ecowear
Sustainable shopping you can trust.
Ecowear (Concept)
Client
User Researcher, UX/UI Design, Interaction Design
My Role
May-June 2023 (80 Hours)
Timeline
Figma, Maze, Google Form, Pitch, Google Meet
Tools
The Problem
Seeking out sustainably made clothing is getting increasingly more challenging due to consumers having to decipher if brands are greenwashing or misrepresenting their sustainability practices. Consumers are typically left trying to figure out which brands are sustainable by word of mouth or extensive research and therefore less likely to end up shopping sustainably.
The Solution
By pre-vetting sustainable brands and effectively showcasing them on an streamlined platform, consumers can easily get the information they want on sustainable practices and rest assured that their purchases are sustainable.
Research
Competitive Analysis
User Surveys
User Interviews
Competitive Analysis
How are clothing brands communicating their sustainability practices? Where are comparative sites falling short and how can Ecowear fill those gaps?
User Surveys & Interviews
It was important to determine current consumers experience shopping sustainably and asses if my problem hypothesis was correct: are people considering sustainability when shopping and running into roadblocks? A survey and series of interviews would help me determine that.
Define
Affinity Mapping
User Personas
Affinity Mapping
After concluding three user interviews and receiving survey results from 13 participants, I was able to identify reoccurring themes and discover important pain points.
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Atheistically pleasing sites and clear pricing, material & sizing guides.
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Lack of listed information and/or transparency. Users don’t know how to confirm a sustainable brands validity.
User Personas
After synthesizing information collected from the user interviews, surveys and creating my affinity map, I was able to use those findings to create user personas to help guide the direction of my design:
So What’s The Problem?
Users are willing to shop sustainably, but they are missing key information: It is unclear how to verify sustainable brands and information on sustainable practices are not often presented in a palatable fashion.
Ideate
Site Mapping
User & Task Flows
Wireframes
Site Mapping, User & Task Flows
When creating the informational architecture, it was important that the pathways were simple and the menu didn’t overwhelm the user with too many options as some ecommerce apps have a tendency to do. It was also integral to me that ecowear was an inclusive space for people who identify outside of male/female binary so I began reflecting that in the informational architecture.
Mid Fidelity Wireframes
When creating my mid-fidelity wireframes I focused on keeping the text and content minimal in order to better highlight the products being sold. I also included the mission statement, information on sustainability and impact in the sign-up process so the purpose of the app is clear from the jump.
Onboarding
Shopping Details
UI Elements
When it came time to decide on UI elements, I gathered inspiration from other clothing apps that showcased streamlined shopping experiences while also taking into consideration the values of Ecowear and how that might be represented through the UI.
High Fidelity Wireframes
Following some iterations to my mid-fidelity wireframes, I incorporated my UI components to create these designs. The biggest adjustment was to the mission, sustainability and impact statements that would now act as a “story flow” so users could engage or go right into signing in/up as opposed to being forced to read the statements in order to gain access.
Test & Finalize
Protoypes
Usability Testing
Final Designs
Prototypes & Usability Testing
After creating those key high fidelity screens, I conducted 23 unmoderated usability tests to ensure the mission of the Ecowear was clear and surfing the app was an easy and pleasant experience.
After concluding usability tests and synthesizing feedback, I decided to make the following changes:
Sustainability Icons
To ensure it remained clear what the mission and purpose of Ecowear is, I added the sustainability icons to the “shop all” product page so users can make informed choices on not only product and price, but sustainable practices too.
Landing Page Text Adjustment, Accessibility & Slide Transition
Some participants were confused by the inclusion of a blank landing page and expressed wanting the mission and sustainability information presented right away.
Adjustments were made on the landing page “story” animation so users did not have difficulty clicking the sign-up or login button as the screens changed.
Minor adjustments were made to ensure accessibility with the text on certain landing page images.
Final Designs
Following feedback and recognizing final iterations that needed to be made, I arrived at these final designs.
Next Steps
I am very proud of the MVP I delivered for ecowear but I continue to have many ideas that would enhance the user experience if given the time and resources:
Add a feature that allows users to upload secondhand clothing items to further the mission of sustainability.
Include an option for users to make a one time purchase of a “give back bag” that they can fill up with unwanted clothing and ecowear will pick it up to donate or upcycle the materials.
Continue to explore inclusive language and products for users that do not identify within the gender binary.
