Oivan - Sakani Platform - Design-Led Digital Transformation of Saudi Arabia's Housing Sector

Sakani Platform – Design-Led Digital Transformation of Saudi Arabia’s Housing Sector

Since 2017, Oivan has been the strategic partner for National Housing Company and NHC Innovation. In addition to providing technical excellence, Oivan’s experts have been deeply involved in service and UX/UI design of Sakani. This 8+ year partnership has transformed how millions of Saudi families access housing, supporting the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goals.

Case Study Highlights

Client

NHC Innovation

Year(s)

2017 - present

Service

Digital Architecture, Digital Service Design, Platform Development, Web and Mobile App Development

Introduction

Since 2017, Oivan has been the strategic partner for National Housing Company (NHC) and NHC Innovation (NHCI) facilitating the digital transformation of Saudi Arabia’s housing sector. In addition to technical excellence, Oivan’s experts have been deeply involved in service and UX/UI design of Sakani. This 8+ year partnership has transformed how millions of Saudi families access housing, supporting the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goals.

Client

NHC and its technology arm, NHC Innovation, are key players in Saudi Arabia’s real estate and residential sectors. NHCI drives digital transformation for initiatives of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MOMAH) and NHC, operating critical platforms that serve millions of citizens.

Challenge

When Oivan’s partnership with NHC began in 2017, around 1.6 million Saudi nationals were on waiting lists for government housing programs. The challenge was to create a digital experience that would:

Build trust for life’s biggest decision – Buying a home requires human reassurance, not just digital convenience
Simplify complexity – Transform complex government processes spanning multiple institutions into intuitive user journeys
Serve diverse users – Create tailored experiences for homebuyers, developers, brokers, and financial institutions
Establish design culture – Help stakeholders understand that design is as essential as business needs

Solution

Oivan assembled a multicultural design team from the UK, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Finland, and Brazil, with local designers based in Riyadh providing cultural insight and international experts delivering world-class practices.

Service Design & User Research

Our service design team conducted extensive research including:

In-depth interviews with prospective homebuyers, stakeholders, and business owners
User persona development and journey mapping across digital and physical touchpoints
Data analysis to identify pain points and opportunities

Key Insight: Users needed reassurance throughout their journey – buying a home is emotional, not just transactional. The purchase journey would start online but often required human interaction at showrooms.

Design Principles

Every design decision was guided by:

Clarity over complexity – Simplifying government processes into intuitive flows
Trust and transparency – Clear communication at every step
Cultural sensitivity – Respecting local norms and expectations
Accessibility – Designing for diverse users including those with limited digital literacy

Key Design Deliverables

End-to-End User Experience:

Innovative property search with map-based interface allowing users to draw outlines around areas of interest
Multi-step application flows with clear progress indicators and contextual help
Eligibility checking and booking interfaces simplifying complex government processes
Role-specific dashboards for homebuyers, developers, brokers, and financial institutions
Mobile-first design for iOS and Android with touch-optimized interfaces

Visual Design & Brand Expression

Modern, trustworthy visual identity balancing government credibility with digital innovation
Comprehensive design language including color systems, typography, iconography (200+ custom icons)
Bilingual design – A unique challenge handling both LTR and RTL reading orders, requiring complete component sets in both directions while maintaining design integrity
Pixel-perfect UI designs with micro-interactions enhancing usability and delight

Oryx Design System

As the Sakani platform grew, Oivan developed Oryx, a comprehensive design system ensuring consistency and scalability:

Complete UI kit in Figma with 50+ reusable components (buttons, forms, cards, modals, navigation, data tables)
Pattern library for common interactions (search, filtering, forms, dashboards)
Icon builder grid and library
Typography and color systems with accessibility guidelines
Comprehensive documentation and onboarding materials

Benefits of the custom-built design system:

Consistency – Unified experience across all platforms
Efficiency – Faster design and development with reusable components
Scalability – Easy platform extension with new features
Quality – Reduced errors and improved collaboration

Design Culture Transformation:

Beyond the platform, Oivan helped establish design as a strategic function within NHCI, demonstrating the ROI of investing in quality design and building internal design capabilities through knowledge transfer.