Next Stop, Nestaway

Brand strategy & user experience design for Nestaway

Nestaway, valued at $200M aims to be a game-changer in the rental market by looking at ‘homes beyond houses’ with their open policies of ‘no discrimination’ and ‘no city is a stranger’. Nestaway’s mission was not just to find homes, but also to help youth set up in a new city by providing basic amenities and convenient transactions. The steering vision was to make living easy and hassle-free.

This project looked at redesigning the brand strategy, visual identity system, communication, key service touchpoints and digital product experience design for the India based start-up called Nestaway

12 months;  My role: Brand audit research, brand strategy, writing, service touchpoint design, digital product experience design; Done for NestAway Technologies through Lopez Design; Team: Anthony Lopez, Deekshit Sebastian, Joash Youtham, Agnisesh Setlur, Sujatha Shankar Kumar, Ashish Rehani

Challenges

A relentlessly long project, the team was challenged with designing for a startup for the first time. It was a new dynamic between the client and the design team. As it is said, we were ‘failing faster’ to learn and get things moving. The clients team had several stakeholders, we were stationed in two different cities, and working on a tight time schedule.

Brand strategy for a growing enterprise

Nestaway’s core services are offered in the home rental arena. With Nestaway’s program, you can pick and choose what suits you, from just a bed, a shared room or shared house to an independent home. Nestaway manages over 30,000 homes across 13 cities in India, for more than 72,000+ Nesties. From the onset, Nestaway took on providing amenities and services, expanding to create engagement platforms.

A Nestaway home is set up to give you a sense of belonging by addressing your concerns and needs, even beyond the walls of your home. All tenants are called ‘Nesties’. 

The young and ambitious firm is eager to morph and adapt in different ways as it spreads its wings. The Nestaway identity encapsulates this fast-growing enterprise, constantly expanding its repertoire. The identity system is unconventional, constantly evolving as users find versatile ways of using it

Welcome kit
When a tenant shifts into their new home they will receive a small welcome package. Thoughtfully put together to help onboard and set the right service expectations for new users.

Welcome booklet
Part of the welcome kit, based on the finding that user complaints increase after two weeks of moving in, this booklet served as a easy on-boarding to the service rules

Digital product experience

The digital product has been designed in collaboration with a UI designer and a team of developers

Reading data differently: a new way of searching

Users tend to prioritise a location rather than their interests while searching for a home. By tagging homes with nearby features (like recreational spaces or interest groups) we could create possible interest buckets. Once a user selects an interest, she can see all the possible locations to live in.

Brand value alignment: focus on building transparency

Data indicated that users tend to oversee crucial messages while selecting important dates. To ensure that the company policies are being showcased with the right amount of stress we introduced a character from the new branding system created for Nestaway.

Stay informed: system for triggered communication

Once the entire flow across the site was agreed upon, the points for relevant communication to the user were marked. We created a map, template emails with guidelines for communication to help the client manage the triggered communication.

Communication & tailored information for repeat users

All static pages were re-designed based on intent and the revised branding guidelines. Information was tailored for repeat users to help them continue their experience