Product Web-based SaaS Platform
Roles Product Manager, UX/UI Designer, Art Director
Roles Product Manager, UX/UI Designer, Art Director
Timeline Concept to launch over 4 years (iterative phases)
Industry Design/Image Production, Real Estate and Construction.
Industry Design/Image Production, Real Estate and Construction.
Outcome
A scalable virtual staging platform designed to reduce turnaround time, simplify ordering, and support both high-volume professionals anddetail-oriented final clients.
>> heads up <<
If your schedule is tight, you can download a shorter version as pdf in the link below.
Download Bella Virtual Design Case Study
Download Bella Virtual Design Case Study
Bella Context & Background
In real estate and interior design, presentation is everything—but traditional staging and traditional 3d rendering for mid level construction presentation is slow, expensive, and complicated. Virtual staging offered a solution, yet most tools fell short: some delivered stunning visuals but created messy workflows with so many design requirements, while others were efficient but creatively limited with poor design templates.
Bella Virtual Staging was born in 2018 initially to help realtor to get their first click in online listings and outgrew in 2020 due Covid and growth of online real estate and real estate virtual tours. It started with one Operations Manager receiving North American orders through Shopify, collecting photos through Dropbox, talking to real estate professionals by email and phone, sending detailed built orders to 3d designers all over the world, performing QA and ensuring the clients get stunning results building trust in the real estate market.
In 2021, with the slogan "Bella sells your listing faster with 24hs turn-around time and unlimited revisions", Bella had a consolidated list of big real estate agents, producing more than 40.000 images per year, helping to sell more the 2 billion dollars in real estate. Bella owners, who already built and launched another video editing management platform called Insights.gg, decided to escalate the business and start to look at Bella Virtual as a real estate hub, to accommodate the service user flow envisioning the real estate boom.
Hired as an UI/UX graduated from Langara College, I helped shape a platform that transforms how designers, realtors and home owners collaborate. By combining intuitive and structured workflow, the platform turns a complex, fragmented process into a seamless experience. It helps operations team to handle tight deadlines, intricate client requirements, and contract-based work: all while maintaining the creative quality that makes Bella a global leader in virtual staging.
Bella Staging Web Platform - Client Interface 2021
Bella Virtual Shopify Integration - Client Interface 2026
The business Problems
Business guidelines received at the beginning of project from stakeholders and of course influences by the largest clients.
Professionals needed a solution that:
Professionals needed a solution that:
Delivers high-end visuals reducing back-and-forth communication and manual processes
(Gmail communication, manual management on Excel spreadsheet, slow Dropbox storage)
(Gmail communication, manual management on Excel spreadsheet, slow Dropbox storage)
Supports complex client expectations and revisions
(insert and storage feedback and instruction by text, audio, uploading images, screenshots and documents)
(insert and storage feedback and instruction by text, audio, uploading images, screenshots and documents)
Escalates for both individual agents and larger brokerage teams
(Simplifies the way money enters: Support different payments systems and group interactions with credits management)
(Simplifies the way money enters: Support different payments systems and group interactions with credits management)
The "Operations Team needs versus Usability" challenge:
How to balance the quantity of details operations need to deliver results fast in a way to not overwhelm users with so many details to input delaying checkout?
How to balance the quantity of details operations need to deliver results fast in a way to not overwhelm users with so many details to input delaying checkout?
the personaS Pain Points
Few points used later as guidelines, found by extensive interviews and analyzing emails, workflows, learning and participating on operations process.
Operation Manager
Obviously orders management escalation and simplification of process.
The existing process uses Shopify to manage financial side, but the image processing involves manual management of a shared spreadsheet, slow Dropbox image management and storage and Gmail.
Operation Manager
Obviously orders management escalation and simplification of process.
The existing process uses Shopify to manage financial side, but the image processing involves manual management of a shared spreadsheet, slow Dropbox image management and storage and Gmail.
Real estate Agents and/or home owners
Communication and complex revision communication. Non tech and non design clients who know what they want, would fight with notes, drafts, handmade drawings, collages, boards, screenshots and pdfs to get what they want.
Designers and 3D Artists
Communication with a variety of tools to trespass barrier languages.
Extensive requirements lists with complex details.
Communication and complex revision communication. Non tech and non design clients who know what they want, would fight with notes, drafts, handmade drawings, collages, boards, screenshots and pdfs to get what they want.
Designers and 3D Artists
Communication with a variety of tools to trespass barrier languages.
Extensive requirements lists with complex details.
Goals & Success Metrics
General User Goals
Order virtual staging quickly and confidently
Clearly communicate preferences and revisions
Receive consistent, high-quality results
General Business Goals
Reduce operational friction and manual coordination
Support scalable growth
Build trust and repeat usage
The Platform Development Journey
The project team consisted of one front-end developer and Jaque as the designer/product manager.
The design started simple with the goal of facilitate Operation Manager to handle the average of 150 order per month to 42 designers partners and manage communications and revisions between designers and clients.
The design started simple with the goal of facilitate Operation Manager to handle the average of 150 order per month to 42 designers partners and manage communications and revisions between designers and clients.
