The MillionSpaces enables users to book spaces & space owners to list in the platform.

Context

Booking Domain, SG 🇸🇬, SL 🇱🇰 & Aus 🇦🇺. Timeline: July 2019 - 2021.

Role

Design Lead, User Research, Lo-fi & Hi-fi Prototyping, User Testing.

Tools

Miro, Adobe XD, Adobe Illustrator

Overview

MillionSpaces is a platform that connects users looking to book workspaces with hosts who want to list their available spaces. From meeting rooms to training halls and coworking hubs, the platform provides flexibility, transparency, and ease for both ends of the market. I joined the project as the sole UX designer, working across research, ideation, prototyping, and handoff to developers.

Problem

Users were struggling to discover, compare, and book co-working spaces that matched their needs in terms of amenities, location, pricing, and ambience. Simultaneously, space owners faced challenges listing their spaces and syncing their calendars.

Approach

Research

Research activities
Interviews
Survey
Competitive Analysis

Define

Create persona
Identify Pain Points
Identify Needs & Frustations

Ideate

Brainstorm
Find solutions for each user types; users, space owners & admin

Design & Test

Design high & low fidelity designs, Test with users
Collect feedback
Iterations

Research

We conducted one-on-one interviews with freelancers and remote professionals in Singapore and Sri Lanka to explore their coworking habits and challenges. Users emphasized the need for flexibility, better space authenticity, and more transparent booking systems. Many were frustrated by misleading photos, rigid booking flows, and lack of privacy in open spaces.

A survey with over 100 participants helped validate key insights from interviews. 79% of users prioritized transparent pricing and real images, while 56% expressed interest in scheduling visits before committing to long-term bookings. The majority preferred booking via mobile apps and wanted more filtering options to compare spaces easily.

We studied WeWork, Airbnb (Work category), and FlySpaces to identify strengths and gaps. WeWork offered a premium experience but lacked flexibility. Airbnb was strong in visuals and trust-building but wasn’t tailored for workspaces. FlySpaces had regional relevance but a cluttered UI. These insights shaped our focus on flexibility, lifestyle branding, and clear, personalized search.

Research Insights

Persona

Ideate

During a whiteboard ideation session with stakeholders from marketing, product, development, and leadership, we mapped out key features. Primary priorities included location, space type, and accurate visuals, while secondary needs focused on pricing, availability, lounge ratings, offers, and amenities insights that guided our feature planning.

Final Product: Key Features

1. Localized Home Screens

Automatically adapts the home screen to users in Singapore, Sri Lanka, or Australia based on their IP address showing relevant spaces, currency, and offers.
A powerful search bar that helps users quickly find spaces by typing keywords, location, or amenities.

2. Intuitive Filtering

Primary filters like price, seat count, and duration are always visible, while less-used options are neatly placed under a “More Filters” section.

3. Comprehensive Space Detail Page

Each space page includes accurate photos, amenities, prices, reviews, and availability, so users know exactly what to expect.

Components

Outcomes

🚀 Faster Booking, Broader Reach

The platform delivered a faster, more intuitive booking experience, improving user satisfaction. Users could easily search, filter, and trust space listings, leading to higher engagement. With multi-region scalability, MillionSpaces launched in mid-2021, achieving 5000 bookings in three months. (source: DailyMirror)

Learning

🎓 Design System Matters

This project underscored the value of early stakeholder alignment and real user feedback. Initially, the design system wasn’t established due to rapid iterations, which slowed future updates. To improve, I adopted a practice of building the design system alongside the screens, supporting speed and consistency. (Source: LankaBusinessNews)