Root is an AR and AI interior decoration application focused on sustainability and affordability. Rather than the marketplace featuring products from stores, Root's market is made up of users selling items second-hand. This project has a timeline of 15 weeks to create a presentation and fully prototyped application.
Due to the high cost of living, Gen Z and Millennials are not able to decorate their apartments they can barley afford, which can take a toll on their mental health. In addition to this, decorations and items they are able to afford are made from low cost, low quality materials, which easily break and need to be thrown away.
Due to the high cost of living, Gen Z and Millennials are not able to decorate their apartments they can barley afford, which can take a toll on their mental health.
To begin this project, I first had to create an initial pitch presentation. In this presentation I address the issue of Gen Z and Millennials not being able to afford to decorate their homes, and how this affects them as well as what key issues are contributing to this problem. I then introduce my application Root, which allows users to design their home decor in AR and AI by using second-hand items in order to decorate their homes affordably and sustainably.
My target audience is Gen Z and younger Millennials, as this demographic makes up a large majority of the 44 million rented households in America.
Kiara is a recent graduate and is excited to decorate her first apartment to host her friends. However, due to being a recent graduate, money is tight and she can not overspend. Kiara will utilize the AR designer.
Michael is a photographer who had the ability to leave his part time job to do photography full time. He wants to decorate his new office but does not have the time to on decorating. Michael will use the AI generator to quickly and easily decorate his new office space.
While McKenzie and Deborah are not the target audience, they are able to be a part of the solution. Due to Deborah living in her home for the last 20 years, she has accumulated furniture she cannot bring in her move. Rather than throwing it all away, her daughter Mikayla will put it up for sale on Root which allows for other users are able to get high-quality furniture for a low price.
For the visual identity of this project, I focused on creating a strong logo icon that could be versatile enough to serve as the application’s icon and be applied to various branded materials. In designing the logo, I experimented with the letter “R”. Ultimately, I decided to use circles to cut out sections of the “R,” creating a design reminiscent of the sparkle or star-like shapes often seen in AI-related icons and content.
After getting through the initial pitch and was approved to move forward with this project, I started planning the application out. While I had a solid idea on what was going to be shown, I needed to expand on it. By going in depth on a user flow, I was able to choose specifically which flows my users would be taking and what steps are necessary to meet their goals.
For the onboarding process, the application first needs to determine how far users are willing to travel to pick up items. The next step focuses on understanding users’ visual style preferences to recommend items. To make this process engaging, I implemented a Tinder-like interaction where users swipe left or right to indicate whether they like the visual style of a room, a piece of furniture, or other visual inspiration.
To start using the AR designer, users must rotate their device horizontally, enabling a wider and more immersive view of their room in AR. This flow demonstrates a user standing in an empty room, searching for a table they like, and placing it into their space. Users can also access a list of items included in their design, with options to purchase or remove items as needed.
For users needing a quick and effortless way to decorate their space, the AI Generator offers an effective solution. By simply taking a photo of their space, entering a prompt, and providing visual inspiration, users can generate design concepts tailored to their preferences. They can then refine the results by regenerating designs, removing items, saving their favorites, or purchasing items directly from the designer.
Selling an item on Root gives users the opportunity to pass on furniture or decorations they no longer use. To list an item in the marketplace, users must first create a 360-degree recording of the product. This recording generates a scan of the object, enabling it to be used in the AR designer. Afterward, users upload photos, provide measurements, and complete the item’s listing.
With the target audience in mind, Root approaches it's advertising and marketing through social media outlets. By creating a series of Instagram posts and stories, Root is able to reach and interact with it's audience directly.
The first step in the advertising campaign is to build an Instagram presence. This is done by creating posts, the goal of these initial posts is to promote curiosity, inspiration and show what can be done in the application.
For posts featuring rooms, furniturepieces or people, an empty room and white walls is used to imply the idea thatan empty space is a new canvas for users to create.
For posts featuring graphics the goal is to inspire to users with words and phrases like “make something unique” as well as highlight specific features of the application like “whatever you need sold affordability”.
Once a profile has been built, it is time for community engagement. A current trend Root can utilize is the “add yours”feature on Instagram stories, which allows users to respond to a story with a story of their own. Root can use stories to ask questions users can respond with through images. In this example Root is asking “what's your cozy vibe” and sharing the cozy spaces users reply with.
Overall, this project was a great success. As my final capstone project, it allowed me to apply all the skills I’ve developed, including presentation design, user experience design, product design as well as wireframing and prototyping in Figma. The 15-week timeline provided the opportunity to deeply explore, research, and refine every aspect of the project, culminating in a well-rounded and solid final product.
