EcoChic

This mobile application helps low-income consumers discover clothing aligning with their values, budget, and style, all while promoting sustainable fashion practices. It encourages clothing longevity and intentional consumerism.

Research Methodology

Market Research

I analyzed the sustainable fashion landscape through articles and social media, identifying opportunities, refining research objectives, and balancing business concerns with consumer emotions.

Competitive Analysis

To better understand how the sustainable fashion sector addresses the unique concerns of low-income consumers, I conducted a targeted competitive analysis. This research focused on a niche space where consumer-centric approaches intersect with a commitment to ethical practices.

Consumer Interviews

Consumer interviews pinpointed the pain points and shopping priorities of low-to-mid income sustainable fashion enthusiasts, aligning with my market research.

Consumer Survey

I used consumer surveys to validate interview insights with a broader audience and confirm concept viability.

Market Research: Exploring Sustainable Fashion

High-end brands are embracing sustainability, but the industry struggles with quality and ethics as it mainstreams. Currently, consumers lack mobile app guidance for sustainable purchases, and high prices make eco-friendly brands inaccessible. Existing rating systems prioritize ethics over product quality.

Sustainability Gaps

High-end fashion pursues sustainability, but falls significantly short.

Overpriced Sustainability

Companies known for quality and sustainability are often too expensive for average consumers.

Mainstream Dilution

Mainstream success often compromises brands' dedication to quality and sustainability.

Ethics-Only Ratings

User-friendly rating websites focus solely on ethics, not product quality.

Mobile App Gap

No mobile apps assess quality and ethics during the shopping experience.

Consumer Interviews

Market research on sustainable fashion revealed its inaccessibility to lower-income groups and a lack of focus on average consumers' pain points. This led me to interview low-to-mid income shoppers interested in sustainable shopping but not doing so regularly, shedding light on the industry's overlooked demographic.

6 interviews

Demographic: Low to Mid Income

Location: Online over Zoom

Duration: 30 - 45 minutes

Interview Topics

To deeply understand this demographic's behaviors and pain points, I crafted interview questions focused on their e-commerce experience with sustainable fashion. Recognizing brands as stakeholders, I included questions on attraction and retention. This led me to curate questions around six core topics for comprehensive insights.

  • Can you share your experiences with shopping in e-commerce and traditional retail spaces?

    What are the benefits you've experienced when shopping online for fashion products?

    On the flip side, can you tell me about any drawbacks you've encountered in e-commerce or traditional retail spaces?

  • What factors influence your decision to choose e-commerce over traditional retail when shopping for fashion?

    Are there specific conveniences or advantages that make you prefer online shopping?

    Have you noticed any shifts in your shopping habits towards e-commerce? If yes, what prompted these changes?

  • What challenges or difficulties do you face when engaging in e-commerce for fashion products?

    Are there specific aspects of the online shopping experience that frustrate you or that you find inconvenient?

    How do these challenges compare to any drawbacks you may have experienced in traditional retail spaces?

  • How important are brand values when making a purchasing decision for fashion items?

    Can you recall a specific instance where a brand's values influenced your decision to purchase or not purchase a product?

    Are there particular values or ethical considerations that you actively look for in the brands you choose to support?

  • Could you share with me some of the brands you tend to engage with the most in the fashion space?

    What specific values or characteristics of these brands resonate with you the most?

    Are there any common themes or values that you consistently seek in the brands you prefer?

  • In your opinion, what benefits do you think e-commerce offers that traditional retail spaces may lack?

    Conversely, are there aspects of traditional retail that you believe are better than e-commerce for fashion shopping?

    How do these perceptions influence your overall shopping preferences?

Synthesis of Consume Interviews

Analyzing interviews via affinity mapping revealed low-income consumers' need for affordable, quality sustainable fashion. This guided my focus on promoting clothing longevity and personalized purchase suggestions that align with consumers' values, concerns, and budget.

Consumer Survey

To validate interview insights on a larger scale, I crafted a comprehensive survey targeting twice the initial interviewees. While resource constraints limited responses, the survey confirmed key pain points and highlighted crucial factors for my design focus on affordability, quality, and personalized sustainable fashion aligning with consumer values.

12 Survey Responses

Demographic: Mid to Low Income

Survey Topics & Questions

Leveraging interview insights, I crafted in-depth survey questions while accommodating participant diversity. I prioritized behavioral questions with minimal write-ins to build on my existing data.

