CoSpace is a Lagos-based housing platform that connects apartment owners and renters directly, eliminating agent fees and unnecessary middlemen. Unlike traditional property platforms, CoSpace enables users to find long and short term rentals, co-renting partners, and shared living options through verified listings, smart matching, and direct communication, making home search faster, more transparent, and more affordable.

The platform is designed for students, young professionals, and city movers who need reliable housing options without the stress, inflated costs, and uncertainty of conventional rental processes.

Finding a place to rent and possible roommates to rent with is stressful. Repeated inspection fees and agent dependency only make it worse. Renters move between different agents and apartments with no guarantee of success, often losing money before they ever move in. We want to fix that.

Simplify home searching by connecting renters directly with verified listings

Reduce housing costs and friction by eliminating middlemen (agents)

Build a trusted platform that helps users find apartments and roommates faster

I was responsible for:

Product strategy, Research insights, and UX direction

End-to-end user flows for renters and listers

High-fidelity UI design for web experiences and responsiveness

Building and structuring the design system

Designing trust, safety, and verification experiences

I designed CoSpace around trust, speed, and user confidence, ensuring renters can make informed housing decisions without uncertainty or delays.

Clarity over complexity - surface key listing details immediately

Trust by design -prioritize verification signals and transparency

Frictionless exploration - reduce steps between discovery and connection

I built a scalable, lightweight design system to ensure consistency, speed, and usability across the platform:

Rounded, approachable components to create a welcoming experience

Trust-driven color system to reinforce credibility and safety

Clear typography hierarchy for easy scanning of listings and details

Reusable components for cards, filters, forms, and messaging flows

This reduced design debt, improved developer handoff, and made the product easier to scale.

I gathered early insights using lightweight, fast validation methods:

Informal conversations with renters and apartment seekers

Analysis of existing rental platforms and listing flows

Review of common housing complaints, scams, and trust concerns in local markets

Conversations with renters in Lagos revealed a few clear patterns:

82% were frustrated by repeated inspection fees that rarely led to securing a home.

70% said trust was their biggest concern due to scams and fake listings.

54% struggled to find relevant options because existing platforms had weak filtering.

Takeaway: Renters don’t just want listings , they want a search experience that feels clear, trustworthy, and efficient.

Students searching for affordable apartments or roommates

Young professionals relocating or moving within the city

First-time renters unfamiliar with the housing process

Individuals looking to co-rent to reduce living costs

With a clear understanding of user needs and pain points, I translated those insights into user flows. These flows define how users move through Cospace to achieve their goals with clarity, control, and minimal friction.

I translated research insights into low-fidelity wireframes to map out the core user journeys and define the platform’s structure. At this stage, the focus was on layout, flow, and functionality rather than visual design.

Onboarding & account setup

listing discovery screen

Search and filter results

Listing details page

Report listing

Identity verification

matching screen

Removed agent-led friction by enabling direct renter–lister connections

Reduced inspection fee fatigue and simplified discovery

Early validation confirmed strong demand for a clearer, more transparent rental experience

Reinforced the importance of prioritizing trust, clarity, and real-world renting behavior

82% task completion confidence during usability tests

70% increase in trust perception due to verification and transparency cues

150+ pre-launch waitlist sign-ups validating product demand and value

High-quality listing images matter for trust - Clearer upload guidelines and image validation would help ensure photos accurately represent spaces, reducing mismatches and improving confidence.

Stronger identity verification builds credibility - Integrating a trusted third-party verification provider could further reduce user concerns and increase platform trust. This wasn’t implemented yet due to budget constraints but remains a priority.

Trust must be designed intentionally - Trust cues should appear at key decision points across the experience rather than relying on isolated features.

Real user behaviour should guide iteration - Post-launch insights like filter usage, drop-offs, and conversion points will help refine flows based on real interaction patterns.