Embedded Files
Redefining how filters and websites interact together
Challenge
Finding a comfortable space to live in can be challenging for both holiday and work visas as their first time to live in Japan. My friend was looking into sharehouses to accommodate a short-term stay here in Japan. I wanted to showcase an alternative display strategy that could quickly summarize information and refine controls without extra steps.
"How might we build a more inclusive interface centered around pivotal choices?"
Objective
Design and discover a user interface that cross-filters between different parameters.
Bring awareness of availability to users through result summation.
Existing Web Resources
Analyzing a few popular choices for share houses in Tokyo tended to have niche functionality, with Sakura House popularizing a clean interface. Each company typically focused on proximity to transit, lifestyle living, and interior renovations.
This brought up exciting conversations about just how much information a page should have and controls.
Searching for Living According to Users
"How do you search for liveable spaces?" To understand this question, I contacted several interviews who take vacation planning seriously since they were the most readily available. I asked them how they use websites to conduct searches:
What are important landmarks to consider when traveling and staying in new places
What frequent filters are turned on to ensure quicker considerations
Location is the heart of all conversations with users, but almost just as important is how easy it is to make that consideration. It was fascinating to see the users turning on or playing with filters early on. This was a remarkable understanding that while amazed at first by the presence of so many spaces, the more thoughtful considerations required more fine-tuning of filters.
Prototyping and Design
The final product should focus on the capabilities of:
Presenting data that can be cross-filtered to ensure instant updates
Have decisions on filters based on different graphical units to make each decision based on other data points easily.
I used Sakura House data because it was structured easily and had its geolocation tag so converting that into the display view. The data scraping script was able to collect the data and then deliver it to a Google Datasheet which would then update the view layouts.
Solution and Findings
Space position and impact are critical to a good interface. Beyond check boxes and filters, looking at data through the lens of other connections is crucial to understanding the landscape of the company's service. Small position adjustments were made to address the controls and views, with most filter requests on the right and displaying information on the left. The user can play with the views, and toggle filters and return to the playing field quickly and organized.
The product opened the understanding of what Sakura House offers in a range of overall understanding about the company by the cross-filtering connections. There is a clear indication of inexpensive guest houses with shared beds across the bottom. A collection of shared houses on the bottom left and a variety of apartments scattering the price and size range.
Select individual items to activate filters. Hold control to select multiple filters from one view.
Reflections and Next Steps
Part of the process was trying to fit as much information into one static page as possible. While not graphically aesthetic, it did enough to convince the last step which was to look into the building for details. One big jump in quality would be to download and implement a visual inspection of the arrangement of the room or view the floor plan to see the arrangement of the building.
When presenting this solution to friends who had expressed interest in searching for adequate housing, they were quite eye-opened by the level of detail in such a small space. With filter toggles to address specific commands, they all came to the similar realization of being more informed of living conditions and opportunities. By seeing the cross-filtered parameters together, their confidence in decision-making for particular locations established firm choices.
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