Product Design
Full Case Study
2025
Helping real estate agents stay remembered, not replaced
A 0→1 platform that helps real estate agents maintain long term relationships with homeowners through timely, personal,
and data driven outreach.
Timeline
March – September 2025
Team
2 Design Leads, 4 Fellow Consultants
Role
UX Consultant (Focus: Interaction Design & Prototyping)
Client
Cotality (CoreLogic)
LONG STORY SHORT
I led the wireframing phase for a new way to help real estate agents stay connected to homeowners through relevant, human communication
I worked for Cotality as a Product Designer through my capstone program, collaborating directly with Cotality’s Product Manager and Principal UX Designers. Our team of five designers worked collectively on research, ideation, and testing while I guided the design direction and wireframing process for OneHomeowner Connect, a 0→1 platform that helps agents maintain long-term relationships with homeowners through timely, personal, and data-driven outreach. Several of my accomplishments included:
01
Design
Directed the design phase, organized design reviews, and led the creation of low-fidelity wireframes for Smart Suggestions, Client Timeline, and Milestone Reminders
02
Research
Contributed to a 15-participant interview study that explored how agents and homeowners maintain post-sale relationships
03
Execution
Co-ran usability sessions with 10 agents and coordinated team alignment with Cotality’s OneHomeowner ecosystem
How might we help agents maintain authentic, long-term relationships with homeowners using data-driven insights that feel personal rather than automated?
MARKET RESEARCH
Most real estate CRMs focus on lead generation, not long term engagement
We analyzed 10 tools in the space including Zillow Premier, Follow Up Boss, and kvCORE and found that none supported post sale relationship building.
Opportunity: Build an agent first system that helps agents maintain trust and drive referrals long after the deal closes.
SPEAKING TO USERS
To understand both sides of the relationship, our team conducted 17 interviews with 11 homeowners and 6 agents.
Hearing from a mix of first time buyers, experienced homeowners, and active agents helped us identify what breaks communication after closing and what builds long term trust.
Lack of Meaningful Follow Up
"Most people ignore generic newsletters. But if there’s a hailstorm and I send out roofer contacts, suddenly I get replies."
Generic Communication Feels Impersonal
"Buying a home is a low frequency activity. I don’t really see the value in agents keeping in touch regularly."
Homeowners Value Helpfulness Over Frequency
"Keep in touch with something of value so they know they can safely rely on you."
Trust and Authenticity Drive Referrals
"I recommend agents who genuinely cared, not just followed up."
OPPORTUNITIES
I guided my team toward three main feature areas for the MVP.
Based on our research insights and Cotality’s ecosystem goals, we identified opportunities that balanced automation with empathy, helping agents reach out in ways that felt personal and timely.
Dashboard
A centralized home for agents to view Smart Suggestions, track activity, and monitor relationship health at a glance.
Smart Suggestions
AI powered prompts that analyze data from credible homeowner and property sources to surface the most relevant outreach opportunities for each agent. These suggestions adapt to seasonal events, property changes, and local market trends.
Client Timeline
A chronological view of homeowner milestones that highlights natural touchpoints for outreach and tracks the history of communication.
Milestone Reminders
Prewritten but customizable messages that help agents stay top of mind while keeping communication authentic and meaningful.
EARLY CONCEPT
Agents validated the three core features but wanted stronger visibility across them
We created low to mid-fidelity prototypes for all three core features: Smart Suggestions, Client Timeline, and Milestone Reminders and tested them with six real estate agents to evaluate usefulness and clarity.
Feedback confirmed that each feature addressed a real need but also revealed opportunities to improve clarity, personalization, and integration.
Smart Suggestions
Agents liked the premise of personalized outreach but wanted the content to reflect localized and property-specific insights rather than generic prompts. They also noted that the dashboard, which only displayed Smart Suggestions, felt too limited as a workspace. Several participants mentioned wanting to see more context about their day, client activity, and upcoming messages when logging in. This feedback later informed how we expanded the dashboard’s role.
Client Timeline and Milestone Reminders
Both features were tested together in one screen. Agents appreciated seeing each client’s journey alongside automated reminders for homeowner tasks and milestones. However, they found it hard to interpret the order and timing of events and suggested clearer grouping. They also wanted to edit or reschedule reminders to match their communication style and workload.
This reinforced the need to make timelines easier to scan and reminders more flexible.
DEFINING FEATURES
After concept testing, we refined the product around three core features that remained central to the MVP.
Smart Suggestions
AI analyzes trusted homeowner data and local trends to surface outreach ideas (e.g., tax reminders, safety alerts, market changes)
Client Timeline
A chronological, editable view of each client’s homeownership journey, showing milestones, past communication, and upcoming touchpoints
Milestone Reminders
Automated, customizable prompts tied to life events or property-related tasks that help agents maintain consistent yet personal contact
VISUAL LANGUAGE
Moving from OneHomeowner to a standalone system
Cotality’s UX team clarified they did not yet have design control over OneHomeowner. We created a new visual system for OneHomeowner Connect that stayed brand aligned while giving us freedom to clarify hierarchy and action density.
🌱 First Iteration
Concept using the existing OneHomeowner design system to visualize Smart Suggestions on the dashboard
✨ Final Design
Standalone system with clearer type scale, simplified cards, restrained accents, and consistent iconography
FINAL DESIGNS
Use AI to send smarter outreach, track client journeys, and stay ahead of milestones
Smart Suggestions
AI drafts a relevant message from property and local context so you can personalize and send in seconds
Client Timeline
Scan a client’s journey at a glance, open a milestone, and take the next action without leaving the record
Milestone Reminders
Schedule or edit reminders tied to key events and seasonal tasks so follow-ups happen on time
LEARNINGS & IMPACT
Growing as a designer, leader, and collaborator
Leading with empathy
It was my first time leading a project phase and guiding a team through shifting workloads. By creating space for open conversation and reflection, we built stronger trust and collaboration.
Designing within a large organization
Working with Cotality taught me how to navigate enterprise priorities and maintain momentum even when our focus area shifted. It strengthened my ability to advocate for design in complex environments.
Communicating design with clarity
Presenting to Cotality’s UX team taught me how to communicate design intent clearly, justify trade-offs, and align cross-functional stakeholders around user outcomes.