Nihal Design Portfolio

Introducing Deco: AI interior designer

Deco on iOS is an AI interior design app that allows users to upload photos of their interior and redesign it using generative AI tools. It is live on the app store and available in the US and Canada.

My work: I was the sole designer working on this project. I was involved in everything from user research, to conceptualization ,wireframing and prototyping, all the way up until user testing and releasing the app on iOS

My role

Product Designer

Project

Professional work

Timeline

4 months (Jan - July 2024)

Tools used

Figma, LottieFiles Adobe Illustrator, SVGator

"Hmm… I wonder how much it would cost for an Interior Designer to redesign my living room…."

"NO WAY!? It's way too expensive! There's got to be a way I can do this on my own…."

What was the problem?

Interior designers charge between $100-$1500 for simple conceptual moodboards and renders of interior spaces
There weren't any easy to use DIY interior design tool on the market

We surveyed a 100 homeowners across the US and Canada

64%

Said they were willing to design their interiors themselves

81%

Had taken on a small DIY interior project at home

What does this mean?

A lot of people are willing to design interiors themselves, they just need better tools.
If we could deliver better tools, it would significantly reduce their costs rather than spending to hire an interior designer.

A lot of people are willing to design interiors themselves, they just need better tools.
If we could deliver better tools, it would significantly reduce their costs rather than spending to hire an interior designer.

This was definitely a problem…. So we decided to look at exisiting solutions

Competitive analysis

We studied and analyzed different direct and indirect competitor apps and found that:

Too many features, barely any functional

Poor UX, glitchy interface

More modelling and preset features that required a learning curve

Competitor app reviews

A lot of good features were behind a paywall with high subscription costs
Very glitchy interfaces
Lots of negetive reviews indicating dissatisfaction

A lot of good features were behind a paywall with high subscription costs
Very glitchy interfaces
Lots of negetive reviews indicating dissatisfaction

We realized we had to:

Focus on features that don’t need a learning curve
Capitalize on Generative AI features
Nail UX

Focus on features that don’t need a learning curve
Capitalize on Generative AI features
Nail UX

Now we knew exactly where the gap in the market was and what we had to do…

So I thought of potential solutions by sketching out wireframes

Wireframing

First, I tried to draw out 3d environment where users can drag and drop furniture and move it around on different axes to place it however they liked.

We did not end up going with this approach due to:
- Learning curve
- Time and technical constraints

Second, I sketched out a flow where users could upload a picture and use and Generative AI chat interface to make modifications like - "Add a painting on the wall."

This was a good approach:
- Easy to learn
- First time mover advantage

So we went ahead with this flow for the MVP

I felt the need for users to draw inspiration from somewhere and take it a step further by letting them edit it exactly to their preferences and tastes.

So a user could browse images > Select an image > Modify it using GenAI > Save and share it

In the interest of time, we decided to shelf this feature and not incorporate it for

the MVP launch

It was clear we wanted to build easy to use GenAI features for the MVP

So we got busy building….

FINAL DESIGN

Just Click or Upload a photo

Click a photo of an interior space and choose the room type it belongs to.

It's that simple!

Click a photo of an interior space and choose the room type it belongs to.

It's that simple!

Design Decision: Loading animations

Upto 10 seconds

of loading time

I was informed by the engineering team that it would take about 10 seconds to process and generate different ai interior styles.

Decision: So I designed engaging loading animation screens to keep the user occupied and mask loading time.

I was informed by the engineering team that it would take about 10 seconds to process and generate different ai interior styles.

Decision: So I designed engaging loading animation screens to keep the user occupied and mask loading time.

Type what you want. AI does the rest!

Want to add a painting on your wall? Just type and see magic happen.

You can also select from choices generated and replace the existing design with just a tap.

Want to add a painting on your wall? Just type and see magic happen.

You can also select from choices generated and replace the existing design with just a tap.

Whatever you see, you can buy!

After you have created your dream design, the app automatically tags furniture in the image and shows you links to similar products across the web.

A lot of these are affiliate links, so if the user makes a purchase, Deco gets a share too!

Paid tiers to unlock credits

Every new user gets 20 credits to generate interior renders. Once they run out, they have to buy more. The tiered system of buying credits incentivizes users to save buy buying more credits and generating revenue for the app.

I did some user testing

I tested a preliminary developed prototype with 12 pilot users and found out:

7/12

Did not understand how to use the features

10/12

Participants wanted onboarding tutorials.

Decisions to be made

Design progressive onboarding that teaches new users about the different tools and how to use them
Make a help and FAQ section so that they may find answers to their doubts easily

Design progressive onboarding that teaches new users about the different tools and how to use them
Make a help and FAQ section so that they may find answers to their doubts easily

So we introduced progressive onboarding

Using a combination of flash cards and animations throughout a new users journey, it effectively explains how to make the most of the new tools.

Results after debuting the MVP on the App store

100+ Signups

In the first one month of launch on the app store

Over 60%

Engagement with 2 more more features

Deco launched on the app store in June 2024 with a limited set of shipped features. Through our aggressive social media marketing, we were able to get a considerable number of downloads.

In July 2024, I left the company to pursue my graduate studies.

Deco launched on the app store in June 2024 with a limited set of shipped features. Through our aggressive social media marketing, we were able to get a considerable number of downloads.

In July 2024, I left the company to pursue my graduate studies.

Key takeaways

Learnings

I got to take part in the entire end-to-end design process right from research to the final prototype
Learnt how to design a component library and brand style guide
Learnt how to collaborate with engineers and PMs and ship designs in a timeley manner

I got to take part in the entire end-to-end design process right from research to the final prototype
Learnt how to design a component library and brand style guide
Learnt how to collaborate with engineers and PMs and ship designs in a timeley manner

Challenges

Designing around tech constraints - figuring innovative ways to over come loading times and output generation was quite the task
Finding features that differentiate us from the competition was not that easy. It took awhile to formulate a plan that works

Designing around tech constraints - figuring innovative ways to over come loading times and output generation was quite the task
Finding features that differentiate us from the competition was not that easy. It took awhile to formulate a plan that works

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