Selling Paradise
Giving Luxury Villa Sales Reps the Tools to Personalise Pitches and Win Leads
Detailed Case Study
UI / UX
Journey Mapping
3D Visualisation
Lead Capture
Stakeholder Needs
iPad Sales Tool
Imagine this...
You’re a top-performing luxury villa sales rep with sky-high targets. Tonight, you step into an exclusive networking event buzzing with high-net-worth individuals who’ve seen every pitch, every view, every penthouse...or so they think.
You’re not just selling a villa, but a once-in-a-lifetime chance: a slice of paradise on a private island still in development, with the best plots still up for grabs.
Ownership means not only luxury and exclusivity, but legacy and something to pass down to loved ones.
You have to make them feel it - the breeze, the view, the status. You need to read the room, adapt your pitch in real time, and spark their imagination using only visualisations to paint a vivid picture aligned to their needs and dreams.
Sometimes your shot comes at a formal meeting. Sometimes it’s a 60-second elevator ride or a chance encounter at a luxury expo. Whenever it happens, you need to be ready.
A slick, intuitive tool that is completely customisable to the prospect in front of you so that you can pitch with confidence is your secret weapon.
This was what my team and I set out to create.
The Characters
My Role
Project Designer
User
Luxury Villa Sales Reps
Key Stakeholders
Luxury Villa Sales Reps
High-Net-Worth Potential Buyers
Hotel Chain Brand Managers
Client’s Sales, Marketing, and CRM Team
Internal Project / Engineering Team
Approach & Process
Empathy first.
I got in the (virtual) room with sales reps and stakeholders early and often, listening to moments of frustration like, “I wish I didn’t have to juggle stacks of brochures,” and “I need to pivot when clients switch interests.”
Move Fast.
Rough mockups and prototypes gave everyone something tangible to react to, sparking ideas I could expand into interactive iPad click-throughs for scenario-based user testing.
Feedback & Iterate.
Every two weeks, I led walkthroughs with key stakeholders, explaining the “why” behind design choices, fielding their feedback, and refining the experience. The result was a living, evolving solution, shaped by the people who would be using it.
UX Research
Market Analysis
8 Stakeholder Interviews
7 User Interviews
3 Research Workshops
Data Analysis
Affinity Mapping
4 User/Stakeholder Personas
User Stories
User Journey Mapping
UX / UI Design
Ideation / Lo-Fi Ideas
Internal Feedback Loops
Close Coordination With Devs
Client Mock-ups
Client Presentation
Information Architecture
Mid/Hi Fidelity Wires
UI Elements Using Client Branding
Design System
Prototyping
User Testing / Design Iterations
Presentation / Client Feedback
Final Handoff To Devs
“Miles displayed a keen understanding of user experience and research methodologies, which led to uncovering valuable insight into our design decisions.”
User Personas & User Journey Mapping
Meet Jen
She’s the kind of sales rep who can turn a chance conversation into a precious lead. She’s charming, polished, and thrives under pressure. But give her a stack of brochures and a clunky presentation, and you’ll see her energy flatline. For Jen, momentum is everything.
Reps like her need a versatile toolkit that’s always ready to roll - something they can whip out in a lobby, at a yacht party, or in the middle of a networking gala. It has to be personal and flexible: swap in photos, videos, activities, and villa options that matter to this buyer, right now. Every interaction needs to feel personal and high-end and the tool’s got to look the part.
What Hotel Partners Wanted
They’re running world-class resorts, leasing villas, and each wants their unique sparkle front and center. No generic pitch will do—they want to see their brand shine in every meeting.
Why It Mattered
By figuring out what the key players needed and seeing things through Jen’s eyes, I got a clear picture of what really mattered - information architecture that would make it super quick and easy to find the right property, while helping Jen bring the hotel brands’ character to life. Slick filtering, speedy comparisons, and CRM integration had to be part of the mix, so tailoring a pitch and grabbing leads could happen seamlessly.
