take the next step.
The contact flow previews what happens after a message is sent and surfaces an inspection summary before booking, turning a hesitant click into an informed decision.
Reflection
Looking back, looking forward.
Value
Reframing the problem around trust, not just information, drove every later decision. The design principles kept scope focused, and usability-driven fixes made the final flow genuinely tested rather than assumed.
Learned
Personalisation depth is shallow, and the prototype has not been validated with real newcomers outside a classroom testing setting.
Next
Next steps include defined usability metrics, diary studies with real newcomers, deeper personalisation and a dedicated accessibility review with analytics in place.
Primary recipe R06 · Inclusive Onboarding Paths
Newcomers arrive with different language backgrounds, confidence levels and local knowledge, so the entry experience has to adapt rather than assume. R06 connects these needs directly: plain-language listings reduce the barrier to understanding, the comparison tool supports confident decisions regardless of prior market knowledge, and the visible contact flow turns a hesitant click into a safe next step.
Secondary recipe
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