  • Where do you shop?

    How often do you shop ?

    What types of products do you usually buy?

    Have you noticed any changes in your shopping habits related to sustainability over the past few years?

    Have you noticed any changes in your shopping habits related to quality over the past few years?

  • What factors do you consider when choosing a fashion brand or product?

  • What are the main challenges or frustrations you encounter when shopping for fashion products online?

    What are the main challenges or frustrations you encounter when shopping for fashion products in traditional retail spaces?

    What, if any, specific issues or pain points you face when trying to discover sustainable and high-quality fashion brands?

  • What key factors, if any, make you loyal to certain brands?

    Can you provide examples of brands that you support?

  • Have you ever used platforms or applications that provide ratings or information on the sustainability and ethics of fashion brands?

    On a scale of 1 to 5, how interested would you be in using an application that allows an easy way for you to assess a products sustainability, ethical, and product quality rating?

    Are there any specific features or functionalities you would like to see in a mobile application designed to assess both quality and ethical practices while shopping for fashion products?

  • In your opinion, what are the advantages and disadvantages of shopping for fashion products online versus in traditional retail stores? How do these factors influence your preferences?

    Do you believe there is a gap in the market for affordable and sustainable fashion brands that offer convenient tools for evaluating quality and ethics while shopping?

Consumer Survey Responses

Consumer surveys uncovered key factors in spending habits: challenges in the e-commerce space, roadblocks to finding high-quality sustainable products, and factors contributing to brand loyalty. This uncovered the need to encourage brands to prioritize sustainability through the product design.

Consumer Survey Key Takeaways

Holistically analyzing the survey results uncovered four key takeaways significantly impacting the shopping experience. These insights provide a crucial understanding of the factors shaping the journey for both consumers and brands.

Online Shopping Impact

Product impact matters most in the online space, where most shopping occurs. Ideally, it would be dynamic for both online and in-person experiences.

Quality and Trends

Consumers care about both current product quality and sustainability, as well as a brand's social commitment over time.

Affordable Sustainability

Consumers seek affordable products with long lasting quality and sustainability.

Information and Trust

Consumers want more information on products and practices due to general distrust, fueled by issues like greenwashing.

Market Research: Understanding E-Commerce Drivers

Understanding consumer concerns and drivers led me to focus on e-commerce, offering greater opportunity for sustainable brands than traditional retail. Exploring its benefits, drawbacks and consumer habits revealed the need for product designs that showcase brand sustainability and empower users to influence brands through their purchasing decisions.

E-commerce Convenience Reigns

Consumers are drawn to e-commerce for its unparalleled convenience, allowing them to shop at their own pace and access a vast array of products beyond traditional store hours.

Values Shape Brand Loyalty

Consumers gravitate towards brands aligning with their values, emphasizing sustainability, social responsibility, and transparency, highlighting the growing importance of ethics in purchasing decisions.

Critical Points of Friction

The checkout process and inadequate product information visualization are significant e-commerce pain points, often causing cart abandonment and dissatisfaction.

Trust and Reputation Matter

Trustworthiness and reputation are pivotal in consumer brand preferences, driven by transparent practices, positive reviews, and corporate social responsibility initiatives that build trust and loyalty.

Sources

Insights were gathered from a cumulative assessment of the following sources SmartInsights, Become.co, Insightssuccess, Growave, & Market Business News.

Competitive Analysis

I conducted a competitive analysis focused on low-income consumers because my previous research highlighted a disconnect between brands and this demographic in sustainable fashion. While competitors had supportive elements, none addressed consumer concerns while promoting attainable sustainability. This analysis aided in selecting product features that fill this market gap.

TL;DR

Consumer loyalty is shaped by brand values like sustainability and ethics; however, consumers still prioritize product quality and affordability amid economic challenges.

Define Consumer Needs Using Research

Amidst the research data, I recognized the need for clarity. This led me to craft a problem statement, pinpointing the core issue, followed by a "How Might We" statement to define the product's focus.

Problem Statement

Consumers prioritize affordability and quality in fashion over sustainability awareness, despite valuing ethical practices. This highlights a need for a solution offering accessible, high-quality, sustainable fashion that enhances eco-friendly awareness and adoption.

How Might We…

How might we design a platform offering seamless access to quality, affordable fashion while cultivating sustainability?