Other Key Personas
Ideation & Early Designs
First, I sketched out lo-fi wireframes and walked them through the internal team - quick, scrappy, and all about ideas over polish. Then, at the project lead’s request, I leveled them up into sleek mockups, ready to put in front of the client and spark early, honest feedback.
Initial Lo/Mid-Fidelity
Home Dashboard
Island Map
Hotel Resort Map
Villa
Early Mockups
Home Dashboard
Island Map
Hotel Resort Map
Villa
Developing The Solution
Help Jen Tailor Her Pitches
Challenge
Every prospect came with their own wishlist - sea view, extra bedrooms, a certain style - and Jen needed to find the perfect match without sifting endlessly.
Solution
We gave her a powerful filtering system that cut through the clutter to find only villas that ticked all the boxes. No more guesswork, just curated perfection ready to impress.
Hotel Resort Marketing Materials
Challenge
Jen wasn’t just selling a villa, she was selling the soul of a resort. Each destination had its own story, its own allure.
Solution
To make those stories shine, I added an extra bottom navigation bar right on the resort page, giving her instant access to rich, brand-specific content straight from the hotel chain. Photos, narratives, and marketing magic at her fingertips to bring out the unique personality of each resort.
Bottom Navigation
Help Jen Capture Leads
Challenge
Turn “just browsing” into “let’s talk.” Jen needed to compare the villas a prospect loved and get them into inboxes. Capturing those email addresses wouls also be critical for giving the sales team the leads they needed for timely follow-ups
Solution
We built her a side-by-side view of up to three villas, even across multiple brands. With a few taps, she could email the full details and instantly update the client’s CRM. The result? Prospects engaged, leads captured, and follow-ups practically writing themselves.
User Testing & Refining The Solution
Tap Count
Challenge
Time is precious, and curiosity waits for no one. Every extra tap was a step too far between a prospect and their dream villa. The old journey, detouring through a landing page and a resort preview, felt like a scenic route when what we needed was an express lane.
2
3
4
5
1
Solution
We cleared the path. No more unnecessary stops. The landing page and preview card were gone, replaced with a sleek Map/List toggle that put choice in the user’s hands. In List view, the journey to villa details dropped from five taps to just two. Sales reps could glide through whichever flow suited them best, taking customers from first glance to “I want it” in record time.
1
3
2
Navigation
Challenge
Moving between Villas, Gallery, and Experiences was cumbersome. The original “back” button made navigation slow and clunky - sales reps found themselves retracing steps instead of riding the momentum of the pitch. When you’re holding a client’s attention, every extra tap is a chance to lose it.
Solution
A sleek top navigation bar that let Jen glide between Villas, Experiences, and Gallery in a single tap - supporting the pitch no matter which direction it turned. Now she could pivot instantly, keeping the conversation (and the sale) flowing.
Results
Project Outcome
Over an 8-month contract, I handed over the full UX/UI designs, with positive feedback flowing in during progress meetings and user testing. Unfortunately, after my departure, the project was disbanded due to a restructuring in the client’s sales team and a breakdown in the contractor-client relationship over late invoice payments.
Impact
For my contractor, this was proof of the value that user research and user-centered design bring to a project. It ensured we were building the right product for their client, not just a shiny one.
Retrospective
Stakeholder Engagement
Getting everyone on board early made sure we were solving real problems, not just guessing.
Cultural Agility
I completed an 8-month contract, successfully handing over the UX/UI designs. The project was active, with positive client feedback during progress meetings and user testing. However, after my departure, the project was disbanded due to a restructuring in the client's sales team and a breakdown in the relationship between my contractor and client regarding late invoice payments.
Storytelling Wins
Flexibility was essential when working across cultures, time zones, and hierarchical power structures.
Test Fast, Iterate Faster
Simple storytelling helped the internal and external clients understand the reasoning behind design decisions and the UX process in general.
Collaboration
An agile approach with early prototypes and frequent user testing helped visualize the experience, generate ideas, identify usability issues and ensure we would capture prospect information effectively.
