## 1 Introduction  
This paper presents the different phases of the design process of an efficient and usability tested e-marketplace platform aiming to find out how digital design may contribute to bring crafts producers and consumers closer together. Traditional industries in Portugal embody its History and Culture, with a particular focus in rural areas. However, these ancient techniques, traditions, and industrial practices are disappearing due to reasons such as a lack of means and resources, an apparent lack of interest from new generations, and poor use of the digital communication and dissemination tools [1]. This niche has made slower progress in embracing the opportunities of the digital world through web-based channels, \"compromising livelihoods, devaluing identities and legacies, and nullifying specialised knowledge at times built upon centuries of dedicated practice\" [2]. The isolation of these communities has intensified with the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, since the commerce of handicraft products tends to be highly dependent on tourism in Portuguese territory. Lockdown, as well as the range of imposed local and global restrictions, have affected tourism and consequently aggravated the precariousness of the handicraft industry, making an adoption of digital and global dissemination tools even more relevant and urgent. Through the creation of an online platform, the present research project aims at connecting craft industry with a global audience, including younger generations, thus contributing to an increase in interest, employment, and improvement of the quality of life of the Portuguese artisans [3]. According to a report by National Craft Registry, there are 4414 registered artisans in Portugal in 2020, 28.6% of which are concentrated Northern Portugal [4]. The current predominant transaction process relies on the physical interaction between the buyer and seller in stores, studios, workshops, and local fairs, as well as word-of-mouth marketing [5]. Through the various testimonies we have obtained through contact with some of these artisans, we have found that they have suffered a progressive downfall in sales of their products, probably due to the current market shifts [1]. The present research therefore arises from the evidence that traditional craft trades in Portugal face difficulties in adapting to new digital technologies. Adapting this traditional craft industry to the advantages of the Internet, particularly network communication and global trade, is proving to be an urgent task [6; 7]. However, this adaptation--of vital importance for the sustainability of the craft trade--must be carried out in ways that neither adulterate nor discredit the root identities of Portuguese handcraft production, nor disrupt its workflows. With this in mind, an online platform was designed and will be implemented to allow crafts communities to present and sell their products to a global audience, thus significantly broadening their market base [8]. In this regard, this project seeks to distance itself from other contemporary attempts to help craftmanship by re-shaping their original characteristics with the aim to modernize their systems using new technologies [9]. Its core purpose instead resonates with the UNESCO statement in the \"Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage\", in 2003:  
\"Any efforts to safeguard traditional craftsmanship must not focus on preserving craft objects--no matter how beautiful, precious, rare or important they might be--but on creating conditions that will encourage artisans to continue to produce crafts of all kinds to transmit their skills and knowledge to others [10].\"  
This project created a website that further displays and disseminates the Portuguese craft practices. It aims to respond to this gap between Portuguese crafts and the current digital setting of global communication, by creating a community-based online platform where artisans can sell their handcrafted products, with a business model initially based on transaction fees.