Ten Sixty
AI Shorts
Delivered a high-impact, time-saving solution to a critical user pain point in the real estate industry.
Grounded in research and validated through testing, the final product balances AI-driven automation with user control — enabling agents to create professional-grade social media marketing videos with ease, speed, and significantly lower costs.
Outcomes
Helping real estate agents create stunning property videos in minutes — not weeks — using AI.
Reduced video creation time from 1–2 weeks to just minutes
Saved users an average of 80% in production costs
Saved users 99.85% of their time compared to traditional methods
Achieved an 83.33% approval rating on ease of use from test users
"This is a total game-changer. It saves me time and the videos look amazing."
Surveyed Test User
Barry Plant Real Estate
The Challenge
How might we enable real estate agents to quickly create professional, on-brand marketing videos using existing property data—without the need for filming, editing skills, or external videographers?
Business Goal
Our goal is to build an AI-powered video creation tool that allows real estate agents and agency staff to effortlessly generate high-quality, branded marketing videos using existing property listing data. By eliminating the need for videographers, on-camera work, or editing skills, the platform will save time, reduce marketing costs, and ensure consistency across listings. The product will be designed with a shallow learning curve, will be export-ready for social media, and scalable across teams—empowering agents to promote every property professionally and efficiently.
Role
Lead Product Designer – I worked closely with the Head of Development and the Project Lead, guiding the user experience strategy and hands-on design work through every stage of the project. To align the design with business goals and technical feasibility.
Thinking & Approach
The titles of the accordion below summarises the process followed to obtain the outcomes listed above. Expand each section to reveal details such as methods, results, images and Figjam boards.
During the discovery phase, I facilitated a stakeholder workshop using structured methods to surface and align team assumptions. This process helped us collaboratively frame the problem space and establish a shared foundation for informed design decisions.
Assumptions
We kicked off by brainstorming some assumptions relating to Real Estate agents, their needs and pain points.
Agents are time poorVideographers take too longVideographers are expensiveUnconfident in creating professional quality mediaWant consistent marketing collateralWants to harness social media morePain points vs Opportunities
As part of our user research synthesis, I mapped key pain points experienced by real estate agents when creating marketing videos. Common challenges included time constraints, lack of editing skills, inconsistent branding, and high production costs. By identifying recurring frustrations across multiple user segments, I uncovered clear product opportunities—automated video generation from property data, rapid template-based workflows, and AI-powered tools with intuitive UIs. I also proposed branding guardrails and cost-effective subscription models to enhance consistency and accessibility. This process informed our product roadmap and shaped early prototypes focused on scalability, ease of use, and ROI for time-poor agents.
Pain pointOpportunityNo time for editing or outsourcingAutomate video creation using property listing dataIsn’t confident in their abilities to create professional quality media.Create a product that has a shallow learning curve which outputs professional results without the need for the agent to film the property themselves or recite scripts.Commissioning videos takes too long.Design a flow which promotes rapid video creation and offers the user the ability to create templates from previously made videos.High costs for professional videographyOffer an affordable AI tool with pay-per-use or subscription pricing that would dramatically lower the cost of producing marketing videos.Page 1 of 5JTBD Value Matrix
To define product-market fit, I applied the Jobs to Be Done framework to uncover real estate agents’ core needs around video marketing. Agents needed to promote listings quickly, reduce video production costs, stand out with strong branding, and leverage social media reach. I mapped each job to its pain points, current solutions, and designed product features to address these gaps. My proposed solution included automated video creation from listing data, affordable pricing models, brand asset integration, and multi-platform output. This approach not only streamlined agent workflows but delivered measurable value in time savings, cost reduction, and brand amplification.
Job to Be DonePain PointsCurrent SolutionsYour SolutionValue DeliveredQuickly promote a new listing with videoNo time for editing or outsourcingSelf produceAutomate video creation using property listing dataSaves time; faster time-to-marketMake marketing videos for every property, not just premium listingsHigh costs for professional videographyVideographersAffordable per-video or monthly pricingSaves money and scales across all listingsStand out in a crowded market with a strong brandInconsistent branding across agents’ listings comes off as unprofessional.TemplatesAllow for the use of agency branding assetsBoosts visual impact; builds agent brandUtilise the power and reach of social media.Social media marketing requires constant effort and expertise.Hire a freelancer, Ignore.Design output to be used across all apt social media platformsExtends marketing reach whilst projecting your brand to a new audience.Through a combination of user interviews, surveys, and secondary data gathering, I was able to validate assumptions and uncover key user insights. By synthesising the findings into affinity diagrams, insight clusters, and empathy maps, I developed a clear understanding of user needs and behaviours. Additionally, I mapped out the technical requirements and specifications for the video product, along with the average timeframes and costs associated with commissioning property listing videos from professional videographers, providing a clear benchmark for our solution.
