PROJECT OVERVIEW

Objective 

How can we meet users' needs while also supporting sustainable shopping?

Solution

Making an app where users can share unworn clothes with each other

Role 

User Research
User testing
Prototyping
UX documentation

Duration 

8 Weeks

Tools 

Miro
Figma
Adobe Creative Suite

DEFINE PROBLEM

Project Background #01

This project started with my experience of working as a visual merchandiser. I noticed the large amount of waste in fashion—both money and clothing. This led me to consider 'fast fashion' and its rapid, trendy, affordable garments. This idea came to me: a 'clothing swap' to make shopping more unique and thoughtful.

Project Background #02

According to United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP),

- The world produces 92 million tons of textile waste every year.
- Between 80 and 100 billion new clothing garments are produced globally every year.
- 87% of the materials and fibers used to make clothing will end up in either incinerators or landfills.
- Only 1% of clothes will get recycled into new garments.

Fast fashion leads to labor exploitation, such as child labor, resulting in:

- Low wages and harsh working conditions
- Disruption of education
- Violation of worker’s right
- Physical, mental, and sexual abuse

Fast Fashion Trends Awareness

Many fashion brands already in the market seem to be aware of these issues and are taking various actions, such as campaigns, to address them. This has become a trend in the fashion industry.

H&M Conscious is a project by H&M aimed at promoting sustainability and responsible practices in fashion. It includes various initiatives like using sustainable materials, recycling programs, and sustainable fashion collections.

H&M Conscious is H&M's way of dealing with environmental and ethical problems from fast fashion and promoting more sustainable practices in the fashion industry.



Nike, a well-known sports clothing and shoe brand worldwide, is making big efforts to be more eco-friendly.

Nike's efforts to be more sustainable show they care about the environment, treat workers fairly, and help communities. They want to make the fashion and sports industry more responsible and eco-friendly.



USER INTERVIEW

I conducted interviews with a total of five individuals in my vicinity, with each interview lasting approximately 20 minutes and conducted either through video calls or face-to-face meetings.

The questions primarily revolved around their basic shopping habits and their background knowledge regarding fast fashion.

Interview Questions

Interview Results

Competitive Analysis

While looking into existing brands in the market to design services more for users, I also conducted competitive analysis to specify areas for improvement. The reason I chose these three companies for competitive analysis among the diverse second-hand thrift shops and eco-friendly shopping services currently in the market is that they each exhibit distinct characteristics and market positions.

Poshmark

One of the pioneers in the online thrift shop industry and is the most well-known, making it highly accessible even to those who might not be familiar with it.

Depop

Primarily made up of young and fashion-forward individuals.
It also offers a social and interactive experience. Users can follow, like, comment on, and message each other, creating a sense of community and personal interaction.

H&M Rewear

Benefits from the support and infrastructure of the H&M Group, optimizing its sales and logistics network and offering sustainable products to consumers at competitive prices.

IDEATION

Empathy Map

Based on the previously created persona, I have concretized the user's experiences through an empathy map.

User Personas

This product has two target user groups, 'buyers' and 'sellers.' So I've created two personas for each user group.

How It Works

Building upon the earlier ideation phase, I defined a concrete direction for the service and aimed to implement a new format of an online thrift shop through the outlined process below.

User Journey

Building upon the virtual personas previously established, I created the flows that users, specifically from the buyer's perspective, would experience while interacting with the service.

VALIDATION

Low-fidelity Wireframe

Mid-fidelity Prototype

View Mid-fi Prototype  ➔

User Testing

I did conducted usability test with 5 particifants with the prototype to understand users' pain points.

FINAL HI-FIDELITY DESIGN

Onboarding

Swap Style

Explore #1

Explore #2

View Hi-fi Prototype  ➔

RESPONSIVE DESIGN

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• From user feedback, I realized that some users initially found the service hard to understand. This led me to redesign it with a more user-friendly approach. For example, I ensured consistency between the website and mobile app so users could easily navigate and understand.
  
• I realized how crucial a design system is for ensuring smooth communication with developers, establishing a clear brand identity, and avoiding user confusion. Even small pixel-level inconsistencies can lead to errors when passed on to developers, so I developed a systematic design system to ensure that all designs are consistent.

NEXT STEPS

• Develop a personalized recommendation to enhance user engagement by creating a design focused on the seller persona.
• Update designs based on real user data in an iterative manner.
• Explore opportunities to extend the product to engage more users by adding more micro-interaction design and motion graphics.