All Projects
(05)
Boards to Briefs
Project type
Product Design, Mobile App UX, Home Renovation & Proptech
Project role
Lead Product Designer, UX Research, IA, UI Design
Date
2026
01
Overview
02
The problem
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02
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04
Decision fatigue
With no anchor and no order, every choice feels equally urgent and momentum stalls before the build begins.
Takeaway
The gap isn't taste or budget, it's a translation problem.
03
01
Both want certainty
We heard
"Homeowners want a confident handoff; contractors want fewer assumptions."
Implication
Design for a clean handoff — not just for collecting inspiration.
02
Channels are fragmented
We heard
"I have a Pinterest board, screenshots, and a group chat. That's my tool."
Implication
Consolidate fragmented channels into one shared surface.
03
Cost calms nerves
We heard
"I felt confident once the budget and the must-haves were written down."
Implication
Anchor cost and non-negotiables up front, then let structure follow.
04
Actionable guidance
We heard
"Both sides wanted one artifact they could point at together."
Implication
Ship one brief, structured by category, owned by both sides.
North-star artifact
A designer's spreadsheet of purchase links, organized by budget, was the most confidence-building part of her whole renovation.
Most powerful quote · Homeowner, P02 mid-renovation
Artifact — the spreadsheet that inspired the brief
User flow mapping
Four jobs, mapped end-to-end before a single screen was drawn.
User flow map — import → build brief → contractor view → dashboard
04
From research to design
blu · from blueprint
BLU — Build. Layer. Unify. The name is the model.
The name points back to the blueprint — the original tool professionals used to communicate a build before it existed. Short and invented, it carries that heritage, with the electric blue embedded right in the name.
It's also the product: homeowners Build a vision, Layer it with materials and budget, and Unify it into a brief contractors can act on.
Brief builder — image placeholder
01
Build
Collect inspiration and non-negotiables where homeowners already gather them — Pinterest.
02
Layer
Structure the chaos into spec, comments and budget — organized by material, not room.
03
Unify
Hand it off as one clean document both sides can read, question and approve.
04
One shared brief
Where user, common and business goals overlap — a single brief both sides sign.
Where goals overlap, the MVP gets its mandate
User goals
Clarity · Confidence in the handoff · Speed to start
Common goals — the MVP
Shared truth
One brief, one source.
Fewer revisions
Less re-litigation.
A brief both sign
Mutual approval.
Business goals
Activation & retention · Trusted referrals · Repeat projects
Scope — mobile-first today, room scanner tomorrow
Now · MVP
Close the gap on the phone they already use.
In — Structured brief, budget anchor, contractor handoff (native iOS first).
Out — AR room scan, contractor billing, desktop dashboard.
Why — inspiration is captured on phones, so the brief should be built there too.
Next · AR
The room scan writes the brief itself.
Req — LiDAR scan captures dimensions, fixtures and finishes · CoreML · cloud sync.
User — homeowner captures, contractor receives.
Earn — AR is the destination; the gap is the route there.
Design iterations · work in progress
Four flows, iterated against the findings.
The research pointed at four jobs the product had to perform end-to-end. Each became a flow, iterated in Figma against what we heard — research-led, not feature-led. These remain in active iteration.
Flow 01 iterations · In progress
Flow 01
Pinterest import & AI categorization
Homeowners already collect on Pinterest — meet them there, then auto-sort the chaos by material.
Flow 02 iterations · In progress
Flow 02
Brief builder
Convert sorted inspiration into a structured, editable document — specs, budget, non-negotiables.
Flow 03 iterations · In progress
Flow 03
Contractor brief view & comments
Receive, scan and clarify per category — Q&A keeps every question in context.
Flow 04 iterations · In progress
Flow 04
Homeowner dashboard
A single place to track every brief, comment and decision as projects progress.
05
The Work
Two flows, brought to fidelity.
Two of the four jobs were carried all the way to final design — the heart of the product. Every UX choice on each was earned in research.
Flow A · Final
Pinterest inspiration
Meet homeowners on the tool they already use to collect.
Flow A — connect Pinterest → AI auto-sort by material → budget per category
Connect a board, then auto-sort the chaos by material — the language of the build.
01
Pinterest import as primary entry
Because every homeowner interviewed named Pinterest as their main inspiration tool.
02
AI auto-sort by material
Because homeowners save inspiration with no structure — do the organizing work they won't.
03
Material, not rooms, drives navigation
Because tile, fixtures, lighting, finishes — contractors explicitly asked for it organized this way.
04
Tag & recategorize at capture
Because taste evolves as people collect — no rigid taxonomy forced on a shifting eye.
05
Budget captured alongside each category
Because homeowners choose finishes independent of cost — anchor it early so it shapes selection, not regret.
Flow B · Final
Builder brief
From inspiration to a brief contractors trust.
Flow B — shareable brief → per-category comments → non-negotiables & lead times
One shareable artifact both sides can edit, question and approve.
01
One shareable, interactive document
Because 5 of 5 participants named fragmented communication as the top pain.
02
Per-category comments & Q&A
Because clarification stays glued to the spec it's about contractors flagged detailing as the biggest gap.
03
Non-negotiables field
Because contractors fill missing detail with assumptions when nothing's stated signal firm vs flexible.
04
Lead-time signals on selections
Because long lead times routinely cause schedule slippage, flag the risk before the build starts.
05
Brief as a shared asset for both sides
Because 100% of contractors confirmed a structured brief would reduce clarification time.
06
Reflection & next steps
01 / Most proud of
The reframe
Casting inspiration overload as a translation problem set the rest of the design. One move, the whole direction.
02 / Would do differently
Contractors, sooner
Their language drove the IA in the last two weeks. Recruited into testing earlier, it would have driven it from week one.
03 / Honest gap
Five is a foothold
Five interviews is a foothold, not a population. The next round broadens to fifteen across price tiers.
01
Broaden research to 15 participants across price tiers and project sizes.
02
Bring contractors into the test loop from the first round, not the last.
03
Prototype the LiDAR room scan that lets the brief begin to write itself.
