Structure
Designing and shipping a collaborative quality control and compliance tool for architects in a startup incubator
TIMELINE
8 weeks
ROLE
Co-founder, sole designer
TEAM
Arnav Shah (PM)
Sonya Alexis (Dev)
Rida Faraz (Dev)
Olivia Nazari (Designer)
TOOLS
Figma
Illustrator
Notion
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
Obtaining a city’s approval for architectural drawings is the first step of any construction project to ensure code compliance. Codes vary widely, as they are determined by the state, city, and even district level.
An architect can spend up to 2-3 hours digging on the internet for specific district codes for any given project. Even with this effort, 40% of permit applications are rejected by the city due to unforeseen coding violations, leading to project delays and financial losses.
Structure intends to fill this gap between architects and city officials by detecting coding violations before submission using a visual language model (VLM). Structure goes one step further to connect files to engineers and clients, streamlining the permitting process and connecting team mates.
SOLUTION
Streamline and automate this painful process with help from AI
PROJECT GOALS
VIOLATION CARD ANATOMY
Codes are simplified into easily readable descriptions. Users can, if needed, expand the violation card for the full legal text and code number.
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
Instead of providing information in chunks of paragraph, I decided to change the formatting to cards to provide more scannability
LAYOUT DECISIONS
Iteration 1
Separating violations and comments into left and right panels clutters interface and restricts drawing area
Iteration 2 (final iteration)
Instead of a stagnant layout, floating notifications and toolbars maximizes screen space and allows for an unobstructed interface
FINAL FEATURES
(a) Potential violation identification
(b) Collaboration among engineers, clients, and city-officials
(c) Annotations and comments tools
SUCCESS
Structure was awarded Judge’s Choice: Best Product at LavaLab’s Demo Night. This included a $1,500 investment from 3 VCs.
TAKEAWAYS
Structure was my first experience working in startup, as well as my first experience fully developing a product from zero.
- Brand identity and product function go hand in hand.
- Users, especially in certain stubborn fields, need to be able to learn an application quickly and easily. Ease of use is especially important here.
- Iteration can take time. Iterate as many times as needed to get the product right.
Thank you to my Structure teammates, and LavaLab for hosting us.
Structure
Designing and shipping a collaborative quality control and compliance tool for architects in a startup incubator
TIMELINE
8 weeks
ROLE
Co-founder, sole designer
TEAM
Arnav Shah (PM)
Sonya Alexis (Dev)
Rida Faraz (Dev)
Olivia Nazari (Designer)
TOOLS
Figma
Illustrator
Notion
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
Obtaining a city’s approval for architectural drawings is the first step of any construction project to ensure code compliance. Codes vary widely, as they are determined by the state, city, and even district level.
An architect can spend up to 2-3 hours digging on the internet for specific district codes for any given project. Even with this effort, 40% of permit applications are rejected by the city due to unforeseen coding violations, leading to project delays and financial losses.
Structure intends to fill this gap between architects and city officials by detecting coding violations before submission using a visual language model (VLM). Structure goes one step further to connect files to engineers and clients, streamlining the permitting process and connecting team mates.
SOLUTION
Streamline and automate this painful process with help from AI
PROJECT GOALS
VIOLATION CARD ANATOMY
Codes are simplified into easily readable descriptions. Users can, if needed, expand the violation card for the full legal text and code number.
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
Instead of providing information in chunks of paragraph, I decided to change the formatting to cards to provide more scannability
LAYOUT DECISIONS
Iteration 1
Separating violations and comments into left and right panels clutters interface and restricts drawing area
(final iteration)
Instead of a stagnant layout, floating notifications and toolbars maximizes screen space and allows for an unobstructed interface
FINAL FEATURES
(a) Potential violation identification
(b) Collaboration among engineers, clients, and city-officials
(c) Annotations and comments tools
SUCCESS
Structure was awarded Judge’s Choice: Best Product at LavaLab’s Demo Night. This included a $1,500 investment from 3 VCs.
TAKEAWAYS
Structure was my first experience working in startup, as well as my first experience fully developing a product from zero.
- Brand identity and product function go hand in hand.
- Users, especially in certain stubborn fields, need to be able to learn an application quickly and easily. Ease of use is especially important here.
- Iteration can take time. Iterate as many times as needed to get the product right.
Thank you to my Structure teammates, and LavaLab for hosting us.
Structure
Designing and shipping a collaborative quality control and compliance tool for architects in a startup incubator
TIMELINE
8 weeks
ROLE
Co-founder, sole designer
TEAM
Arnav Shah (PM)
Sonya Alexis (Dev)
Rida Faraz (Dev)
Olivia Nazari (Designer)
TOOLS
Figma
Illustrator
Notion
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
Obtaining a city’s approval for architectural drawings is the first step of any construction project to ensure code compliance. Codes vary widely, as they are determined by the state, city, and even district level.
An architect can spend up to 2-3 hours digging on the internet for specific district codes for any given project. Even with this effort, 40% of permit applications are rejected by the city due to unforeseen coding violations, leading to project delays and financial losses.
Structure intends to fill this gap between architects and city officials by detecting coding violations before submission using a visual language model (VLM). Structure goes one step further to connect files to engineers and clients, streamlining the permitting process and connecting team mates.
SOLUTION
Streamline and automate this painful process with help from AI
PROJECT GOALS
VIOLATION CARD ANATOMY
Codes are simplified into easily readable descriptions. Users can, if needed, expand the violation card for the full legal text and code number.
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
Instead of providing information in chunks of paragraph, I decided to change the formatting to cards to provide more scannability
LAYOUT DECISIONS
Iteration 1
Separating violations and comments into left and right panels clutters interface and restricts drawing area
Iteration 2 (final iteration)
Instead of a stagnant layout, floating notifications and toolbars maximizes screen space and allows for an unobstructed interface
FINAL FEATURES
(a) Potential violation identification
(b) Collaboration among engineers, clients, and city-officials
(c) Annotations and comments tools
SUCCESS
Structure was awarded Judge’s Choice: Best Product at LavaLab’s Demo Night. This included a $1,500 investment from 3 VCs.
TAKEAWAYS
Structure was my first experience working in startup, as well as my first experience fully developing a product from zero.
- Brand identity and product function go hand in hand.
- Users, especially in certain stubborn fields, need to be able to learn an application quickly and easily. Ease of use is especially important here.
- Iteration can take time. Iterate as many times as needed to get the product right.
Thank you to my Structure teammates, and LavaLab for hosting us.