More Projects
Moncho
The Virtual Highstreet
Reconstructed
Miles Matthewman
Miles Matthewman
Selling Paradise
Giving Luxury Villa Sales Reps the Tools to Personalise Pitches and Win Leads
Detailed Case Study
UI / UX
iPad Sales Tool
3D Visualisation
Stakeholder Needs
Lead Capture
Journey Mapping
Imagine this...
You’re a top-performing luxury villa sales rep with sky-high targets. Tonight, you step into an exclusive networking event buzzing with high-net-worth individuals who’ve seen every pitch, every view, every penthouse...or so they think.
You’re not just selling a villa, but a once-in-a-lifetime chance: a slice of paradise on a private island still in development, with the best plots still up for grabs.
Ownership means not only luxury and exclusivity, but legacy and something to pass down to loved ones.
You have to make them feel it - the breeze, the view, the status. You need to read the room, adapt your pitch in real time, and spark their imagination using only visualisations to paint a vivid picture aligned to their needs and dreams.
Sometimes your shot comes at a formal meeting. Sometimes it’s a 60-second elevator ride or a chance encounter at a luxury expo. Whenever it happens, you need to be ready.
A slick, intuitive tool that is completely customisable to the prospect in front of you so that you can pitch with confidence is your secret weapon.
This was what my team and I set out to create.
The Characters
My Role
Project Designer
User
Luxury Villa Sales Reps
Key Stakeholders
Luxury Villa Sales Reps
High-Net-Worth Potential Buyers
Hotel Chain Brand Managers
Client’s Sales, Marketing, and CRM Team
Internal Project / Engineering Team
Approach & Process
Empathy first.
I got in the (virtual) room with sales reps and stakeholders early and often, listening to moments of frustration like, “I wish I didn’t have to juggle stacks of brochures,” and “I need to pivot when clients switch interests.”
Move Fast.
Rough mockups and prototypes gave everyone something tangible to react to, sparking ideas I could expand into interactive iPad click-throughs for scenario-based user testing.
Feedback & Iterate.
Every two weeks, I led walkthroughs with key stakeholders, explaining the “why” behind design choices, fielding their feedback, and refining the experience. The result was a living, evolving solution, shaped by the people who would be using it.
UX Research
Market Analysis
8 Stakeholder Interviews
7 User Interviews
3 Research Workshops
Data Analysis
Affinity Mapping
4 User/Stakeholder Personas
User Stories
User Journey Mapping
UX / UI Design
Ideation / Lo-Fi Ideas
Internal Feedback Loops
Close Coordination With Devs
Client Mock-ups
Client Presentation
Information Architecture
Mid/Hi Fidelity Wires
UI Elements Using Client Branding
Design System
Prototyping
User Testing / Design Iterations
Presentation / Client Feedback
Final Handoff To Devs
“Miles displayed a keen understanding of user experience and research methodologies, which led to uncovering valuable insight into our design decisions.”
User Personas & User Journey Mapping
Meet Jen
She’s the kind of sales rep who can turn a chance conversation into a precious lead. She’s charming, polished, and thrives under pressure. But give her a stack of brochures and a clunky presentation, and you’ll see her energy flatline. For Jen, momentum is everything.
Reps like her need a versatile toolkit that’s always ready to roll - something they can whip out in a lobby, at a yacht party, or in the middle of a networking gala. It has to be personal and flexible: swap in photos, videos, activities, and villa options that matter to this buyer, right now. Every interaction needs to feel personal and high-end and the tool’s got to look the part.
What Hotel Partners Wanted
They’re running world-class resorts, leasing villas, and each wants their unique sparkle front and center. No generic pitch will do—they want to see their brand shine in every meeting.
Why It Mattered
By figuring out what the key players needed and seeing things through Jen’s eyes, I got a clear picture of what really mattered - information architecture that would make it super quick and easy to find the right property, while helping Jen bring the hotel brands’ character to life. Slick filtering, speedy comparisons, and CRM integration had to be part of the mix, so tailoring a pitch and grabbing leads could happen seamlessly.