Personas
To ensure our product addressed the real-world challenges of real estate agents, I developed four detailed personas based on interviews and behavioural patterns: Sophie the Solo Hustler, Mark the Agency Director, Taylor the Social-Savvy Agent, and Linda the Listing Machine. Each persona represented distinct roles, goals, tech comfort levels, and content challenges—from solo agents struggling with time and tools, to agency leaders seeking brand consistency at scale. This helped guide feature prioritisation: automated workflows for low-tech users, scalable branding systems for agencies, and social-media-optimised exports for high-engagement agents. These personas grounded our design decisions in empathy and ensured we delivered tailored value across user types.
Sophie
Mark
Taylor
Linda
PersonasSophie the Solo HustlerMark the Agency DirectorTaylor the Social-Savvy AgentLinda the Listing MachineSays“I want to do everything myself — I just don’t have the time or tools.”“I need consistency across my team’s listings — and something easy to onboard new agents.”“I know how powerful content is — I just don’t have enough of it.”“I just need fast, clean content for every property — no frills.”RoleIndependent real estate agent (self-employed)Agency ownerAgent at boutique agencySenior sales agent at a large agencyAge34482955Experience6 years20+ years4 years30 yearsTech comfortMediumLow to mediumHighLowPage 1 of 2“It costs thousands to highly promote a listing on platforms like realestate.com.”
Test User
Barry Plant Real Estate
Affinity map
To complement our persona work, I synthesised direct quotes from interviews into a thematic matrix across four key friction areas: time, cost, self-produced video quality, and social media. These insights revealed real frustrations, such as the exhaustion from editing after open homes, the inconsistency of self-shot videos, and confusion around social media specs. By grounding our design decisions in these user voices, I was able to advocate for features like automated editing, templated visuals, consistent branding outputs, and simplified social-ready exports. This human-first lens ensured the product spoke directly to agents’ lived pain points, not assumptions.
TimeCostSelf produced videosSocial media“Open homes take all weekend. Editing videos at night is exhausting.”“Hiring a videographer is expensive.”“My videos all look different — I want a consistent look across properties.”“I understand social media is a power marketing tool, yet I just don’t have the content.”“I don’t have time to perform multiple takes to get the shots or my script right.”“It costs thousands to highly promote a listing on platforms like realestate.com.”“My videos come off unprofessional and cheesy.”“I get lost in the design and specs for images and video”“Commissioning a videographer takes too long. Even if the cost was minimal. It still wouldn’t be a viable option for every listing.”“Vendors foot the bill for marketing and promotional costs, as well as photos and floor plans.”“I’d be too self conscious to record my own videos.”“I would would utilise it more if I had more content”“Commissioning a videographer takes too long. Even if the cost was minimal. It still wouldn’t be a viable option for every listing.
Test User
Buxton Real Estate
Empathy maps
To deepen our understanding of user motivations and guide emotionally intelligent design, I created empathy maps for each of our four core personas. These visual frameworks captured what agents say, think, do, and feel around content creation. For instance, Taylor the Social-Savvy Agent is energised by engagement but overwhelmed by the constant demand to stay visible, while Linda the Listing Machine prioritises speed and simplicity, often delegating tasks and avoiding complex tools. Meanwhile, Sophie the Solo Hustler struggles with burnout, and Mark the Agency Director seeks scalable, brand-consistent solutions for his team. These maps helped align product decisions with real emotional drivers, ensuring our UX solutions addressed not just functional gaps—but also psychological and situational stressors.
Sophie the Solo Hustler
"I’m trying to do everything myself, but I’m burning out."
SAYSTHINKSDOESFEELS"I just don’t have time to edit videos."“I need to look polished and professional without hiring a videographer.”Stays up late editing videos.Overwhelmed by workload.“Social media is important, but I have no content.”“Everyone else looks more professional than me.”Experiments with Canva or Instagram reels.Self-conscious on camera.“I can’t afford a videographer for every property.”“If I don’t promote this, no one else will.”Posts listings sporadically.Anxious about consistency and branding.
Mark the Agency Director
"I need a solution that works for the whole team and keeps our brand sharp."
