People wanted to own a home. The journey got in the way.
Saudi homeownership rose from about 47% in 2016 to 66% in 2025, on the way to a Vision 2030 target of 70%. Demand was there. But finding, financing and living in a home happened across sales centres, banks, paperwork and separate service channels. Turning a lead into a sale was slow.
One app, three products, two languages
- Home acquisition
- Home services
- Community
Research showed where residents needed help most
- 1,000+homeowners and renters surveyed across age, income and region
- 4segments: homeowners, renters, villa and apartment
- #1home maintenance: the most in-demand and most underserved service
That gap made Home Services a priority: its own mini app inside the super app.
- 01Ease of use and consistent quality
- 02Clear value for money
- 03Navigable, relevant services
- 04Trust and transparency
Homeownership figures: Housing Program annual reports, 2023 and 2024, and 2025 ministry reporting.
One direction across three product streams.
As Associate Design Director I led design for home acquisition, home services and community, owned the design system, and coached the client’s designers. These were the calls that shaped it:
- One system for three products, not three systems. Products differ in colour and tone, never in how things work.
- Arabic from the first component, not a translation pass at the end. Every component has a language property.
- Tokens as the contract with engineering. I worked closely with the front-end team in live build reviews, so the design held up in code.
- Build the client’s capability, so their team could run and extend the system after we left.
One bilingual system, from first visit to signed agreement.
2,695+ components were ready for launch. The library grew to 5,066 variants, 1,838 of them in Arabic, with light and dark modes. Here is the home acquisition journey it made possible, and a prototype you can try in both languages.
From the system to a screen, in both languages
Three screens from the Figma reservation flow, rebuilt in code. Change the numbers in the calculator, reserve a home, or open the menu and switch the language. The whole interface mirrors to Arabic.
$1bn in sales within a year of launch.
Commercial results of the wider programme, delivered alongside design and engineering. Add the 400m (first three months) figure once you confirm the currency.
What the team said
Put the design front in order and kept the bar extremely high through a project with real ups and downs.
Project leadershipSpotted the components the team was missing and designed them in a way that sped up their work.
Client product manager“Working at the speed of light.”
Product owner, Home ServicesThe coaching made the project an incredible journey.
Designer I coachedCapability that outlasted the engagement
We didn’t only hand over screens. We set up the system, the ways of working and a client design team that could run it. The client has since evolved the app on those foundations into a resident super app. It is still live today, rated 4.1★ on the App Store from 216 ratings.
