Brick & Bolt: A Smart Home Construction Platform
BRICK & BOLT
Company
DIGITAL PRODUCT DESIGNER
Role
Workflow Optimization, Data Entry Simplification, System Intelligence, User Guidance
Focus Areas
8 Weeks
Duration
Introduction
Brick & Bolt set out to transform the home-construction experience by replacing scattered offline processes with a transparent, guided, and fully digital platform. The goal was to empower homeowners with clarity, predictable progress, and trustworthy communication making the entire construction journey easier to understand, track, and manage through an intuitive mobile app.
Timeline
8 weeks from research to MVP covering stakeholder discovery, requirement definition, information architecture, illustrated UI components, and the complete pre-sales to post-sales mobile experience.
Background
I led the end-to-end UX direction for the Brick & Bolt app, shaping its core product strategy, defining user journeys, and establishing a visual language rooted in clarity and trust. My focus was to simplify complex construction workflows—quotations, updates, financials, milestones—and translate them into intuitive digital flows. Every interaction and component was crafted to reduce user friction, improve communication, and provide homeowners with real-time visibility throughout their project lifecycle.
The Problem
In the home-construction industry, transparency, reliability, and communication gaps create stress for homeowners at every stage. While demand for digital enablement is rising, most construction journeys still suffer from offline processes, scattered updates, and unclear financial visibility — leaving users feeling uncertain throughout their project. Brick & Bolt’s mission began by identifying the real gaps and pain points homeowners consistently faced:
Fragmented Communication & Delayed Updates
Homeowners often rely on calls, forwarded photos, and inconsistent messages from contractors. Updates arrive late or lack context, making it hard to track real progress or hold teams accountable.
Unclear Pricing & Budget Transparency
Estimates are frequently shared as loose documents or verbal breakdowns. Users struggle to understand what they’re paying for, how budgets evolve, and when staged payments are due creating confusion and mistrust.
Scattered Documents & Disjointed Processes
Project drawings, contracts, material lists, and invoices often sit across WhatsApp chats, emails, and offline paperwork. Without a centralized system, users lose track of essential information.
Lack of Real-Time Project Visibility
Homeowners cannot reliably monitor milestones, task progress, or site activity. This lack of visibility causes anxiety, especially for users managing construction remotely.
Pre Sales Wireframe
Post Sales Wireframe
UX Process
This category outlines the structured approach taken during the project, including research, planning, design, development collaboration, and iterative refinement.
Research & Planning
Conducted interviews with stakeholders and subject-matter experts to understand the full construction lifecycle. Identified friction points in communication, budgeting, document handling, and project visibility. Defined user personas and mapped homeowner expectations across pre-sales and post-sales stages.
Design & Prototyping
Developed detailed user journeys and IA for the complete construction workflow. Created wireframes and interactive prototypes for project inquiry, quotations, milestone tracking, updates, and financial management. Iterated on flows based on internal reviews and feasibility discussions.
Implementation
Designed a modular component system and illustration-led UI aligned with Brick & Bolt’s visual identity. Delivered developer-ready screens, interaction specs, and edge cases. Collaborated closely with engineering to ensure accurate implementation of flows and states.
Testing & Optimization
Worked with product team to validate user flows across builds. Refined communication modules, optimized dashboard layouts, and improved clarity in financial tracking based on feedback. Ensured the app supported predictable, transparent interactions for homeowner
Solution
Brick & Bolt transforms the entire home-construction journey by bringing every touchpoint — inquiry, planning, communication, tracking, and payments into one unified digital platform. Each feature is designed to remove uncertainty, build trust, and offer users complete visibility at every stage of their project.
Brick & Bolt consolidates quotations, milestones, documents, updates, and communication into one cohesive experience eliminating scattered offline channels.
Transparent Financial Oversight
To address the ambiguity around pricing, the app provides complete visibility into estimates, staged payments, invoices, and approvals empowering users with predictable budgeting.
A structured, user-friendly flow supports homeowners from initial inquiry to project completion, ensuring clarity, consistency, and trust throughout the entire process.
Pre Sales Solution
Post Sales Solution
Result & Impact
The Brick & Bolt app significantly improved transparency, communication, and confidence across the home-construction journey. Real-time updates, milestone tracking, and structured communication channels reduced uncertainty, while the financial module empowered users with clearer budgeting and predictable payments. The unified experience strengthened trust and made construction more manageable for first-time homeowners.
Improved Project Visibility
Users gained clear insight into daily progress, milestones, and site activity, reducing anxiety and increasing confidence throughout the build.
Enhanced Communication
The mentor-mentee model offered users bespoke support, helping them navigate more complex emotional issues with empathy and clarity.
Financial Transparency
With detailed estimates, staged payments, and invoice tracking, users felt more in control of their budgets and experienced fewer surprises.
Greater Trust & Reliability
Consistent digital records, documentation management, and real-time updates helped users perceive the process as more accountable, predictable, and trustworthy.
Pre Sales UI
Post Sales UI
Next Steps / Future Vision
As Brick & Bolt’s digital ecosystem continues to evolve, the roadmap focuses on strengthening transparency, enhancing homeowner confidence, and expanding intelligent features that support project predictability and real-time oversight.
AI-Driven Progress Predictions
Leverage machine learning to forecast timeline risks, material delays, and potential bottlenecks giving users proactive alerts before issues arise.
Expanded Contractor & Team Visibility
Enable auto-generated contracts, BOQs, invoices, and legal documents to reduce paperwork and streamline compliance.
Material & Quality Verification Tools
Integrate quality-check workflows, material authenticity scans, and digital verification reports to improve accountability and reduce disputes.
Smart Budget Optimizations
Provide predictive budgeting insights, alternative material suggestions, and cost-saving recommendations tailored to a user’s project type and location.
Gamification with Emotional Safety
Add gentle achievement tracking that encourages consistent use without undermining emotional authenticity or pressure.
