0-1 MOBILE APP DESIGN | PASSION PROJECT
Eco Closet - Reimagine sustainable closet management experiences
ROLE
Sole UX Designer & Researcher
TOOLS
Figma
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
TIMELINE
January - April 2023
DESCRIPTION
A closet management mobile app that simplifies the clothing maintenance process and promotes sustainable fashion
PROBLEM SPACE
Customer interest vs. Pollution Levels across fashion stages
As a designer and consumer, I've witnessed the escalating environmental pollution caused by the fashion industry. The lack of transparency, oversight, and proper education has left the public unaware of the irreversible damage inflicted upon our planet.
Unfortunately, public awareness often peaks only during the glamorous stages of fashion design.
STAKEHOLDER MAP
Understanding the role of stakeholders
Why I did this?
To understand the different roles shaping the fashion industry, I mapped three key parties and their current situations.
Key Findings
Most companies manufacture in developing countries to cut costs, it becomes challenging to oversee their practices overseas.
Consumers can play significant role in addressing the fashion pollution problems. Every action that customers take, from buying to disposing of clothes, can impact the industry's future.
HMW reduce fashion industry pollution and raise public awareness of the issue?
SOLUTION PREVIEW
Eco Closet Mobile App
Add new clothes
Feature 01
Effortless Add & Learn
Simply scan a product tag to retrieve clothing details, confirm the information, and add it to your personal closet.
Tap on tooltips to instantly understand the environmental impact of the fabric.
Comprehensive guidebook
Feature 02
Handy Care Guide
Your go-to hub for keeping clothes in good shape, including care tips, fabric-based guides, and laundry symbol references.
Designed to help extend garment lifespan and support sustainable habits.
Resell
Donate
Feature 03
Easy Resell & Donate
Select items from your closet to resell with auto-filled product details — just review and post.
Choose to donate and view a map of nearby donation drop-off locations.
USER RESEARCH
Semi-structured interview
Secondary research revealed that most fast-fashion brands target 18 to 35-year-olds, informing my choice of participants.
Research Goal
To better understand customers' knowledge of materials and their clothing care and disposal habits.
Participants
2 Male & 3 Female
Age 20-28
Based in North America
Interview Structure
Phase 1 - Overall shopping habits & material knowledge
Phase 2 - Caring and disposal experiences and pollution awareness
Key findings
USER PERSONA
Identifying the target user group
Age
Job Title
Status
Location
Income
22
Graduate Student
Single
New York
40k
Characteristics
Goals
Buy comfortable, sustainable clothing effortlessly.
Easily understand care instructions and labels.
Extend the lifespan of clothing.
Maximize the value of unwanted clothing.
Pain points
Improper care shortens clothing lifespan.
Difficulty remembering and categorizing care instructions.
Lack of knowledge about material and industry pollution.
Limited options for clothing disposal and resale.
JOURNEY MAPPING
Understanding user actions and challenges
DESIGN IDEATION
Ideate from findings
Key findings
Solution ideation
Customers often forget fabric care information on labels.
Implement QR-coded e-labels to scan and store care info, creating a personal online closet archive.
Online laundry tips are too general for specific products.
Offer tailored, product-specific care solutions accessible at any time.
Customers lack awareness of the fashion industry's environmental impact.
Display environmental impact facts and categorize materials by their sustainability.
Limited information on how to dispose of or resell unwanted clothing.
Build an online platform for reselling, donating, and discovering second-hand clothing.
DESIGN PRINCIPLE
Intuitive, Accessible, Sustainable
Intuitive Action Flow
Scan - Read - Add - Retrieve - Resell
Scanning the product's label serves as a simple starting point, allowing further actions to be easily initiated for a streamlined closet organization and upkeep experience.
Accessible & Personalized Information
Provide tailored solutions for every potential problem and ensure multiple entry points to various pages.
Sustainability Education & Awareness
The significance of understanding pollution facts and following guidelines for environmental care lies in their ability to raise awareness and educate the public about essential information.
DESIGN ITERATION
Concept sketching
Low-fidelity wireframe
Mid-fidelity wireframe
USABILITY TESTING
Iterating design through testings
Usability testing
Paper User Test ➝ Feedback Sorting
Two participants participated in paper prototyping and testing in order to mimic real usage scenarios. During the test, users navigated between pages using buttons on the mobile interface.
Finding
DESIGN ITERATION
Changes made after usability testing
Before
Lack symbol of sustainable practice.
After
Add an icon of sustainability according to the product information.
Before
Lack access to in-depth knowledge of materials and their environmental impact.
After
Integrate a fabric dictionary entry point and a sustainability indicator on the product information page.
Before
Having difficulty quickly access specific material care information.
After
Move the fabric dictionary entry point to the homepage for easier access.
HIGH FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
Final design solution
Keep Track of What You Own
Quickly add new pieces and build a digital archive of your wardrobe. Never forget what you own, and make the most of every item.
Caring Solutions at Fingertips
The caring solutions are categorized based on the type of care required, making it easier for reference.
Easy Clothing Recycling
When reselling clothes, item details are automatically retrieved from the archive, saving time on manual entry.
REFLECTION
What I learned from my first passion-driven UX project
Fashion sustainability is a collective effort that requires everyone in the industry to take part. Eco Closet was designed based on my experience as both a designer and a consumer, proposing a vision for a more sustainable fashion future.
If I had more time, I would conduct additional rounds of user testing to gather more feedback and refine the app’s features. I want to ensure the solution is truly addressing user needs but also scalable and impactful in promoting sustainable practices.