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Build.Layer. Unify

A mobile-first app that turns scattered Pinterest boards into a structured renovation brief contractors can actually build from.

Project type

Product Design, Mobile App UX, Home Renovation & Proptech

Project role

Lead Product Designer, UX Research, IA, UI Design

Date

2026

Overview

One brief both sides can sign.

Renovation starts on Pinterest, scattered boards, screenshots and text threads. None of it is something a contractor can quote, schedule or build from, so the vision and the build drift apart from day one. I led BLU end to end and reframed the app around a single shared brief that homeowners and contractors both edit, comment on and approve.

The problem

The gap isn’t taste or budget. It’s translation.

Inspiration overload

Hundreds of pins, nothing a contractor can quote against.

Budget anxiety

Finishes get chosen independent of cost, so sticker shock arrives late.

Translation friction

The same clarifications get re-asked every consultation. Intent rarely survives the handoff.

Decision fatigue

With no anchor and no order, every choice feels urgent and momentum stalls.

The solution

Build. Layer. Unify.

The name points back to the blueprint, the original tool professionals used to communicate a build before it existed. The name is the model: homeowners Build a vision, Layer it with materials and budget, and Unify it into a brief contractors can act on. Two of the four flows were carried to final design: Pinterest import with AI categorization, and the builder brief.

01 / Build

Start where they already collect

Import Pinterest boards and non-negotiables instead of asking homeowners to start over.

02 / Layer

Sort by material, not room

AI groups the chaos into tile, fixtures, lighting and finishes, with budget anchored per category.

03 / Unify

One brief, one source of truth

A shareable document with per-category comments, non-negotiables and lead-time flags that both sides approve.

Impact

All 4 problems traced back to a decision.

Two flows moved from concept to final design, validated by contractors as addressing their number one pain point.

Problem identified

Design decision

Validation

Inspiration overload

The reframe

Import the existing Pinterest board and autosort it by material.

5 / 5

The most positively received element of either flow; completed with minimal guidance.

Translation friction

Navigation by material

One shared brief with comments held against the spec they belong to.

100%

Of contractors reviewed and said it would cut clarification time.

Budget anxiety

Budget moved upstream

Cost is anchored per category at selection time rather than surfacing as regret at the quote.

4 / 5

Participants used it, but the indicators carrying it were too quiet to notice; fixed in round two.

Decision fatigue

Scope held

AR room scanning was deferred so the MVP stays in the moment of capture, the phone, where motivation is highest.

2 of 4

Flows carried to final design; the other two scoped and parked with written rationale.

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