SAYSTHINKSDOESFEELS"Our listings look like they came from five different agents."“My team needs a simple, scalable tool.”Assigns tasks to marketing assistants.Frustrated by disjointed brand presence.“Professional videos are too expensive to do for every listing.”“Marketing costs are too much for the vendor OR they eat into our commission.”Looks for affordable tech tools.Skeptical of ‘too good to be true’ software.“Branding is everything.”“Consistency builds trust with vendors and buyers.”Encourages team to post more online.Pressured to keep up with modern marketing trends.“I just need fast, clean content for every property — no frills.”
Test User
Ray White Real Estate
Taylor the Social-Savvy Agent
"Give me tools to make good content fast so I can keep showing up online."
SAYSTHINKSDOESFEELS“I want to post every day, but it takes too long to create.”“If I don’t post, I fall off people’s feeds.”Records content between appointments.Energised by online engagement.“Video is the future of online advertising.”“The algorithm loves video — I need more of it.”Spends hours tweaking captions, transitions, and thumbnails.Drained by constant need to stay visible.“I want to be seen as the go-to local agent.”“I could grow faster if I had a content system.”Checks metrics and insights often.Excited but time-poor.
Linda the Listing Machine
"I don’t want to mess around. I just need a video that works."
SAYSTHINKSDOESFEELS“I’ve got 7 listings to launch this week — make it quick.”“I don’t want to learn new software.”Delegates content creation when possible.Relieved when things just work.“I don’t have time to deal with videographers.”“Efficiency is everything.”Uploads basic content to portals.Irritated by overly complex tools.“Just give me something clean and professional.”“Simplicity matters more than creativity.”Avoids social media outside of property posts.Disengaged with newer platforms like TikTok.Data gathering
To mark out out playing field in regards to 'cost' and being 'social media friendly', some data gathering was necessary .
- CategoryInstagram ReelsFacebook ReelsAspect Ratio / Size9:16 (Vertical) — 1080 × 1920 pixels9:16 (Vertical) — 1080 × 1920 pixelsVideo LengthUp to 90 secondsUp to 90 seconds (some accounts may be limited to 60 seconds)File Format.MP4 or .MOV.MP4 or .MOVResolutionMinimum 1080 × 1920Minimum 1080 × 1920Frame RateMinimum 30 FPS recommendedMinimum 30 FPS recommendedPage 1 of 2
- ZoneRecommendationTop 250pxAvoid placing text/logos here – this area is often overlaid with username + iconsBottom 250pxAvoid important visuals/captions – UI overlays like likes, comments, shares appearCentre Safe ZoneUse the centre 1080 x 1420 px for all key messaging, calls-to-action, and brandingLeft/Right MarginsKeep important elements away from edges (some devices may crop slightly)
- TypeAverage Cost (AUD)Basic Property Video~$500Mid-Tier / Premium Video~$1,200High-End / Luxury Video~$3,000
- Add-OnAverage Cost (AUD)Drone Footage~$250Voiceover~$200Scriptwriting~$300Twilight Shoot~$200Social Media Edits~$150
Major Findings from the research
Time and Cost Constraints Are Universal Pain Points
Agents across all roles and experience levels struggle with the time-consuming nature of video production and the high cost of hiring videographers—making professional-quality content inaccessible for every listing.
Self-Produced Content Lacks Consistency and Confidence
Many agents feel their DIY videos are unprofessional, inconsistent, and make them feel self-conscious, leading to sporadic posting and reduced content quality across listings.
There’s High Demand for Fast, Simple, and Scalable Video Tools
Agents want an easy-to-use solution that delivers clean, branded, and social-ready videos with minimal input—tailored to different tech comfort levels, content needs, and team sizes.
A competitor analysis was conducted to evaluate strengths, weaknesses, and gaps across similar products in the market. This informed our strategy by highlighting opportunities for differentiation and ensuring our design offered unique value to users.
Competitor analysisAnimotoCreatifyVeedFlikiVideographerCost$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$Image to video✅✅✅🚫🚫Real Estate Industry specific🚫🚫🚫🚫UI cognitive loadHighHighHighHighN/ALearning curveMediumHighHighHighN/ATurn around timeLowMediumHighHighHighSocial media ready🚫🚫🚫🚫✅Custom fonts✅🚫🚫✅✅Summary
Our analysis compared five video creation tools: Animoto, Creatify, Veed, Fliki, and hiring a traditional videographer. While tools like Animoto and Fliki offer affordable pricing ($), others like Creatify and Veed are more expensive ($$$), and hiring a videographer remains the most costly option ($$$$$).
None of the platforms analysed are specifically tailored for the real estate industry, highlighting a clear market gap and opportunity for industry-focused solutions.
In terms of ease of use, all existing platforms presented high cognitive load and steep learning curves, suggesting that users—particularly real estate professionals—may struggle with adoption without prior video editing experience.