But business needs evolved rapidly. With the 2020 lockdown and real estate first big movement, Bella Virtual Staging started to become a global reference in Virtual Staging and image editing as differential that would guarantee the first click in the real estate investments workflow.
Bella Platform went through business changes through out the time, being used as only internal tool for Operations team for a while in 2023, replacing Dropbox only in the process. The platform pivoted to an integration with Shopify, where Shopify would be used to manage financial workflow and platform to manage design assets, and finally in 2025 started full integration with Shopify.
In December 2025 Bella Platform was successfully integrated to Shopify and launched in hybrid mode supporting Bella Virtual Staging business.
Virtual Staging business also started to move to another arm of Bella company called "Bella AI Catalog" which focus on upload 3d files and AI image detection feeding another kind of partnership, this time focusing on furniture companies partnership investments.
jaque's design process
My Role & Decision Scope
I led the product end-to-end, including:
Product strategy and roadmap definition
UX/UI design and interaction decisions
Brand and visual direction
Operational workflow design
Stakeholder alignment and decision-making
I worked closely with developers and production teams, translating real business needs into usable, scalable product solutions.
Research & Discovery
Research was grounded in direct experience and continuous feedback from:
- Real estate agents
- Brokers and staging professionals
- Internal production teams
Key insights included:
- Users valued clarity over customization at early stages
- Most errors came from unclear requirements, not poor visuals
- Speed and predictability were as important as aesthetic quality
- These insights shaped both feature prioritization and UX decisions.
Strategy & Approach
The core strategy was to simplify without reducing control.
Design principles:
- Make complex processes feel simple
- Guide users with structure, not instructions
- Design for repeat usage, not one-time delight
Trade-offs were carefully considered, prioritizing operational clarity over excessive visual options in early stages.
Exploration & Iteration
Early versions explored multiple flows for:
- Order creation
- Style selection
- Revision requests
Several ideas were discarded after testing revealed they increased cognitive load or slowed production. Iteration focused on removing friction, tightening language, and aligning user expectations with realistic delivery outcomes.
Some sketched diagrams of WORKFLOW concept
Final Solution
The final product includes:
- A guided order flow with clear decision points
- Structured style and room selection
- Centralized communication for revisions
- A visual system aligned with Bella’s premium brand
The UI balances professionalism and warmth, supporting trust while remaining efficient.
Few Wireframes in Detail that Illustrate UI and ux EVOLUTION
Chose a Service
Upload your Photos
Add details
Purshase
Review results and Download
Userflow considerations
1- Choose the image editing service
The MVP defined only Virtual Staging and Image editing services to be displayed at launch, but I been designing the other services such as virtual renovation and 3d rendering services which demands changes in the flow towards detailing specs and customized interior design requirements instead of annotation on plain image.
2- Upload the images to be edited
The user can upload multiple images for editing, and the system uses AI-powered room detection to automatically identify and label each space—such as living room, bedroom, or kitchen—then suggests curated design styles tailored to the detected room type and allowing adding more rooms in case of open concepts interior design.
3 – Add Style, Comments, and Submit
In addition to selecting styles from the catalog, users can provide general comments about the project and upload visual references to guide the design. For each image, they can also include specific details through annotation comments, attach additional references, and choose optional paid add-ons. This approach allows users to create highly customized photo requirements for every image—maintaining precision and flexibility without feeling overwhelming, and encouraging a smooth, intuitive discovery experience.
THE DETAILED WORKFLOW TO EXPLAIN THE BUSINESS OPERATIONAL PROCESS
Validation & Results
Post-launch observations showed:
Faster order completion
Clearer client requests
Reduced internal clarification loops
While quantitative metrics were limited in the early stages, qualitative feedback consistently highlighted the platform’s ease of use, reliability, and the confidence it gave users to manage complex virtual staging projects.
Challenges & Constraints
Balancing creative flexibility with production efficiency
Managing limited development resources
Educating users without adding friction
Designing for both first-time and power users
Adapting to changing business priorities and market timing
What I’d Do Differently
Given more time and resources, I would:
Add deeper onboarding personalization for new users
Introduce analytics dashboards to provide insights for clients
Expand accessibility and localization features earlier
Build in more proactive communication for evolving requirements
Lessons Learned & Takeaways
Bella Virtual Staging has been both an ongoing project and a formative experience in UI/UX, product development, and cross-functional collaboration. Working closely with developers and mentors in product design best practices, I learned to:
Navigate ambiguity and manage changing requirements
Balance user needs with business priorities
Collaborate effectively across design, development, and administrative teams
The project reached the stage of an almost-ready MVP, though its official launch was postponed due to strategic timing and market decisions. Through this journey, I reinforced the belief that great products are built at the intersection of clarity, empathy, and execution, and that adaptability and communication are as critical as design skill.
Next Steps
Bella Virtual Staging continues to evolve. The foundation was intentionally designed to be flexible, supporting future growth and enhancements without compromising usability or the brand’s integrity. Future iterations will focus on deepening user insights, expanding accessibility, and scaling operations efficiently.
