Rush House Rug Designer App
A five-month sprint to transform a high-friction rug design process into a responsive web app that feels effortless for clients and sales teams.
Rush House · Responsive Web · 2024
Role: Product Design Lead & Engineer
Timeline: 5 months
What People Said
“Pure genius.”
“Amazed you could create this with zero direction or input.”
The Goal
Rush House needed a tool that simplified the deceptively complex process of designing custom rugs. The app had to reveal just the right controls at the right time so that clients felt guided, not overwhelmed.
The Challenge
- Deliver a simple interface that solves intricate rug design problems.
- Avoid the perception of complexity by progressively revealing advanced tools.
- Sync live product data without disrupting ongoing Shopify commerce workflows.
Process Highlights
Understand the Brand & Product
Immersed in Rush House’s aesthetic and production process before mapping journeys. Fresh rugs, existing collections, and customer service touchpoints all informed the experience architecture.
Map the Journey
Developed a decision tree that mirrored how customers think: start with series selection, dial in size, explore placement, then tweak layout via rearranging or rotation.
Wireframe to Prototype
Rapid iterations aligned stakeholders on look and feel before coding a proof-of-concept.
Key Solutions
Focused Toolkit + Microinteractions
Researched the most common tasks for each design tool so they felt purposeful rather than ornamental. Each gesture was choreographed—drawing walls triggers a subtle white flash, rotation snaps to aligned orientations, and undoing missteps feels instant.
Filling Gaps
Replaced tedious 1×1 placement with a paint-style tool that fills irregular spaces fast.
Pattern Orientation
Automatically matches neighboring tiles so the composition feels cohesive without manual fiddling.
Cart Syncing
We synchronized items from the design tool while respecting any of the customer's existing cart contents. Orders were optimized using bundle product offerings when available to minimize order complexity and respect the customer's price opportunities.
Results
- Shopify data changes—like disabling size options or adding new inventory—reflect instantly inside the design tool.
- Cart sync respects existing customer selections, preventing costly overrides.
- Designers and clients can collaborate through simple yet powerful drawing tools, supported by motion that communicates system feedback.
Short clips below show live data sync, paint tools, and orientation snapping in action.