Customisation varies: only Animoto, Fliki, and Videographer options offer custom font support, while Creatify and Veed lack this flexibility. Social media readiness is also limited, with only the Videographer route offering content prepped for platforms like Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook.
This analysis reveals an opportunity to develop an affordable, real estate-specific video tool that’s easy to use, social media-ready, and offers customisation options without overwhelming the user.
Alongside rapid sketching and designing with a Bootstrap UI Kit to streamline wire-framing, I developed task and user flow diagrams to clearly map the key interactions and decision points. I focused on creating a clean, guided experience that reduced complexity while preserving essential control—ensuring users felt confident navigating a broad range of options without being overwhelmed. Additionally, I researched industry design patterns and data specific to video and overlay layouts to inform the structure, hierarchy, and usability of the interface and the video.
Inspiration
I drew inspiration from products like WeTransfer and Opus, both of which demonstrate a refined approach to layout—clean, contained, and thoughtfully minimal. Their effective use of space not only enhances user focus but also supports intuitive onboarding and a reduced learning curve.
Task flow diagram
I adopted task flow diagrams as a core part of my UX process because they help me focus on the most essential element of product design: the user’s goal. By mapping out each step required to complete a specific task, I can quickly identify friction points, streamline user interactions, and ensure that every screen and decision supports a clear, intuitive path.
Overlay research
To ensure a successful video output, I conducted research to define precise overlay dimensions that aligned with platform-specific safe zones and avoided conflicts with native app UI elements. In parallel, I explored the types of contextual data most valuable to users, guiding the design of overlays that are both informative and non-intrusive.
User flow diagram – (first iteration)
I use user flow diagrams to visualise the full range of paths a user might take through a product, including decision points and alternative routes. This methodology helps me design with greater clarity and intention, ensuring that no matter how users navigate, they encounter a coherent and intuitive experience. I can align cross-functional teams and reduce friction before any UI is built.
* Use the dropdown in the iframe below to view the above diagrams,
To validate our hypothesis, I planned, conducted, and analysed usability testing sessions with eight participants from the Real Estate industry. Participants engaged with a prototype focused on the core flows and functionality of a new user's first video creation experience. Following the sessions, I synthesised the findings, identifying both key insights and broader patterns when cross-referenced against key user personas.
Journey map
As part of usability testing, I developed a detailed journey map to capture user sentiment, pain points, and opportunities across key stages of the product experience. The analysis revealed friction during the property data input and video selection phases, where fragmented flows and hidden controls led to confusion and reduced confidence. Users also expressed uncertainty around overlay layouts and a clear desire for social sharing capabilities post-download.
These findings uncovered several actionable opportunities: streamlining form inputs into a single, cohesive view, surfacing key actions like "Save & Edit," and integrating layout previews that reflect platform-specific safe zones. Additionally, enabling direct sharing from the profile view emerged as a valuable feature to improve the end-to-end experience and drive engagement.
User flow diagram – (final)
I produced a follow up to the initial user flow to show the changes to the data input path as indicated as a pain point by our test cases.
Solution
AI Shorts was designed as a direct response to the recurring frustrations faced by real estate agents across experience levels, tech comfort, and content needs. From solo agents burning out on DIY videos to agency directors struggling with brand consistency, the product targets four major pain areas: time, cost, branding inconsistency, and social media overwhelm.
Rather than forcing users into complex editing tools or high-cost videography, AI Shorts offers a plug-and-play desktop app that transforms property listing data into polished, on-brand videos in minutes. Features like AI-generated voiceovers, animated transitions, branded templates, and auto-captioning allow agents to create content that looks professional—without needing technical expertise or spending hours on production.
This solution:
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Saves time by eliminating manual editing and retakes
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Cuts cost by removing the need for videographers or freelancers
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Delivers consistency through reusable branded templates and layouts
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Simplifies social content creation with auto-formatted exports for Reels, Stories, and more
By addressing these pain points head-on, AI Shorts empowers agents to promote listings faster, grow their personal brand online, and maintain visual professionalism at scale. Whether you're a tech-savvy social media agent or a high-volume listing machine, the tool adapts to your workflow—boosting efficiency without sacrificing quality.
Take Aways
AI, whilst full of potential, needs to be guided when used for specific applications.
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AI is powerful, but must be guided to be effective
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UX in AI requires creating structure and limiting chaos
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Feedback & control build trust in automation
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Stepped flows can add cognitive load
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Limiting design decisions for the user can lead to better, faster results.
Colophon
Design & code by Luke Syrylo
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