Sales Rep
Prospective Buyer
Hotel Chain Brand Manager
CRM Manager
User Journey Map - Jen
Ideation & Early Designs
First, I sketched out lo-fi wireframes and walked them through the internal team - quick, scrappy, and all about ideas over polish. Then, at the project lead’s request, I leveled them up into sleek mockups, ready to put in front of the client and spark early, honest feedback.
Initial Lo/Mid-Fidelity
Home Dashboard
Island Map
Hotel Resort Map
Villa
Early Mockups
Developing The Solution
Help Jen Tailor Her Pitches
Challenge
Every prospect came with their own wishlist - sea view, extra bedrooms, a certain style - and Jen needed to find the perfect match without sifting endlessly.
Solution
We gave her a powerful filtering system that cut through the clutter to find only villas that ticked all the boxes. No more guesswork, just curated perfection ready to impress.
Hotel Resort Marketing Materials
Challenge
Jen wasn’t just selling a villa, she was selling the soul of a resort. Each destination had its own story, its own allure.
Solution
To make those stories shine, I added an extra bottom navigation bar right on the resort page, giving her instant access to rich, brand-specific content straight from the hotel chain. Photos, narratives, and marketing magic at her fingertips to bring out the unique personality of each resort.
Bottom Navigation
Help Jen Capture Leads
Challenge
Turn “just browsing” into “let’s talk.” Jen needed to compare the villas a prospect loved and get them into inboxes. Capturing those email addresses wouls also be critical for giving the sales team the leads they needed for timely follow-ups
Solution
We built her a side-by-side view of up to three villas, even across multiple brands. With a few taps, she could email the full details and instantly update the client’s CRM. The result? Prospects engaged, leads captured, and follow-ups practically writing themselves.
User Testing & Refining The Solution
Tap Count
Challenge
Time is precious, and curiosity waits for no one. Every extra tap was a step too far between a prospect and their dream villa. The old journey, detouring through a landing page and a resort preview, felt like a scenic route when what we needed was an express lane.
2
3
4
5
1
Solution
We cleared the path. No more unnecessary stops. The landing page and preview card were gone, replaced with a sleek Map/List toggle that put choice in the user’s hands. In List view, the journey to villa details dropped from five taps to just two. Sales reps could glide through whichever flow suited them best, taking customers from first glance to “I want it” in record time.
1
3
2
Navigation
Solution
A sleek top navigation bar that let Jen glide between Villas, Experiences, and Gallery in a single tap - supporting the pitch no matter which direction it turned. Now she could pivot instantly, keeping the conversation (and the sale) flowing.
Challenge
Moving between Villas, Gallery, and Experiences was cumbersome. The original “back” button made navigation slow and clunky - sales reps found themselves retracing steps instead of riding the momentum of the pitch. When you’re holding a client’s attention, every extra tap is a chance to lose it.
Results
Project Outcome
Over an 8-month contract, I handed over the full UX/UI designs, with positive feedback flowing in during progress meetings and user testing. Unfortunately, after my departure, the project was disbanded due to a restructuring in the client’s sales team and a breakdown in the contractor-client relationship over late invoice payments.
Impact
For my contractor, this was proof of the value that user research and user-centered design bring to a project. It ensured we were building the right product for their client, not just a shiny one.
Retrospective
Stakeholder Engagement
Getting everyone on board early made sure we were solving real problems, not just guessing.
Cultural Agility
I completed an 8-month contract, successfully handing over the UX/UI designs. The project was active, with positive client feedback during progress meetings and user testing. However, after my departure, the project was disbanded due to a restructuring in the client's sales team and a breakdown in the relationship between my contractor and client regarding late invoice payments.
Storytelling Wins
Flexibility was essential when working across cultures, time zones, and hierarchical power structures.
Test Fast, Iterate Faster
Simple storytelling helped the internal and external clients understand the reasoning behind design decisions and the UX process in general.
