30elm
When a client with a small project came to us with their next business idea, we were excited to join in the action. 30elm allowed us to build both a project management tool for homeowners and designers, but also a showcase for professionals to share their talent.
It was late 2006 when the team behind Kitchen+Bath Portfolio, one of our previous projects, approached us about a building a community for professional home designers and clients looking for high end designers to realize their home design dreams. We jumped right in and worked with them to create a tool that connects designers and homeowners and lets them collaborate on projects.
The project started with a visit to New York City to learn more about the business of professional home design. We spent two days collaborating with the 30elm team to outline goals and define objectives. We felt that it was important to learn more about the industry we were building a tool for, so we set up several interviews with professionals in the home design community. Armed with new knowledge and brimming with ideas, we iterated through task flows, wireframes, and application development to help build the foundation for the 30elm application. Our team of user interface developers worked closely with the 30elm team and their graphic designers to put together the application interface.
30elm.com launched in the summer of 2007 as a professional home design community, bringing together savvy industry experts and project-bound homeowners. The application focuses on providing collaboration tools for both homeowners and professional home designers. Homeowners can discuss their home projects and find professionals based on a number of search criteria, from the types of work that a professional specializes in to proximity-based searches. Professionals pay for premium accounts, which allow them to respond to solicitations from homeowners and follow up on potential leads. When projects begin, the system provides basic project management tools for collecting inspiration and sharing ideas. Additionally, professional home designers can showcase their best work by managing project portfolios, including images and stories about the project. Homeowners and non-registered users can navigate the site, browse projects for inspiration and blog about their work and projects.
We've been active members of the