Specify Hub – filling the gap between builders and homeowners
A paper trail costing everyone time and money
The founder had spent years in the building industry watching the same frustration repeat itself – miscommunication between clients, trades and builders over fittings and fixtures caused costly delays and disputes. Decisions lived in spreadsheets, text threads, and emails. Nothing connected.
She saw a clear gap: a mobile-first tool that could bring the whole selection process into one place, simple enough for a builder on site but powerful enough to manage a full project.
Scope
Wireframes
User Flows
Brand
Prototypes
Hi-Fi Designs
View
In the App Store
Two sessions to pressure-test the idea
Over two collaborative working sessions, the founder and I explored the concept and produced initial wireframes. We then walked through everything with the developer to assess what was buildable and scope the project properly.
Some ideas didn’t survive the feasibility test. Mood boards, product libraries, a desktop app, item costing and budget tracking were not right for version one. Cutting them sharpened the concept.
The core concept held up. The plan: build the simplest viable version and layer in complexity once we’d proven the model.
Making it real, not just theoretical
The founder and I worked closely on naming – then pushed straight into visualising the brand. Seeing it rendered made it feel real and an idea became a business with an identity.
The builder is the power user – design around them
We mapped four user types. Builders were the clear centre of gravity: they set up projects, define the detail, own the subscription, and bring clients and trades onto the platform. That hierarchy shaped every design decision.
Builders needed to be able to start a new project one-handed, mid-smoko, without losing anything important. Clients could then add their own selections — a clearly defined, bounded role that kept the experience simple without feeling limited.
Product URLs don’t come with a standard
Letting clients add products via URL was the right call – low friction, no inventory to manage. But supplier websites don’t share metadata standards, and building individual API integrations was out of scope.
The solution: pull in whatever was available automatically and ask the client to fill the gaps. Tiles were the most complex product type, so I worked backwards from there to stress-test the pattern.
The contextual plus button surfaced different options depending on where you were in the app – a small detail that reduced cognitive load without hiding functionality.
Live in the App Store in early 2024
After almost a year in development the app was released to the App Store and Google Play early 2024.
Being a lean process, there wasn’t budget for formal user testing, feedback loops and iterations. Instead the design decisions were grounded in the founder’s deep industry knowledge and validated through collaborative working sessions, but real-world use will invaluable in future.
“I’m so incredibly appreciative of everything you’ve done. Seeing a vision come to life is so great and you’ve been so integral in that above and beyond my original expectations.”
Bree, founder Specify Hub
