Strategy - Experience Design - Visual Design
Created for iQ at Catch Digital
iQ Student Living is a leading provider of purpose-built student accommodation in the UK. They approached Catch looking for a future-proofed solution, where students could find and book a room at ease, as well as create a personal app for every resident.
We delivered a lifestyle and “room-first” approach, inspired by the likes of Airbnb, using language and functionality targeted directly at the post-millennial generation, Gen Z.
Over the course of discovery, we spoke to 100s of students to find their pain points when looking for a place to live. The whole student accommodation sector leads with buildings and services first, where students were looking for a room that could offer them a lifestyle. The solution was a smart search that gave student rooms within cities while showcasing the lifestyle around that area.
This solution proved to be a hit with users during early-stage user testing, allowing us to create a validated product for iQ.
The old booking journey took users on average around 6 minutes to complete, with endless steps and an unfriendly interface. After countless interviews and user testing, we were able to design a journey that only took 3 steps and gave them the freedom to choose everything from their room to who they will be staying with.
While conducting research during discovery, one key insight was that students wanted a product where they could find all the information about their room.
Our solution was a dedicated app for each resident with current and real-time information about their room, events in the nearby area, as well as a tool to make their stay easier.