Skip to content

2025 · Service Design · Web

Reducing Heritage Renovation Anxiety Through Community Renovation Stories

Turning overwhelming renovation tasks into community-validated success stories.

Reducing Heritage Renovation Anxiety Through Community Renovation Stories hero

Challenge

Heritage homeowners often lack technical background, leading to high anxiety, isolation, and paralysis when facing expensive, complex, and regulation-heavy renovation projects.

Role

Co-led research, user analysis, and interviews. Acted as sole UX designer for the final concept and delivery.

Outcome

Created a scalable Experience Archive that bridges the gap between official state regulations and the practical, human needs of homeowners.

Context

Our research focused on inexperienced homeowners who feel a deep emotional responsibility for their property’s preservation but lack the technical expertise to execute it.

While official, dry manuals exist, the user journey is currently defined by isolation. They spend endless hours searching for reliable specialists and still feel anxious, fearing that one wrong move could damage the historical value of their home.

As-Is user journey map — the current anxious, isolated renovation experience

A journey map illustrating the typical frustration and isolation experienced by homeowners during the renovation process.

The Shift

I introduced an experience-sharing platform where renovation journeys are documented through interviews. We moved away from “technical manuals” to “human stories.”

To-Be user journey map — a community-validated, confidence-building renovation experience

A visualization of how shifting from technical manuals to community-based human stories increases user confidence.

Filter options for browsing renovation stories by property type, region, and project scope

A filter-based interface design that helps users find renovation experiences relevant to their specific home and needs.

All articles page — the Experience Archive listing renovation stories

A dashboard displaying various community-shared renovation stories to help users find similar projects for guidance.

Individual renovation story article — a homeowner's documented experience

A detailed breakdown of a specific project that documents specific renovation decisions and learned lessons.

Outcome

The solution validates renovation choices through peer experiences. It transforms the renovation journey from an anxious, individual research task into a community-supported process, ensuring that historical preservation feels achievable for the modern homeowner.