Gopher Housing: Understanding User Needs to Redesign a Student Housing Review Service

OVERVIEW

In this case study, I explore the redesign journey of Gopher Housing, a student housing review website for the University of Minnesota, aiming to improve usability, engagement, and credibility. While the previous design contained all necessary functions, the reviewing and browsing features were somewhat convoluted and in need of an update. Utilizing user research, wireframing, and prototyping, a simpler, more user-friendly solution was reached.

ROLE

UI/UX Designer

TIMEFRAME

3 Months

TEAM

Fullstack Developer

2 Frontend Developers

Marketing Specialist

Myself (UI/UX, Graphic Design)

Gopher Housing is a student housing review website specifically designed for current or upcoming students at the University of Minnesota. The website allows the user to browse all university-owned housing, look at reviews, and leave an anonymous review on their chosen dorm or apartment. The goal of Gopher Housing is to create a housing review system that is “by students for students”; this site ensures that upcoming students are able to make informed decisions on their housing choice and allows current students to voice their opinions anonymously.

WHO IS THE USER?

Being a student housing-oriented service, Gopher Housing targets college students as its primary audience. These college students can be broken into two categories: future/upcoming students and current/former students. These two categories typically use Gopher Housing for either browsing dorm reviews or leaving dorm reviews.

This means that there are two primary user personas for Gopher Housing. One embodies the upcoming student at the University of Minnesota, who needs a clear and simple way to view information/reviews on student housing, as this is one of the biggest decisions of their college career. The other embodies the current or former UMN student, particularly one who has lived in one of the housing options presented in the website. This user needs a streamlined and quick way to rate and share their opinions on student housing anonymously.

THE PROBLEM SPACE

Upon launch, Gopher Housing initially had a fairly simple flow and contained all of the necessary functions for reviewing and browsing the University of Minnesota’s student housing options. After some time and user feedback, we found that many users felt there was a need for more clear navigation, a simpler reviewing system, and more filtering options when browsing.

The lack of clear navigation made it difficult for the user to find the information they need. They may be looking for their next housing choice or they may be looking to leave a review on their current dorm/apartment.

The reviewing system was somewhat complicated, as rather than rating a dorm out of 5 overall, four smaller metrics were rated out of 5 (building, location, etc.), which would then contribute to the average overall rating of the dorm out of 5.

Filtering is an important tool to have for students who are considering their housing choice. While Gopher Housing did feature some filtering options, these options were somewhat obvious (highest social rating, highest food rating, etc.). Many students voiced that it was important for them to know how many individuals shared a common school/major with them in each dorm.

PAIN POINTS

After synthesizing some of the user feedback we received, we were able to gain some insight on some of the challenges that the average Gopher Housing user was facing during their housing review/browsing experience.

Navigation/Header

  • Lack of navigation items in the header upon loading page

  • Little information given on the process of leaving a review or looking at reviews

  • Uneven margins between header elements

Review Process

  • Rating four separate metrics out of 5 rather than rating the dorm/apartment overall out of 5 makes the process unnecessarily complicated

  • “Write a Review” is too close to the star section and looks like a continuation

  • Little contrast between the heading font of the section and the reviewing metrics

Filter/Sort Functionality

  • No real filtering options

  • Multiple filters can’t be selected at once, filter function is presented more like a sorting function

  • Some simple filters, would benefit from more school/major related filters

REDESIGN GOALS AND PRIORITIES

The design goals of Gopher Housing are simple: make the process as easy as possible while keeping in mind the needs of both types of users.

Build trust between the user and the platform. Inconsistencies such as uneven spacing between elements, font sizes, and alignment make it difficult for trust to be built between Gopher Housing and its users. This can be expanded upon with updated branding and colors.

Simplify the experience. Making the review process simpler and more streamlined helps bring more users to engage with the service. The easier it is for the user to navigate and understand the process, the more users there will be.

Prioritize the mobile experience. Mobile functionality is important for services specifically targeted at younger users, as many prefer to be able to use these services while on the go.

WIREFRAMES

During the sketching and wireframing process, the main goal was to ensure that the user can build and maintain trust in the platform. This meant keeping all information simple, all navigation clear, and all design elements clean/consistent.

Updated Header/Navigation

  • Gives user access to the two main functions of the service in addition to the home page and an “about” page

Home Page Wireframe

Dorm Info Page Wireframe

Search/Browse Page Wireframe

Review Page Wireframe

FINAL DESIGN

With the user needs, pain points, and feedback in mind a fresh new design was created for Gopher Housing. This new design prioritizes structure, navigation, ease of use, and a cleaner appearance.

BEFORE

AFTER

NEW HOME PAGE

Hero Section

  • A simple introduction to the service

  • Includes a search bar for fast access to a particular dorm

“How it Works” Section

  • Gives basic information on the two main functions of the service

  • Helps upcoming students as well as current/former students to better understand the process

Popular Dorm Carousel

  • Displays a short list of the most reviewed housing options

  • Button leads to the browse page

SEARCH PAGE

Simpler and Cleaner

  • Fresher overall look

  • Multiple pages rather than all dorms/apartments being displayed on one continuous page

  • Filter and Sort are two separate dropdown menus

Filter/Sort Menus

  • Ability to sort by number of reviews and high/low ratings

  • Multiple filters may be selected at once

  • Ability to filter by user’s selected school

DORM INFO PAGE

Overview

  • Provides a description of the chosen dorm/apartment

  • Shows a breakdown of the optional metrics that can be filled during review

  • Also shows data representing the most prominent schools in the dorm

Reviews Section

  • Displays the overall rating out of 5 given by the reviewer

  • Date of the review can be seen below the rating

  • Any comments left can be viewed below the rating and date

LEAVE A REVIEW

Simpler Reviewing

  • Overall rating out of 5 is prioritized and placed at the top

  • Other metrics and user’s current school are made optional and placed below the main review section

UPDATED BRANDING

BEFORE

AFTER

MOBILE CONFIGURATION

LEARNINGS & CHALLENGES

  • Teamwork is crucial in redesign projects in order to make sure that the whole team’s voices are heard and their strengths are utilized.

  • It was challenging to find ways to increase user trust aside from simple errors such as alignment and general tidiness.

  • It is important that usability testing is conducted among a wide range of users rather than concentrated groups in similar settings.

THANK YOU!