The case of an avid online shopper…with one body and too many clothes…and then earth died.
By: Soo Yin Tang
Tags: Ui Ux Design, UX

1. OVERVIEW

a. The problem : The savvy millenial female user, Van, has bought online and accumulated many pieces of fast clothes over time and these are now taking up too much space in her room and her wardrobe. At the same time, Van gets bored with her collection of clothes. She is part of the workforce that comprises a large majority of working millennial who is becoming conscientious about her social and environmental impact arising from her love for fast fashion. As she begins to understand and appreciate the value of her actions, she would also like to generate a source of serious cash and passive income from her collection of fast clothes whilst still keeping her main job. She would also like to play an active role in making an impact on the environment

The millenial user, Van is also aware and notes that there are already many apps available that supports the selling of fast clothes. She would like to have an online platform that would help her to push out her clothes into the marketplace and be snapped up in the shortest time possible to generate income.

There are already many available online sites for transactions of clothes such as thredUP, eBay, Tradesy, Poshmark, Preloved, Facebook Marketplace, Depop, Rebelle and Carousell. There will be a need to differentiate our new apps from existing online apps such as Carousell through differentiated and distinct brand identity and content.

b. The solution : After being recommended as a UX team to the client, we were requested to design an online apps to facilitate buying and selling of fast clothes. Our approach was to find out the user’s needs through Empathy Map (illustration 1). With the data, we will use Affinity Map (Illustration 2a & b) to analyse the data, gain ideas and insights into the user’s (millenial) needs. the Value Proposition Canvas (illustration 3)helps the UX team to create value for the user, benefits the user when and why they use our products and services. The customer journey mapping (illustration 4)was done to understand the pain points and experience of the Carousell user.

c. My role : My focus is on the user experience (UX) research and UX/UI design of the product.

2. UNDERSTAND

a. User Interviews Analysis: Understanding the user and their needs is a key focus for the UX team as human-centered design approach is our core strategic philosophy. 7 out of 10 customers do not care about newly launched products and services because 72% of these products and services fail to deliver on expectations. Our UX team has undertaken to understand our users through illustrated below-

Empathy Map Affinity Map Value Proposition Canvas Customer Journey Map

Illustration 1: Empathy Map of User Insghts

Illustration 2a — Affinity Map showing facts and statistics of Millenial’s behaviour using Carousell.

Illustration 2b — Affinity Map showing observations and Millenial’s responses using Carousell.

Illustration 3: Value Proposition Canvas that creates values for the millenial user of Carousell.

Illustration 4 : Customer Journey Mapping of millenial who sells her fast clothes on Carousell

Illustration 5 : Prioritisation Matrix

From the insights derived from the above user interviews analysis methods, the issues that the user is facing are -

Issue 1 — Lack of quality control in the type of clothings being sold on Carousell Marketplace Issue 2 — Van’s needs are to dispose her fast clothes for some passive income streams and at the same time, do good to the community and environment. Issue 3 — Lack of reward or loyalty contents in Carousell.

b. USER NEEDS

Van needs a way to get rid of her clothes through Girly Van Apps because she is finding her identity.

3. IDEATE

Ideation using Crazy 8s

a. Idea evaluation and refinement

Iteration of 3 Frames

b. Discovering and defining my brand identity and personality

Option 1 — Structure of UI components

Option 2— Earthy tones

Option 3 — Final Mood Board and Brand Personality

4. PROTOTYPE

a. Task Flow (3 frames)

b. Wire Flow

Flow of actions and tasks across 3 frames

c. UI Style Guide

Style Guide for Girly Van Apps

d. Actual UI Design Process

(i) Design Principles

One of the design principles used is Visual Hierarchy through the use of colorful fonts, size of buttons and fonts as call to action.

Another design principle that is used is Eye Scan which is strictly top to bottom scanning pattern.

Using the Proximity under Gestalt Principle to reinforce the elements on the first frame as a group.

Proximity in UI principles of Girly Van Apps

(ii) Design Iteration

Initial UI Design of Girly Van Apps

Progress of Girly Van Apps.

5. TEST

Light testing was done and the following feedback and issues were provided -

(i) Appearance of fonts is too small on mobile device, therefore affecting call-to-action.

(ii) Heighten the visual hierarchy of text versus image to know which supports the other to solicit and nudge responsive call-to-action behaviours.

(iii) Rewards icon is a welcome relief compared to Carousell apps.

(iv) Save the earth community icon and function is not obvious. This feature will help differentiate and distinguish Girly Van apps from Carousell apps. This helps to reiterate the research insight that the user, like majority of millenials, would actively look for changes they can make in their home and lifestyle to be greener.

6. ITERATION AND RETROSPECTIVE

An area of further iteration and development would be the Save the Earth feature and how it can be tied back to the sales of clothes on the apps. Based on the feedback from the user of the Girly Van Apps, the following were made -

(i) I edited and changed the size of the fonts for a more effective call-to-action. Added the icons for chat and home page.

(ii) I enhanced the Save the earth icon and added an overlay that further develops the call-to-action

Save the Earth overlay to reinforce brand identity of Girly Van

(b) Summary Reflection

The UX research has surfaced important insights into the mindset and behaviour of millenials towards their environment and lifestyle. As they comprise a majority of our workforce, it is pertinent to uncover their needs, desires and expectations of products and services that would help them progress in their lives and enhance their lifestyle.

Van is represents the typical millenial whose love for clothes would not be rescinding anytime soon. At the same time, Van is deeply concerned about the environment. This project has developed the apps solution to help Van sell her clothes fast and also help to protect and save the earth. Thus, Van would have a deep purpose in her life with her value-adding actions and behaviour.

LINK TO FIGMA

APPS in GIF