It all started when my friend Judy said
This came as a result of Judy trying to find a black dress she saw someone wore on social media that did not have any brand tags. This topic of finding clothing sources resurfaces quite often during our conversations and it really sparked an interest in me.
From talking to her, some more friends and analyzing the situation, I was able to identify 2 main issues that needed to be solved:
With this information, I started to wonder if there is any existing apps that has successfully solve the 2 issues and through some digging, I found 4 notable apps. All of them shared very similar functionalities and did a good job at solving the first problem. However, none was able to offer a solution for the second.
The target users are identified as social media consumers, especially the younger demographic, but with deeper research, another important target emerged, which are content creators and influencers. There is some overlap for both groups in terms of motivations that drive their needs and frustrations, so I combined these 2 user groups into 1 persona.
Because the 2 frustrations aligned with the previously stated problems, I decided to focus on 3 main features that could potentially solve these issues:
1. Outfit Lookup to find clothing sources faster.
2. Scan Label to allow filling in item details automatically.
3. Reward System to incentivize citing clothing sources.
Once the crucial features were laid out, I started putting together the sitemap and how all of these features would be linked. My original plan was to have 4 tabs (Feed, Search, Post and Profile) branching off in the main navigation. However, after making considerations on how users needed a fast way to see how many points they have and use the redeemed points easily, I decided to include the Reward System as the fifth tab. I also decided to combine the Search tab and the Outfit Lookup feature together seeing as both served the same function and provided similar solutions for users.
Since the 3 main features were included as solutions to users’ frustrations, out of all the interactions to explore, I prioritized figuring out how users would utilize those features to complete 3 important tasks: searching for outfits source, tagging / posting outfit pictures and redeeming points for rewards.
To encourage people to write down their sources and try out the Scan Label feature, I decided that in order to post an image, users would have to tag at least 1 item in their image.
I created several sketches to see how I can present clothing information to users in a familiar and logical way, experiment with different layouts for the search screen and explore how the post features will look.
After choosing the best options out of the low-fidelity wireframes, I cleaned up the design and layout and added more details on these key screens.
I wanted to create an appealing, engaging and eye-catching brand for younger adults, especially women. To achieve this goal, I incorporated a bright and trendy palette of maroon red and pink, accompanied by a contrasting orange. I paired the eye-catching typeface Gyst with the simple font Utile to create a clean and pleasing typography.
With all the background work done, I applied the new branding to the wireframes and produced these high fidelity prototypes to present for user feedback and usability testing.
Outfit Lookup is a feature that allows users to find where clothing pieces come from by uploading images of outfits and letting the app find the closest match to the items in the picture.
Users who wants to tag where their outfit comes from can take advantage of the Scan Label feature. This feature simply scans the clothing tag and automatically adds in the details, helping users save time and energy from having to manually fill in item information.
Once users are done tagging an item and posting their image, they will receive points that can be accumulated and redeemed for discounts. Redeemed rewards will appear under "Your Rewards" tab and can be used in other online shopping apps.
I tested out the prototype on 5 different users, both male and female, who had varying degrees of interest in fashion and mostly identified as very confident at using apps. The test was carried out virtually by allowing users to read background information on the app before letting them test out the prototype and answering usability questions after.
Overall, all 5 users were able to navigate through the app and complete their task using the features included. However, some users added comments about improvements, like including item price or increasing the font size for more readability. One notable comment wanted clarification on the Scan Label function because it felt unclear. Specifically about whether or not after scanning, the info will be filled out or the app just recognizes the label and more actions need to be made from the user.
After compiling the feedbacks, I applied some changes to the prototypes.
The scanning label process ends abruptly since there is no notification that informs users if the info has been filled out, making it hard for users to follow.
Another screen is added after the label is scanned, asking users to confirm if the info is correct, ensuring that users are aware of the progression between each screen.
This project is still a work in progress and if I had more time, I would love to do another round of usability testing on the improved prototype. One thing I want to do differently next time is to carry out the usability test with a better method, one that would allow me to see challenges users face as they complete tasks and identify pain points in real time.
In the end, I still had so much fun working on this project and really enjoyed the process of creating an app on a topic that me and my friends are so passionate about.