Collaboration
An agile approach with early prototypes and frequent user testing helped visualize the experience, generate ideas, identify usability issues and ensure we would capture prospect information effectively.
More Projects
Miles Matthewman
Selling Paradise
Giving Luxury Villa Sales Reps the Tools to Personalise Pitches and Win Leads
Detailed Case Study
UI / UX
iPad Sales Tool
3D Visualisation
Stakeholder Needs
Lead Capture
Journey Mapping
Imagine this...
You’re a top-performing luxury villa sales rep with sky-high targets. Tonight, you step into an exclusive networking event buzzing with high-net-worth individuals who’ve seen every pitch, every view, every penthouse...or so they think.
You’re not just selling a villa, but a once-in-a-lifetime chance: a slice of paradise on a private island still in development, with the best plots still up for grabs.
Ownership means not only luxury and exclusivity, but legacy and something to pass down to loved ones.
You have to make them feel it - the breeze, the view, the status. You need to read the room, adapt your pitch in real time, and spark their imagination using only visualisations to paint a vivid picture aligned to their needs and dreams.
Sometimes your shot comes at a formal meeting. Sometimes it’s a 60-second elevator ride or a chance encounter at a luxury expo. Whenever it happens, you need to be ready.
A slick, intuitive tool that is completely customisable to the prospect in front of you so that you can pitch with confidence is your secret weapon.
This was what my team and I set out to create.
The Characters
My Role
Project Designer
User
Luxury Villa Sales Reps
Key Stakeholders
Luxury Villa Sales Reps
High-Net-Worth Potential Buyers
Hotel Chain Brand Managers
Client’s Sales, Marketing, and CRM Team
Internal Project / Engineering Team
Approach & Process
Empathy first.
I got in the (virtual) room with sales reps and stakeholders early and often, listening to moments of frustration like, “I wish I didn’t have to juggle stacks of brochures,” and “I need to pivot when clients switch interests.”
Move Fast.
Rough mockups and prototypes gave everyone something tangible to react to, sparking ideas I could expand into interactive iPad click-throughs for scenario-based user testing.
Feedback & Iterate.
Every two weeks, I led walkthroughs with key stakeholders, explaining the “why” behind design choices, fielding their feedback, and refining the experience. The result was a living, evolving solution, shaped by the people who would be using it.
UX Research
Market Analysis
8 Stakeholder Interviews
7 User Interviews
3 Research Workshops
Data Analysis
Affinity Mapping
4 User/Stakeholder Personas
User Stories
User Journey Mapping
UX / UI Design
Ideation / Lo-Fi Ideas
Internal Feedback Loops
Close Coordination With Devs
Client Mock-ups
Client Presentation
Information Architecture
Mid/Hi Fidelity Wires
UI Elements Using Client Branding
Design System
Prototyping
User Testing / Design Iterations
Presentation / Client Feedback
Final Handoff To Devs
“Miles displayed a keen understanding of user experience and research methodologies, which led to uncovering valuable insight into our design decisions.”
User Personas & User Journey Map
Meet Jen
She’s the kind of sales rep who can turn a chance conversation into a precious lead. She’s charming, polished, and thrives under pressure. But give her a stack of brochures and a clunky presentation, and you’ll see her energy flatline. For Jen, momentum is everything.
Reps like her need a versatile toolkit that’s always ready to roll - something they can whip out in a lobby, at a yacht party, or in the middle of a networking gala. It has to be personal and flexible: swap in photos, videos, activities, and villa options that matter to this buyer, right now. Every interaction needs to feel personal and high-end and the tool’s got to look the part.
What Hotel Partners Wanted
They’re running world-class resorts, leasing villas, and each wants their unique sparkle front and center. No generic pitch will do—they want to see their brand shine in every meeting.
Impact
By figuring out what the key players needed and seeing things through Jen’s eyes, I got a clear picture of what really mattered - information architecture that would make it super quick and easy to find the right property, while helping Jen bring the hotel brands’ character to life. Slick filtering, speedy comparisons, and CRM integration had to be part of the mix, so tailoring a pitch and grabbing leads could happen seamlessly.
