Background

This is a student project. I lead the entire design process, communicate with stakeholders to ensure the product meets their expectations, and help hand off work to engineers. The goal is to design a second-hand dealing product that users can experience seamlessly and willing to stick with it, after pandemic changed the user consuming habit.

Thrifter

Key Words:
C2C, E-commerce, IOS App

Role:

Deliverables

● Research results
● Prototype
● Wireframe
● Branding Package
● High-fidelity

Tools:

● Overall: 13w
● Research: 5.5w
● Design&Test: 7.5w

● User Researcher
● Prototype
● User Interface designer
● Branding designer

Timeline:

● Miro
● Figma
● Lookback
● Illustrator
● Photoshop
● Notion

Preview

My Challenge

● How to manage the client's expectation during the process, since this is a long term project?
● How can a second-hand e-commerce product satisfy users who are accustomed to both ends of the transaction?
● The pain points of existing products are various and fragmented. How to clearly define and summarize the problem statement from fragment points?‍
● Small projects often face constraints. What steps can be taken to obtain the necessary resources?

MY SOLUTION

After solving all above challenge, I delivered an App platform that offers C-to-C second-hand dealing services and optimize user experience during the dealing, which focus on 4 main function. I'm flattered by the final test results.
‍
● 80% of users think it’s very convenient to find what they want.
● 100% users think this is very convenient in booking local deal time with buyer.

The effectiveness of information flow is the Key.

● Communicate with Your sellers and your buyer about the stuff during and after the dealing
● Offer an option that ask other questions those out of the description

● Make appointments accurately
● Rudece ineffecive communication
● Free your brain from memorization through a notification system

● Communicate with friends who share the same interests
● Increase the turnover rate of your goods.

● Get the credit level of your buyer or seller clearly at a glance
● Browse other stuffs they sell or buy, know the area they focus
● Know their dealing style through the review

SECONDARY RESEARCH

In order to make design decisions as objectively as possible, I chose three research methods: secondary research based on big data, competitor research, and quality 1-on-1 interview.
‍
In a small project that lacks big data, I investigated the data of several large companies in previous years. To ensure the reliability of the data, I finally determined to use the data of Morning Consultant and GlobalData instead of directly using their reports. They all have at least 1,000 user feedbacks as data sources and the data were collected recently.

Overcome the lack of resources

Key Insights:
● Generation-Z and Millennials are the largest user groups.
● C2C sale model is the most popular.
● App on phone is a popular way
● People get used to order and online pick-up
...

Buyer required more credit for authenticity and quality

Seller need help on marketing product accurately

COMPETITOR RESEARCH

All competitors missed some information during the transactions.

Keeping the above statistics in mind, I analyzed the 3 most popular second-hand market applications around peer-to-peer transactions.
‍
While their functions and interface vary, I've still found that they're all missing some parts during the transaction experience. That would fully improve the efficiency of information exchange. This became my chance to solve the problem.

INTERVIEW

Let shy users speak out..

Our users are ashamed to say they have bought used items in normal social situations. How should I find real users for randomness?
‍
I use different app to contact people who already have a lot of experience on their profiles, and in this scenario, participants are more willing to share. I also searched for friends with moving experience, because they must have had a lot of needs to change things. Finally, 10 experienced users on second-hand trading sites were found.

Key Insights:
● Buyer hope more details, and hope to have consultation
● Buyer hope to know the seller's credit in case the scam and dealer
● Seller hope their product can be exposed to more people
● Seller hope increase the effectiveness of the communication
...

I completed a usability study with 10 participants to understand their transaction experience. I identified several pain points and their location in the overall transaction.

Method : 1-to-1 interview, Persona
Tool: Miro, Flowmap
Cluster all answer as group，summarize and classify user responses

Problem Statement

After a series of research, we clarified many questions, such as "Who are we designing for?", "What should we design?", "Where is the problem space?", etc. Finally, we got our problem statemtent:

IDEATION

Final MVP's Feature:
     1. Forum
     2. Appointment System at local deal for reminding
     3. Chatting box for better communication
     4. Seller's Profile with buyers rates

I also made statistics based on the questions collected at each stage of the research, and got a lot of pain points which located in several stage during the transaction. Next, I used "How might we" to find the corresponding solutions, and used "Complexity & Value Quandrant" to determine the final MVP.

Since the problem statement, I summarized the second-hand transaction process both from the buyer's perspective and the seller's perspective.

See Quadrant on Miro Board

The solution is start from transaction process..

Site map & SKETCH CRAZY8

Having the persona & MVP in mind, I simulate what context when Natalie encountered, combing with the transaction process, then I got the list of the pages and the order of them, I drew this down.

Implement & Iterating

WIREFRAME & ITERATING

Method: Usability test
Changes:
● Redesign the Item details pages, add more card groups, simplize the nav bar
● Add success button on the successfull pages

View Iterated Low-fidelity

View Usability Test Records

When I started figuring out "what would a THRIFTER look like?" I found its target user_the role of "Natalie" in previous stage. Having that in mind, I'm also thinking about what qualities and thought this brand trying to convey.

UI&DESIGN SYSTEM

What does this brand convey to people?
I don't want the user to feel bad buying second hand stuff. Although the product is about second hand stuff, the life attitude our users have is confident and energetic, they also trust other people.
‍
Brand’s Temperament:
Confident, Energetic, Trust, Bright, Happy

Bring Confidence to Second-hand dealing

After the careful and validated low-fidelity iteration and branding, the first high-fidelity prototype was completed very quickly. But we still invites 3 users to use it, for finding new improvments.

Test again and a New Iteration

Method: 1-to-1 recruiting
Tools: Lookback
Participant: 5

Home page Iterations:
• Move the Brand Logo away from Title Bar, add the search bar input box.
• Change the color of the inactive Navbar icon to white. Leave the Active icon blue.
Search Page Iteration:
• Add some hot keywords/hot search trends under the “Search bar”.
Item Page Iterations:
• Put the Item Name at the Top. It will remain at the top title.
• Add the share button at the top. Share button will keep floated at the top when user browsing.
• Move the Seller name from title to the item bio part. Add the seller credit at this part.
• Archive the “like button” to the bottom
• Add a send icon on the Chat with Seller.

UI&DESIGN SYSTEM

After finished whole design ,we did get some excited result from users:
‍
1. 80% of users think it’s very convenient to find what they want.
2. 100% users think this is very convenient in booking local deal time with buyer

Try it Yourself!

Users feel convenient!

FINAL SOLUTION

This is the first time I involve an App project from very beginning. It's an exciting experience that developing product from a simple idea.
‍
1. Do adequate research :I got a lot of opinions that I didn‘t expect, which allowed me to meet the real needs and pain points of users better.
‍
2. Validate the Idea in a sprint
‍After researching, I got tons of clues that seemed huge and disorganized. But we alwasy can find out the direction through step-by-step induction and analysis.

REFLECTION

Sprint it quickly. Validate it quickly.

Background

Thrifter

How did I make it?

My process

Users feel convenient!

Sprint it quickly. Validate it quickly.

Thank You for Viewing!

I also write!