What is woonhaven?
Woonhaven is a personal project I started in 2024. I was hoping to design something that would help students find housing faster. A lot of websites today have a paywall you need to pay to get in, and once you are actually in, you get ads from private companies for which you have
to pay again in order to find what they are advertising. This is not handled correctly in my opinion and so I wanted to make a website that is advertised for students, made by students and made for students.
During the making of Woonhaven, I knew I wanted something that showed some kind of niceness, something that’s inviting, it shows that you are allowed to contact us, come talk to us. Something that showed that it isn’ t part of the big industry while still looking trustworthy and professionally made. That later would become the core principles of the design: Small business, inviting, trustworthy & professionally made.
I got inspired by a lot of works that were in my surroundings, since most of them were made by students trying to start a small project just like me.
I also looked at the rivaling businesses such as Adhoc, which provides anti-squatter housing for students and starters. Other businesses I looked at were SSH and Kamernet. Each of these businesses had something interesting to look at. For Adhoc it would be how they market their housing and what does their website look like. At SSH I wanted to see how they would try to connect with students and young adults looking for housing. Lastly I wanted to look at Kamernet and how they designed their branding since I have always found that an interesting look since this is mostly the website people go to to find housing.
Once I finished the branding for Woonhaven, I was able to make designs with it. I decided to design a website for students to connect, create events, and have evenings for interviewing new candidates in the flesh. The website is as accessible as possible through creating an account and being able to share housing listings, connect with people
so two can try and get a place together and what they would be most suited for & you are able to share leads on the site through your account. Got word of a great anti-squatter place to stay while finding something more permanent? Share it with the rest of the class! Literally.
