Room discovery, shared living and the rental journey in one connected experience.
UX / UI DESIGNDESIGN SYSTEMMOBILE EXPERIENCE
From finding a room to feeling at homeGHURFAH / SHARED LIVING
ProjectGhurfa
ContributionSolo product design
ExperienceRoom discovery & shared living
Tools
DesignerSalah Aljabarti
From finding a room to feeling at home. Ghurfa brings discovery, viewing requests, and the rental journey into one connected experience.
A room.A routine.A beginning.
Find a place that fits your life.
Explore rooms, compare the details, and take the next step with context.
From observation to prototype
The project moved through desk research, interface design, and iterative prototype review. Work began around January, by recollection; development continued through later iterations.
01Desk research
Investigate
Explore how room searches happen across social groups and pages.
The initial research explored Facebook groups and Instagram pages used to find rooms and shared accommodation. Ghurfa asks how that activity could become a more connected product journey.
The journey
Proposed renter journey · Frictions and emotions are design hypotheses, not participant findings.
01
Search
→
GOAL
Find a room that fits
ACTIONS
Compare rent, location, and household
POTENTIAL FRICTION
Details spread across posts
DESIGN RESPONSE
Structured listings and filters
Uncertain
02
Connect
→
GOAL
Arrange a conversation
ACTIONS
Check details and request a viewing
POTENTIAL FRICTION
Availability takes coordination
DESIGN RESPONSE
Shared requests and visible status
Frustrated
03
Decide
→
GOAL
Choose with context
ACTIONS
View the room and review the offer
POTENTIAL FRICTION
Expectations may be unclear
DESIGN RESPONSE
Fit information and agreement review
Considering
04
Move in
→
GOAL
Know what happens next
ACTIONS
Confirm payment and move-in details
POTENTIAL FRICTION
Tasks can get lost in chat
DESIGN RESPONSE
A shared rental overview
Relieved
05
Live
→
GOAL
Keep the stay organized
ACTIONS
Follow payments and maintenance
POTENTIAL FRICTION
Records live in different places
DESIGN RESPONSE
One place for ongoing activity
Settled
The people behind the search
Three working personas connect the product’s roles to the decisions each person needs to make.
Working personas · Salah’s avatar is based on the designer’s description. Persona scenarios are design hypotheses informed by desk research, not participant findings.
The relocating renter
Salah
Starting a new chapter in Riyadh
A room that fits my routine, not just my budget.
A working professional preparing to move to Riyadh. He explores room listings on social pages and needs a clearer way to compare the place, the household, and the next steps.
ContextSaudi ArabiaResearch statusTo validate
Goals
Compare the full monthly cost
Understand the people sharing the home
Arrange a viewing around work
Frustrations
Scattered listing details and conversations
Unclear household expectations
Little visibility after sending a request
Product needs
Lifestyle and household preferences
A detailed listing before making contact
Visible viewing and agreement status
DESIGN IMPLICATION
Make the fit visible before asking for commitment.
Understanding the renter
Working hypotheses derived from desk research and design exploration. These statements are not quotations from interviewed participants.
Says
“I need a room that fits my budget and the way I live.”
“Help me understand the place before I contact the host.”
Thinks
Would I feel comfortable sharing this home?
The next step should be clear after I request a viewing.
Does
Looks through room listings and social posts.
Compares rent, neighborhood, amenities, and household preferences.
Feels
Hopeful about finding a suitable place.
Uncertain when information or responses are incomplete.
The opportunity
01—
Room information and conversations are spread across different channels.
02—
Rent alone does not explain whether a room and household are a good fit.
03—
The journey after the first message needs clearer steps and shared status.
A clearer way
Connect discovery to the rental lifecycle. Help renters compare a place, contact the host, follow a viewing request, and keep the agreement and ongoing stay in one place.
Who we’re designing for
Ghurfa supports three distinct roles, with different entry points, responsibilities, and day-to-day needs.
01
The renter
Find a suitable room, understand the household, arrange a viewing, and follow the steps toward moving in.
02
The room host
Present a room, respond to requests, manage rental offers, and stay connected during the tenancy.
03
The aparthotel operator
Manage a building and multiple serviced units through an operator-specific experience.
Wireframing
Exploring the hierarchy of room discovery, viewing requests, and rental activity.
Retrospective studies based on the current app, presented as still-image artifacts.
THE INTERFACE, UP CLOSE
Small details. A familiar rhythm.
Explore the controls that bring room discovery and viewing requests together.
01 / DISCOVERY
Find your starting point
A place for every kind of search.
02 / NAVIGATION
A familiar way around
Home selected
03 / COMPATIBILITY
See more than the rent
Non-smoker Early riser Very clean
Tap the match to explore the example.
04 / VIEWING
Make time for a visit
05 / TRUST
The details that reassure
Identity verified Bills included
Al Narjis DistrictRiyadh, Saudi Arabia
06 / NEXT STEP
Keep the action clear
2,500 SARper month
Sample listing · choose a day and time in the example above.
Interactive component studies based on Ghurfa’s interface. Values are sample data.
A recognizable identity
Ghurfa’s symbol, illustrations, and interface colors carry into a presentation about arriving, belonging, and making a place your own.
A small sign of a new beginning.
A place. Your people.
DISCOVER · CONNECT · BELONG
01
A recognizable mark
The same identity, from the app to the keys in your hand.
02
A deliberate contrast
Deep purple brings consistency. Lime highlights the next step.
03
A sense of home
Warm light and real spaces connect the interface to everyday living.
Made to feel like home
A social campaign that brings Ghurfa’s purple and lime into everyday living.
A place to begin
The renter dashboard brings household context, profile progress, active requests, and useful next steps into one view.
Your next step, in one place.
Household context, requests, and a clearer view of what comes next.
Flow
From finding a room to arranging a viewing.
The marketplace supports search and room-type filters. Listing details add practical information and household preferences before the renter requests a viewing.
The interface carries the selected room forward so the renter can request a time and review the next step.
HOST EXPERIENCE
A place for every host.
Listings, requests, and day-to-day rental activity.
Give hosts a clear next step.
The host experience brings listings, incoming requests, and earnings together. A shared journey helps both sides understand what needs attention.
Stay connected
A shared understanding
Keep room-related conversations close to the listing and rental activity, with one place to return to the discussion.
Keep the conversation close.
A conversation stays connected to the practical steps of finding and sharing a home.
REFLECTION / WHAT THE PROTOTYPE MAKES POSSIBLE
A clearer journey. The next step is people.
The prototype connects the core rental steps. AI-assisted walkthroughs helped explore the experience; usability with renters and hosts still needs to be tested.
01
Make the fit visible
Listing details bring rent, household preferences, and lifestyle compatibility together before the viewing request.
NEXT VALIDATION
Validate whether renters understand the compatibility information and use it to compare rooms.
02
Keep the room in context
The viewing request carries the selected room forward, alongside the date, time, and message.
NEXT VALIDATION
Observe whether renters can request a suitable time and understand what happens after sending.
03
Separate the responsibilities
Renter and host dashboards give each role a different view of requests and ongoing activity.
NEXT VALIDATION
Test whether both sides identify their next action and interpret agreement and payment states consistently.
THE DESIGN TAKEAWAY
The listing is only the first conversation.
Designing the steps after discovery brought the project’s real scope into focus: helping two people understand a shared next step.
DISCOVER · CONNECT · BELONG
