Central Rents

Central Rents is a conceptual design developed to address the prevalent challenges faced by rental tenants and landlords or body corporate. Tenants often experience inadequate servicing, including issues with rental fee management, delayed repairs, cumbersome lease agreement updates, and difficulties managing utilities like water and electricity. Accessing complex amenities such as restaurant services, laundry, and cleaning can also be problematic.

Central Rents proposes a decentralized platform built on an Ethereum-based decentralized finance (DeFi) system that allows users to transact using cryptocurrency. By leveraging blockchain technology, the platform ensures transparent, secure, and efficient management of rental transactions and services. It offers a unified solution for both tenants and landlords, streamlining communication, payment processes, and access to amenities. The use of cryptocurrency facilitates instant transactions and reduces reliance on traditional banking systems, potentially lowering transaction fees and increasing accessibility for users.

I conducted comprehensive user research to identify the specific pain points and needs of both tenants and landlords within a blockchain-enabled platform. This involved designing and administering surveys, conducting in-depth interviews, and facilitating focus groups to gather qualitative and quantitative data on users' perceptions of cryptocurrency and decentralized finance.

Analyzing this data allowed me to uncover key insights into user behaviors and expectations regarding the use of cryptocurrency in rental transactions. Collaborating closely with the design team, I helped translate these insights into user personas and journey maps that guided the development of intuitive interfaces and user flows tailored to a blockchain environment. I played a pivotal role in creating wireframes and interactive prototypes that addressed identified issues, ensuring the platform's features were user-centric and solution-oriented. Special attention was given to simplifying complex blockchain concepts to make them accessible to users unfamiliar with cryptocurrency.

I planned and executed usability testing sessions with representative users to evaluate the effectiveness of the prototypes, focusing on the ease of conducting cryptocurrency transactions and interacting with blockchain features. Gathering feedback during these sessions enabled me to identify usability issues and areas for improvement, particularly in educating users about the benefits and security of using a decentralized finance platform. I provided detailed reports with recommendations, leading iterative design refinements that enhanced the overall user experience.