8 in 10 Singaporeans will buy an apartment from HDB at some point in their lives. This usually happens at major milestones like marriage, starting a family and upgrading to a larger home. The current flat purchasing experience is efficient and systematic, but also transactional and impersonal.

HDB approached OXD to create a new user-centric experience for customers and a more empowering workplace for staff, to be derived by understanding the needs of HDB’s staff and customers. This included integrating services, communications strategy and interior design to support a new streamlined process and craft a multi-faceted solution.

The new flat purchasing experience is designed to meet customers’ underlying needs for greater clarity, privacy, assurance and personalisation that is “relational in nature and celebrates each customer’s aspiration to buy a home.” It also addresses staff’s needs for greater connectedness, empowerment and privacy so as to “create a workplace environment and culture that promotes care and inclusiveness among staff.” The new experience is personable and assuring, and celebrates the customers’ aspirations and dreams. It is about “bringing the HDB heartlands back into HDB Hub”.