Why homi
India has one of the world's largest millennial & gen-z populations, between 22 and 38 years 72% of them, live in leased housing. As more youngsters move for work or studies, the demand and cost of housing options like PGs hostels and apartments keeps going up, coliving is thus becoming a need rather than a choice
They either look for someone who already has a spare room they can move in to
Or they have a spare room and are looking for a flatmate who can come and move in with them
Finding a compatible roommate in Lucknow can take weeks. People spend hours scrolling through Facebook groups, asking friends for recommendations, and still struggle to find someone they can actually live with.
Finding a good place to live is hard but finding the right person to share it with is even harder. While there are multiple property/home rental platforms in the market, there is a significant gap in the market for a solution that helps people find a compatible roommate or a co-living situation that fits to their needs.
An app that helps users find a compatible roommate—whether you have a space to share or are looking for a shared place to move into. Homii focuses on trust and lifestyle compatibility, using a short lifestyle quiz to understand users’ habits and creating personalized roommate suggestions. Small familiarity cues, like shared backgrounds, make connecting with strangers feel safer, with the goal of making roommate hunting clear, reliable, and less time-consuming for everyone.
To design Homii the right way, I first had to understand what people really go through when looking for a roommate
I began with user surveys and one-on-one interviews with both room and roommate seekers to learn about their real experiences. I also analyzed existing roommate-finding platforms to see where they fall short. My goal through this research was to:
To understand user needs expectations and preferences while looking for a roommate or room to rent
To explore pain points and challenges faced by users while looking and living with a roommate
To identify and evaluate existing solutions
Research insights that guided the design direction
1
Lack of roommate finding platforms makes the whole search process confusing and time consuming
80% of people reported finding roommates through friends and family, and one of the reasons is that there aren’t many reliable platforms they know of. This leaves users with limited choices like word-of-mouth, Facebook groups (known only to a few), or brokers. As a result, the search drags on for weeks or even months, adding stress and uncertainty.
2
Most people are skeptical about living with a stranger and finding people online
Another reason most people find roommates through word-of-mouth recommendations is trust. They prefer living with someone they already know. like a friend or a friend of a friend, because they find it hard to trust strangers online. This hesitation often comes from fear of scams or ending up in a bad living situation, making recommendation from someone they already know feel like a safer and more familiar option.
3
Many users care about common lifestyle of roommates (different tolerance level) to avoid conflicts
Most users said they look for roommates with similar background and lifestyle habits like hygiene, noise levels, guest rules, and substance use to avoid conflict. While some were flexible, many had strong preferences, and most past issues came from mismatches in these areas.
Where are current platforms going wrong
From my research, I found that those who tried using current platforms gave up half way, just 3% actually succeeded in finding a roommate. which made me curious: why is the success rate so low, and what are these platforms missing?"
*This insight is based on my research participants, enough to spot a pattern, but not to generalize to the entire population.
"Flats and flatmates" groups
Most popular way to find roommates. community is super active, and features like comments and in-app chat make it easy for people to connect and start conversations quickly.
Posts are often messy, unstructured, and missing key details. With dozens posted every day, relevant ones get buried fast, and without filters, users spend hours scrolling. Misleading posts and brokers pretending to be room seekers only add to the frustration.
Flatmate.in
Match room and roommate seekers by shared interests, hobbies, and personalities, while offering tools like background checks and a ‘Relax Plan’ where personal managers help find potential roommates and set up meetings.
Flatmate.in has significant usability issues and it hides even basic features like viewing property details and contacting potential roommates behind a paywall, and users can’t browse listings without posting an ad, causing many to drop off before finding a match
Turning Insights into clear goals
With a clear understanding of users’ pain points and gaps in current platforms, I turned my research into actionable goals. These focus areas became the foundation for designing a solution that makes finding a roommate easier, safer, and more reliable.
1
Make the roommate search process simple and less time-consuming so users can find potential matches without feeling overwhelmed
2
Reduce hesitation in connecting with strangers online by creating a transparent, trustworthy, and safe experience.
3
Help users find someone they are actually compatible with for a smoother co-living experience.
Once I had clear goals, I turned them into ‘How Might We’ questions to explore opportunities for design solutions. I looked at what users loved about existing platforms, blended their strengths, and focused on fixing the gaps that frustrated them. This helped me come up with solutions that feel familiar but work much better.
How might we make the roommate search process faster and efficient for users
1
Smart filters and save your search
Let users filter listing by budget, location, move-in date, room type, and roommate preferences etc. helping them find relevant options quickly without endless scrolling.
