For my Capstone project in my senior year of college, I was in a group with three other students, and we were tasked with a year-long project to create a business and everything needed to press "go" on a startup by the end of the year. We decided to create RoomEZ, an app to help college students find long-lasting roommates in an affordable, easy, and safe way.
Many students struggle to find roommates through Facebook groups and are randomly paired by their college, leading to incompatible living situations. We researched competitors and learned that most apps for finding roommates charge users large monthly fees or a large fee for identity checking. Our app is affordable for college students and only charges a one-time fee of $2 to prove they are who they say they are and keep all users on the app safe. We will generate revenue through advertisements that are also helpful for students looking for an apartment, such as with Zillow. Our app is also unique because of our questionnaire that users fill out when creating a profile, which asks them specific questions about their living preferences. Our algorithm shows users profiles based on how compatible they would be, and the rest is up to the users if they would like to match with them and start messaging.
My role in this project was the lead designer and UX prototyper. My responsibilities included creating all design aspects, including logos, branding, promotional materials, mock-ups, and motion graphics. I also designed and created our functional prototype on Adobe XD, which we tested in multiple focus groups and usability tests to ensure it was easy for users to navigate.
To submit our project, we created a website on WordPress that includes everything we worked on, like research reports, our press-kit, social media campaign, prototype, and project one-sheet. Click the buttons below to use our prototype or see all of our work on our website.
My group and I worked all year to create a business plan, determine the budget, conduct testing, write research reports, and develop our brand. At the end of the semester, we presented our research at Inquiry to students, faculty, and our college's president. I designed our poster and actively explained our value proposition and research to those who stopped at our table.
When our research was complete, we had to create our press kit materials, social media campaign, Kickstarter page, and Kickstarter video. I made the storyboards and direction for our video, the voiceovers, and the motion graphics on Adobe After Effects.
Contributors: Sofia Pascuzzo, Brandon Kemmery, Kaleb Longenecker