Patch - BB Agency

The client

Founded in London in 2014, Patch started life as an iOS application helping renters search for properties. Before long, it became apparent that one of the biggest frustrations with renting was having huge deposit amounts stuck in deposit protection schemes.

From there, Patch was reborn: serving renters with the option to receive a Patch deposit and keep hold of their savings to spend how they see fit. Making apartment hunting easy.

How did we help?

Balkan Brothers was approached to support Patch’s new business model with an iOS overhaul, new branding, dashboard and website. We delivered both design and front-end development.

Click here to find out about our work on the Patch brand and website. Otherwise, read on to learn how we helped design Patch’s new mobile and web app from scratch.

Patch app shown on various phone screens

Research and strategy.

When Patch first approached us, they were in the process of pivoting to their new business model of deposit management and insurance. Without an existing product in place, we had a blank canvas for envisioning how the entire app would look and function.

Furthermore, Patch were offering something totally new to the market, so our goal from the start was to minimize the learning curve for a broad range of users and simplify the experience.

Fortunately, the team at Patch were open to fast experimentation – working on hunches and intuition to create meaningful and useful solutions.

Light visual language followed by a contrasting colour scheme.

The overall brand and visual language was constructed to speak to a vast demographic. To better understand why we went ahead with this particular colour set and typography feel free to:

See our Patch branding exploration

Making deposit refunds easy.

We established a Deposit Details page, which holds all the information related to every deposit. This included property and tenant details, application status and an overview of next steps.

— Apply for Deposit – Details Page

We introduced a step-by-step timeline view to give tenants a better overview of the application process and their next steps.

— Application Timeline

Once completing their rent pass, tenants get a full eligibility checkup. Patch reviews tenants’ credit scores and calculates the percentage of deposit that is payable.

— Rent Pass Step 01

— Rent Pass Step 02

Once your rent pass and application have been approved, Patch activates your deposit.

We sought to unify the whole design language and better present the data and information regarding deposits.

We built Patch to simplify processes like managing tenants, rent splits, and deposit closures.

— Application Steps Module

— Setup Rent Splits Module

— Closure initiated

The homescreen acts as the information hub.

Considering the complexity of the deposit approval process we designed the homescreen to act as the information hub. It’s easy to understand next steps and take dynamic actions.

Displaying deposit process through colour-coded steps and full width process bars.

Messaging, chat, and cross platform communication.

If a user ever get lost, there is an in-app messaging and chat system to help them communicate with co-tenants and Patch agents.

— Chat widget desktop

— Chat widget mobile

— Post scheduler both on tablet and mobile

Making apartment hunting and deposit refunds easier for iOS users.

On mobile, users can search for properties, contact letting agents and apply to rent. Patch then pays the deposit for them, and shows the rent price and the Patch monthly fee.

— Log in screen

— Property details

— Search for properties

— Deposits

Improving on existing knowledge.

As the starting point we used the current mobile app and the knowledge we gathered during the research we did on the desktop app. This propelled us to better structure the navigation, overall layout, introduce onboarding screens, and chat modules. We feel this really helps the users to better experience the application with a greater understanding of the product.

The previous app was focused solely on searching for properties. The new app introduces complex features such as managing deposits, chatting with agents and roommates, setting up rent splits, creating rent passes, and managing rent payments.

With all that in mind, our goal was to create a cohesive and functional experience that visually ties in well with the new branding and direction.

The result.

During the eight month partnership our process included researching the competitors, exploring visual directions, information architecture, user flows, and designing layouts and solutions to better familiarize users with a product that is creating a new industry.

To summarize, we developed and designed Patch’s whole product suite which includes visual language, branding, website, web app and mobile app. During the process, the team from Patch were extremely supportive, helping us to navigate the complex world of government deposit schemes in the UK.

Our services

Exploration

Competition benchmarking
User research
Information architecture

Design

Style exploration
Branding
User experience design
User interface design
Design system

Helping Patch visualize their idea from a blank page to the whole product suite.

The client

How did we help?

Research and strategy.

Light visual language followed by a contrasting colour scheme.

Making deposit refunds easy.

— Apply for Deposit – Details Page

We introduced a step-by-step timeline view to give tenants a better overview of the application process and their next steps.

— Application Timeline

Once completing their rent pass, tenants get a full eligibility checkup. Patch reviews tenants’ credit scores and calculates the percentage of deposit that is payable.

— Rent Pass Step 01

— Rent Pass Step 02

Once your rent pass and application have been approved, Patch activates your deposit.

We built Patch to simplify processes like managing tenants, rent splits, and deposit closures.

— Application Steps Module

— Setup Rent Splits Module

— Closure initiated

The homescreen acts as the information hub.

Displaying deposit process through colour-coded steps and full width process bars.

Messaging, chat, and cross platform communication.

— Chat widget desktop

— Chat widget mobile

— Post scheduler both on tablet and mobile

Making apartment hunting and deposit refunds easier for iOS users.

— Log in screen

— Property details

— Search for properties

— Deposits

Improving on existing knowledge.

The result.

Our services

Exploration

Design

Development

What’s next?

Have a project in mind?
Let’s get to work.

Helping Patch visualize their idea from a blank page to the whole product suite.

The client

How did we help?

Research and strategy.

Light visual language followed by a contrasting colour scheme.

Making deposit refunds easy.

— Apply for Deposit – Details Page

We introduced a step-by-step timeline view to give tenants a better overview of the application process and their next steps.

— Application Timeline

Once completing their rent pass, tenants get a full eligibility checkup. Patch reviews tenants’ credit scores and calculates the percentage of deposit that is payable.

— Rent Pass Step 01

— Rent Pass Step 02

Once your rent pass and application have been approved, Patch activates your deposit.

We built Patch to simplify processes like managing tenants, rent splits, and deposit closures.

— Application Steps Module

— Setup Rent Splits Module

— Closure initiated

The homescreen acts as the information hub.

Displaying deposit process through colour-coded steps and full width process bars.

Messaging, chat, and cross platform communication.

— Chat widget desktop

— Chat widget mobile

— Post scheduler both on tablet and mobile

Making apartment hunting and deposit refunds easier for iOS users.

— Log in screen

— Property details

— Search for properties

— Deposits

Improving on existing knowledge.

The result.

Our services

Exploration

Design

Development

What’s next?

Have a project in mind?Let’s get to work.

Have a project in mind?
Let’s get to work.