Users can save their preferred filters and get notified when new matches appear so they don’t have to start from scratch every time.
2
Guided Ad Posting
Users can post their requirement, whether they’re looking for a place or a roommate- through a simple, step-by-step guided form. This keeps ads structured, reduces back-and-forth searching, and saves time for everyone by making the process quick and effortless.
How might we address users hesitation of finding roommate online and living with a stranger
1
App suggests people with similar background ( similar workplace/college etc.) and similar lifestyle, mutual people on social handles etc. to create a sense of familiarity and ease that stranger danger feeling a little
Users feel more comfortable if the recommendation comes from within their circle, friends, family, or people with a similar background. To mimic that sense of trust, I designed personalized suggestions where the app connects people based on shared backgrounds like college, workplace, or even hometown. I also added trust cues like mutual connections or linked social handles, which helps recreate the feeling of familiarity and reduces that “stranger danger” hesitation.
2
Detailed roommate profile and social media integration for trust building
Detailed profiles to give users a better sense of who they might be living with. Each profile highlights lifestyle details, interests, and habits, and also offers the option to link social media. This helps reduce the hesitation that usually comes from the fear of the unknown and makes users feel more confident before starting a conversation.
3
In app chat feature and chat prompts
In app feature allows user to get in touch with their potential roommates and get to know them without having to share their personal contact information in case things don't workout.
Chat prompts are present for people who hesitate in initiating conversations with strangers
How might we help users find a compatible roommate who align with their lifestyle and preferences?
1
Lifestyle quiz
Introduced a short lifestyle quiz during onboarding. The quiz focuses on hygiene, noise tolerance, and alcohol or smoking preferences, topics that are the most common sources of conflict between roommates. I used positive, non-judgmental language to make users feel comfortable and to encourage honest responses
2
Lifestyle Tags at a Glance
Since mismatched lifestyles were a top pain point, I added clear lifestyle tags to both listings and profiles, examples: Very tidy, Non-smoker, Occasional smoker, Alcohol-free, Prefers quiet. These tags make it easier for users to quickly understand if someone’s living habits align with theirs, making the decision process much easier.
Iterating for a Better Experience
I tested the early flows with 4 users using the think-aloud method to understand what's working and what's frustrating them Their reactions showed where they got stuck, what felt confusing. I also gathered quick feedback from fellow designers
1
Removal of compatibility score from the listing card and increasing readability
BEFORE
Initially, I added a compatibility percentage score based on lifestyle habits and preferences. This was calculated based on lifestyle habits and preferences, initially it seemed like a quick way to show compatibility, but on testing it with users it was not very well received. Users found it confusing and unclear, and low scores discouraged them from exploring potentially good matches. The card also felt cluttered with no clear hierarchy.
AFTER
I removed the percentage score and replaced it with clear lifestyle tags that give users an immediate sense of compatibility. I also improved readability by grouping relevant information and decreasing text variations in the card which made the card more scannable
2
Clarifying rent details
BEFORE
Listings showed just the rent without any label. During testing, users kept wondering, “Wait, is this the rent for the whole flat or just my part?” This confusion mostly came from their experience with other rental apps, where the rent usually means the total property rent.
AFTER
Since this is a co-living app and the ad is for a single room, I added a clear label “Your Share” so users instantly know the price is just for their part. I also added a ‘See Rent Breakdown’ button for anyone who wants to view the full rent details. Together, these changes made pricing transparent, contextually clear, and easy to understand for users looking to share spaces.
3
Improving Visual Hierarchy in Roommate Listing
BEFORE
In the initial version of a roommate listing, the profile picture dominated the screen and distracted users from key details that actually help them make decisions. After feedback from fellow designers, I realized that in a roommate-finding app, the profile photo shouldn’t be the most prominent element on the screen.
AFTER
I reduced the size of the profile picture to lessen its visual dominance and make key details stand out. This shifted users’ attention toward the most important information, making it easier for them to quickly evaluate a potential match.
Key takeaways
Working on Homii by myself has been such a great learning experience. It taught me a lot about design, but also about people and how they make choices. The whole process of researching, testing, scrapping ideas, and coming back with better ones was messy but so worth it, it helped me grow as a designer. I’m happy with how far the project has come, though I know there’s still plenty of room to make it better.
What i learned
Clear hierarchy can make or break a flow (learned this the hard way)
Designing for Trust Matters: Building features that mimic real-world trust was crucial in reducing hesitation and making users feel safe connecting to strangers.
Feedback is everything, hearing from users and fellow designers helped me catch blind spots and improve faster.