SPLITNEST
For many living in shared spaces, managing rent, bills, and daily needs can feel messy and overwhelming. SplitNest simplifies co-living with a seamless, intuitive platform that makes shared living more organized, transparent, and stress-free.
The Challenge
Living in a shared flat often leads to friction over chores, bills, groceries, an coordination. Communication gets lost in chats, whiteboards, or sticky notes. There’s a lack of communication, structure and fun.
Goal(s)
Smart all-in-one app that simplifies shared apartment living by organizing chores, and improving communication.
No more sticky notes, group chat chaos, or chore wars.
Client
Design Exercise
Year
2025
Duration
2 weeks
Platform
Mobile App
Role
UI/UX Branding illustrations
Tools
Figma
Illustrator
Process
Target User
Young Professionals (22–35 yrs)
Working in tech, startups, finance, or creative industries.
Looking for affordable, well-managed shared living in cities.
Value convenience, digital solutions, and community living.
Students & Interns (18–25 yrs)
University/college students or international interns.
Need short-to-mid-term housing with easy management.
Care about affordability, transparency, and safety.
Assumptions
NEEDS
Easy way to manage shared bills, chores, and expenses.
A digital hub for announcements, notices, and updates.
Sense of community & security in shared living.
FRUSTRATIONS
Confusion in splitting rent, utilities, and shared expenses.
Lack of communication between flat mates → leads to conflicts.
Missed payments / tracking who owes what.
Chore imbalance → some people doing more than others.
Research
Methods
Interviews
Surveys
Why?
Validate Assumptions
Find Needs
Discover Problems
5
Interviews Conducted
12
Survey
Respondents
User Insights
Expense Management is Broken:
Most users rely on WhatsApp groups, Excel sheets, or verbal agreements to split expenses — none of which ensure transparency.
Chores = Conflict:
Chore distribution is often informal, leading to resentment among roommates when some feel they’re doing more work.
Digital Readiness:
Users are open to using an app — they already use apps like Paytm, and Google Pay, which makes adoption easier.
Surprising Observations
“We use Split wise but only for trips, not rent.”
Users didn’t think of using an existing app for long-term expense tracking. They mentally separate living costs from travel costs.
Chores Matter More Than Expected.
Initially, people talked mostly about money. But during deeper conversations, chore distribution was mentioned as a bigger cause of tension than rent.
Informal Systems Fail Often.
Many said they had “systems” (rotations, shared notes, sticky charts), but admitted they fall apart after a few weeks.
User Persona
The primary persona is a tenant or roommate who shares accommodation and struggles with managing rent, utilities, and chores.
User Story
To translate user needs into actionable design solutions, I created user stories based on insights from interviews, surveys, and personas.
These stories capture what users want to achieve, why it matters to them, and the challenges they face, helping guide feature development for Split nest.
Ideate & Sketching
In this phase, I explored multiple directions through quick sketches and rough layouts. The goal was to translate ideas from research into tangible concepts, visualize user flows, and iterate rapidly before moving into detailed wireframes.
Lo-fi wireframes
I made some crucial decisions during the wireframing stage.
HOMESCREEN
How to show tasks?
Nav bar location?
I went forward with option 2, as the app contains multiple functions that require quick access. A bottom navigation bar leading to different pages was essential, since user studies revealed that users wanted to complete tasks faster and spend less time navigating the app.
HOMESCREEN
How to show >4 tasks?
How to integrate swap task feature
Option 1 is more effective because it integrates carousel pagination dots at the bottom, providing users with a clear sense of progress while maintaining a clean, intuitive layout. This avoids visual clutter by eliminating the need for separate pagination controls. Additionally, the swap icon is embedded into the square tiles, making interactions feel more seamless without breaking the grid's symmetry.
Expenses & Grocery list page
This layout uses horizontal cards and a central chart to visually summarize spending, making financial data quick to digest.
The layout is optimized for fast, task-oriented use with a vertical checklist that promotes quick item addition and tracking.
Rooms page
How to show status
and upcoming plans
of flat mates?
The profile tiles are also better structured, balancing text and icons clearly with visual hierarchy—making it easier to scan names, roles, and images at a glance. This thoughtful layout enhances usability while maintaining a clean and modern look.
High Fidelity Prototype
A high-fidelity prototype of SplitNest, where I designed the logo, crafted the branding, and built a seamless co-living experience through intuitive onboarding, task management, and task swapping.
SPLINEST-MOBILE APP DESIGN
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