I’ve been diving into product, design, and branding. Creating things is a good way to learn. I’ve also found it helpful to analyze and critique the work of others. I’m going to try doing some of these publicly to see if it’s helpful. I’ll probably stick to companies and products in the approximate territory of fintech and/or real estate, as that is where my current project is focused, but who knows maybe I’ll throw out some curveballs as well. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I’m still a total newbie, so please give me feedback. Also, please don’t take my criticism personally! I’m probably wrong about half of this, and everyone has room for improvement.
My frame for analyzing a product/design/brand/UX/etc is one of first impressions: “making sense” of it. What are my main takeaways? Specifically, what story is it telling me and how do I feel about that?
I may mix in more granular critique as well, but my primary objective is to understand how companies tell stories and learn to do it better myself.
Without further ado, my first victim: Haus.com.
Let’s own a home
The first thing takeaway is this is a a product that offers me a way to own a home 🏠. In fact, they claim it’s the best way. Fine. My first question is, what makes it the best?
They immediately respond to this — which I like. The answer is: it’s cheaper 💰. Interesting, but not mind-blowing. Cost is a huge factor when buying/owning a home, obviously, but my first thought after that is “how much less, and what’s the catch?”.
I’m not thrilled about the rest of the copy. I’m being thrown into new ideas right away: accessing my equity and being in control. I haven’t even started thinking about equity yet. Same with control. The fact that these are emphasized make me 1) a bit confused right off the bat, and 2) maybe even concerned. Was there a chance that I’d be lacking control?
All about that money
The next screen dives right into an awkwardly-sized form. Don’t love the visual design here. More concerning, it’s not clear what the point of this is. In the previous screen, I’m being told that “What would I pay?” is next. But what if I miss that, or forget? I need to be reminded here. Otherwise, you’re asking me to do work for no obvious payoff. 😡
But, the story is somewhat consistent. It started with owning a home with a cheaper monthly payment, and now we’re continuing that narrative: this will (presumably) tell me how much lower that monthly payment will be.
Big Savings
A number is what I was hoping for, so this is good. Adding the bit about tapping equity echoes the introduction of “access[ing] your equity” from the first screen. Presumably, they’re trying to transition to talking about how equity works in this model? I would have preferred a more linear narrative 📗. First let’s talk about the main value prop: saving money every month. Then, how this relates to equity. Instead, we’re juggling two big ideas at once.
Let’s pause to digest. So far, I’m associating Haus with owning a home in a way that costs less per month. Saving money is intriguing, but it’s not groundbreaking — even though they say it’s “the best way to own a home”. I’m starting to associate the Haus brand with “same but cheaper”, and this isn’t a great way to be remembered. It’s not unique — any other brand can offer to save me money. I wish they branded off of what makes them special: something something own a home without a mortgage.
They’re branding on preference, not relevance. ☝️
They then re-emphasize the savings (and tell me why savings is nice: more spending on other things). Followed by telling me more about the equity in a more complex way: now we’re buying and selling equity.
And using equity to pay when I can’t make my payments? It seems like the actual message here is flexibility. This is more interesting than savings — other companies can offer me savings, but flexibility is more unique. If flexibility is their main differentiator, they should have put it first and focused the messaging around that. 😕
I’m going to stop there. The rest of the landing page starts digging into the mechanics of equity co-ownership, with some confusing charts. The worst part? The nav menu has a SELL section. Bros, what does selling have to do with this core value proposition?
Overall grade is a C-
It took me a while to understand that what is really being offered is flexibility. The lower monthly cost is interesting but not unique. Also, it obfuscates the product — you’re not getting the same “thing” as you would at the typical monthly mortgage cost. You don’t “own” the whole home, not right away and maybe not ever.