Iteration I: Ideation

Recognizing the gap between the problem and the app's purpose, I aimed to find a solution that would address both. Keeping my problem statement and HMW question in mind, I knew a user-centric approach was key to fulfilling the product's mission while meeting the needs of consumers and brands.

Personas & Use Cases

To implement this user-centric approach, I constructed four personas with use cases, linking consumer concerns to the company's mission of promoting sustainable fashion. Centering user needs guided decisions on features, flows, and interactions throughout the design process.

Feature Sort

Guided by personas and use cases, I brainstormed features addressing consumer issues and the company mission. I focused on providing desired information while offering varied activities beyond education. This ideation informed the product's information architecture.

User Flow

With numerous features outlined, I prioritized defining the user's main goal of finding affordable, sustainable fashion. Clarity on this objective led me to create a user flow, focusing my design on essential features for a streamlined discovery and purchase path in the MVP.

Deliverable

A digital prototype aiming to decrease consumerism by prioritizing consumer values, creativity, and sustainability in fashion.

Iteration II: Designing the Product

After conceptualizing the solution, I initiated design of the app's visual interface. To focus on element placement and user interaction, I used black and white wireframes. This approach allowed for intuitive navigation and clear information discovery.

Low Fidelity Wireframes

I outlined the essential user information first because prioritizing their needs is key. Then, I created low-fidelity wireframes to map the layout and hierarchy, capturing the comprehensive user flow.

Design Critique

Assessing my preliminary design, I saw that the layout didn't align with the product's ethos. I reassessed to better convey the mission. The UI was too boxy, lacking the elegance expected in fashion. This guided a refined approach in my mid-fidelity wireframes, prioritizing a sleek, stylish interface reflecting the industry's sophistication.

Mid Fidelity Wireframes

After constructing the low fidelity wireframes, I aimed to elevate the experience through customization. I applied psychological principles and mental models to the UI, carefully considering haptics and interaction design for an optimal mobile experience.

Heuristic Evaluation

After building my Mid Fids, I conducted a Heuristic evaluation using Shneiderman's Eight Golden Rules to uncover and resolve areas with usability concerns.

Key Takeaways:

  • Add additional Dialogues that focus more on sustainability and meeting consumers where they are

  • Build out the dialogue of “my closet” as it relates to user needs and app functionality

  • Assess user flow of discovering products and brands outside of simply searching

  • Brand, Product, and Material Info pages need to be consistent in their initial layout

  • Dashboard UI stands in contrast to the rest of the UI

Iteration III: Refining the Final Design

Addressing heuristic concerns ensured functionality and experience were solid. I then focused on infusing emotion and aesthetics to elevate the platform's experience.

Style Guide

I developed the primary and secondary color palette using earthy tones to evoke sustainability, complemented by a tertiary color that conveys the happiness and fun of the fashion industry. For typography, I chose a serif font for headings to reflect the industry's elegance, balanced with a sans-serif font for body text to meet usability standards.

High Fidelity Wireframes

Using the style guide and the key findings from the heuristic evaluation, I generated high fidelity wireframes with a specific focus on micro-interactions and interface with the aim of bringing the experience to life. From this, a final prototype was created that resembled that of a fully functional MVP.

Presentation Deck

I continuously built this slide deck during the design process when presenting my in-progress designs in critique sessions and design reviews. During those critiques and reviews I was able to gather insights from other designers and engineers that were then baked into the final prototype.

Reflection

The Art of Adaptation

Developing EcoChic taught me the importance of adapting a product when needed. I began with a specific solution in mind, but research revealed it wouldn't be profitable as it didn't address the main user issues. Instead of a complete overhaul, I made adjustments that aligned with the product's mission, educating users and providing alternatives that supported the mission without causing inconvenience. I also tailored solutions to consumer needs, offering customizable experiences focused on their values and pain points.

Design with Purpose

Every industry and company has a unique mission, and it's crucial that our designs reflect their values, missions, and themes. EcoChic, in the fashion sustainability sector, aims to support its mission in a way that engages consumers. Therefore, it was essential to incorporate elegance, fun, and environmental consciousness into the design. This was achieved through color, typography, and interaction design. I focused on the haptics and drew inspiration from social media applications to create a sense of authenticity and style that is both enjoyable and engaging for users.

Demo

As part of the final deliverables for this project, I presented both the mobile and desktop version of this application in a video demo to a panel for my thesis review. This video outlines the problem, solution, and impact of this product.

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