As a student, I experienced firsthand the frustration of searching across dozens of disconnected websites trying to find suitable housing — without filters, without reliable information, and without any direct way to reach landlords.
MyStudentHouse is a concept platform built to solve that — an all-in-one hub where students can browse, filter, and connect with landlords, with everything they need to make a decision in one place.
64.7% of surveyed students had encountered trouble finding or viewing housing — confirming a real, widespread pain point.
No single platform served the student rental market with proper filters, listing images, and direct landlord communication in one place.
The process of securing housing could take months — with poor information, slow landlord responses, and no way to compare options side-by-side.
Target market research placed the primary demographic at ages 17–26, with a secondary demographic of parents 40–55. A user survey validated the problem space and revealed listing photos as essential — nearly all respondents said images significantly influenced their decision-making.
Two user personas were developed — a first-year student overwhelmed by the search process, and a parent co-signing a lease from out of town — to keep both perspectives front and center throughout design.
A detailed style guide was created first to ensure consistency across every screen as the project scaled. Initial low-fidelity paper sketches explored the core layout, focusing on mobile-first — then translated into low-fidelity digital wireframes, and finally high-fidelity screens for both mobile and web in InVision.
User testing drove meaningful iterations across three key screens — the home page, property listing, and detail view — refining the experience based on how real users actually interacted with the prototype.
MyStudentHouse demonstrates what a student-first rental platform could look like — intuitive search with proper filters, clear listing imagery, and direct landlord contact. The 10-week project covered the full UX process from survey to prototype, with success measured against four clear goals: locating housing with ease, connecting students and landlords, surfacing all necessary information, and improving quality of student life outside the classroom.