Sales Rep
Prospective Buyer
Hotel Chain Brand Manager
CRM Manager
Ideation & Early Designs
First, I sketched out lo-fi wireframes and walked them through the internal team - quick, scrappy, and all about ideas over polish. Then, at the project lead’s request, I leveled them up into sleek mockups, ready to put in front of the client and spark early, honest feedback.
Initial Lo/Mid-Fidelity
Home Dashboard
Island Map
Hotel Resort Map
Villa
Early Mockups
Developing The Solution
Help Jen Tailor Her Pitches
Challenge
Every prospect came with their own wishlist - sea view, extra bedrooms, a certain style - and Jen needed to find the perfect match without sifting endlessly.
Solution
We gave her a powerful filtering system that cut through the clutter to find only villas that ticked all the boxes. No more guesswork, just curated perfection ready to impress.
Bottom Navigation
Hotel Resort Marketing Materials
Challenge
Jen wasn’t just selling a villa, she was selling the soul of a resort. Each destination had its own story, its own allure.
Solution
To make those stories shine, I added an extra bottom navigation bar right on the resort page, giving her instant access to rich, brand-specific content straight from the hotel chain. Photos, narratives, and marketing magic at her fingertips to bring out the unique personality of each resort.
Help Jen Capture Leads
Challenge
Turn “just browsing” into “let’s talk.” Jen needed to compare the villas a prospect loved and get them into inboxes. Capturing those email addresses wouls also be critical for giving the sales team the leads they needed for timely follow-ups
Solution
We built her a side-by-side view of up to three villas, even across multiple brands. With a few taps, she could email the full details and instantly update the client’s CRM. The result? Prospects engaged, leads captured, and follow-ups practically writing themselves.
User Testing & Refining The Solution
Tap Count
Usability Issue
Time is precious, and curiosity waits for no one. Every extra tap was a step too far between a prospect and their dream villa. The old journey, detouring through a landing page and a resort preview, felt like a scenic route when what we needed was an express lane.
2
3
4
5
1
Solution
We cleared the path. No more unnecessary stops. The landing page and preview card were gone, replaced with a sleek Map/List toggle that put choice in the user’s hands. In List view, the journey to villa details dropped from five taps to just two. Sales reps could glide through whichever flow suited them best, taking customers from first glance to “I want it” in record time.
Re-Design
1
2
3
Navigation
Usability Issue
Moving between Villas, Gallery, and Experiences was cumbersome. The original “back” button made navigation slow and clunky - sales reps found themselves retracing steps instead of riding the momentum of the pitch. When you’re holding a client’s attention, every extra tap is a chance to lose it.
Solution
A sleek top navigation bar that let Jen glide between Villas, Experiences, and Gallery in a single tap - supporting the pitch no matter which direction it turned. Now she could pivot instantly, keeping the conversation (and the sale) flowing.
Results & Retrospective
Project Outcome
Over an 8-month contract, I handed over the full UX/UI designs, with positive feedback flowing in during progress meetings and user testing. Unfortunately, after my departure, the project was disbanded due to a restructuring in the client’s sales team and a breakdown in the contractor-client relationship over late invoice payments.
Impact
For my contractor, this was proof of the value that user research and user-centered design bring to a project. It ensured we were building the right product for their client, not just a shiny one.
Retrospective
Stakeholder Engagement
Getting everyone on board early made sure we were solving real problems, not just guessing.
Cultural Agility
Navigating different cultures, time zones, and hierarchies taught me flexibility is non-negotiable.
Storytelling Wins
Simple, clear narratives helped everyone, from engineers to execs, understand the “why” behind every design choice.
Test Fast, Iterate Faster
Rapid prototyping and frequent user feedback kept the project agile and user-focused, catching issues before they became roadblocks.
Collaboration
Regular client demos, tight coordination with engineering, and smooth communication made sure designs didn’t just look good - they worked seamlessly and integrated perfectly with CRM systems.
More Projects
