Product Designer
Summer 2026
Figma Design
Personal Project
CONTEXT
During this summer, 3 of my friends all faced the same issue: they needed to sublease their places for the upcoming semester. One was leaving school for a co-op, another for an internship, and the last one was studying abroad.
They all expressed that the process was tiring and stressful, as they would post on many scattered platforms (Instagram stories, club Slack channels, Facebook groups, subreddits, etc.) yet still struggle to reach reliable & interested subletters.
USER RESEARCH
Students belonged to either one or both of the following user groups:
Subleasers: typically students leaving mid-lease for an internship or studying abroad, who want to cut losses from leaving their place empty while they're gone
Subletters: typically students graduating a semester late/early or returning from internships or studying abroad, seeking housing for a single semester.
The survey revealed that:
75%
of respondents post & search for sublets across at multiple different platforms
4/5
is the average difficulty score for finding subleasers/subletters, 5 being highly difficult
80%
of respondents said they are more likely to trust subleasing to/from a fellow student compared to a stranger
I mapped existing methods/platforms students use to find sublets based on two axes— how much trust they offer, and how much information is consolidated/directly provided.
Competitive analysis showed that students lack a platform that is both informationally complete and trustworthy.
UniLease is a subleasing marketplace for university students within the same institution. Users can login with their .edu email to verify student status, ensuring trust across subleasers and subletters alike.
Add photos, pricing, and essential information in just a few steps. Your address is hidden from public by default for maximum security.
Filters are based on what actually matter for college students: price, semester timelines, distance from campus, and level of privacy.
Find essential details, such as estimated commute to campus and more. Reach out to express your interest.
Find essential details, such as estimated commute to campus and more. Reach out to express your interest.
I started off by creating a user flow diagram to determine what pages the app should have. I also listing out important information that needs to be included in listings and filters.
Then, I rapidly created low fidelity screens of the core flows. During this process, I iterated on the listing cards, condensed the listing creation process, and established the core features.
DESIGN DECISIONS
A major concern was surfaced during user testing: Privacy. Subleasers may not want unwanted individuals from their school knowing exactly where they live, as it poses a serious safety risk. However, legitimate subletters still need to have access to the exact address.
Before: Full address is revealed to all users on listing, compromising security
After: Subleasers can set address to hidden until a subletter expresses interest
After: Address is replaced by relevant info (neighborhood and distance from campus)
I added a short bio and student verification badge on the profile card to build a sense of safety and connection between students.
I also moved profile cards to the top of individual listings, so subletters can trust subleasers
I embedded profile info into the message requests, so subleasers can also trust subletters
DESIGN SYSTEM
For the visual language of UniLeaser, I drew inspiration from apps that many college students already use (like Claude, Granola, and Hinge) to create a sense of familiarity. I noticed that they pair serif type with warm tans and grays, and incorporated my observations into UniLeaser's design system.
OUTCOMES
75%
of testers reported an greater willingness to trust other users on UniLeaser compared to other platforms.
1.5/5
was the average difficulty score for creating a listing, 1 being extremely straightforward.
100%
of testers successfully navigated narrowing down the search using filters,
TAKEAWAYS
Inputting the number of bedrooms and subleasing an entire home don't accurately reflect a college student's needs. Narrowing down the user group helped expose more pain points and generate new ideas.
Digital interactions can sometimes feel impersonal, but paying attention to the design of small details can close that gap.