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Kidcycle :
Shopping platform that reduces kids apparel waste



Date  
February 2017 - April 2017

My Role
Product Design, UX Design

Team
Marjorie Chamberlain - Product Design, Visual
Abigail Miller - Photography
Dido Rwaka - Marketing 

Challenge + Approach
Recycling clothes is a highly recognized problem, and we see the different clothes recycling efforts such as Goodwill or the Salvation Army. However, there is very little attention given to the recycling of kids clothes - an issue that is more prevalent than actual adult clothes waste. In this project, we investigated the issue, and decided to create a platform that establishes a complementary relationship between recycling and shopping.





Home


The final home had several iterations from the first prototype we built. We realized in user testing that dividing a screen was limiting users. In the final design, we put donation part on top and put shop part below the donation, so users can naturally scroll down to see more options of clothes rather than click and getting in to shop section.


Donation Process




Shop and Donation




Live Prototype







Research


Identify User Needs
The course project started with broad scope - Kids. We decided to focus on kids in New York City because it's one of the unique urban spaces to grow kids. The objective was to figure out kids and parents' needs in New York City and gain insights about design opportunities. After several brainstorms with team, we decided to focus on Kid’s apparel.


User Research

We interviewed parents with children ages 14 and under to figure out what kind of issues they encounter with kids clothing. Most parents had issues shopping for kids clothing as they needed to buy newly fitting clothes before the children’s clothes were worn out. We also discovered that many parents didn’t donate due to the inconvenience and extra effort, and instead simply threw out the clothes or gave them to an acquaintance.


Personas and Experience Map
We built personas and Experience Map. After reviewed the data gathered by user research in detail and established three main criteria that users behave differently about kids apparel : Occupation, Economic Status, and Background.







Insights
Users have a hard time with the recycling process as it competes with the time normally used to tend to kids, work or recreation. Recycling clothes simply isn’t hassle-free or incentivized enough to make it habitual for a large group of people. There is an opportunity to simplify and encourage the purchase and donation of kids’ clothing.




Problem Space and Opportunity:

Kids’ apparel waste is a growing problem with low awareness. How can we build an ecosystem that introduces recycling as an easy viable option?


#1 Growing One Size a Year
Children go through considerable amounts of clothing as they grow at least one size a year.

#2 Fashion Industry Trend
Compounding this potential waste, the apparel industry’s high-end and fast fashion trends have increased the amount of clothes made and decreased their fashionable life span.

#3 Recycling Clothes isn’t Hassle-free
Donating is a good option, however, driving is an added obstacle that may lead to them just throwing the items away.




Design and Challenges

So, back to users and their pain points, how might we create an online platform where people can easily recycle and purchase high quality used kids’ clothing?


User
Our users are parents with children ages 14 and under. This demographic faces the most clothing consumption of any age group as the kids of this group grow particularly fast.


Product Loop


Through research, we found that it was difficult for users to see the benefits of donation. We decided to put a store credit system that when users donate clothes they get credit based on their donation. Users can use the credits when they shop used clothes on our website. Therefore, we aimed that users will live in our eco-system that they can shop and donate in a same space.


Wireframe

Home

By dividing the screen into two sections ‘Donate’ and ‘Shop,’ we wanted users to see the clear direction when they land on the homepage.


Donation Process



During the research, we were inspired by Oscar Health ‘get a quote‘ immersive interface. We decided to take the full screen with large texts and change the voice tone like a conversation to engage users in the donation process.


Shop and Donation

When users shop used clothes, the primary information is the size and condition of clothes. By giving clear hierarchy on that information, users can clearly navigate the shop page. As we set our goal before, our main goal is building a eco-system that donation and shop happens in one space. To make the platform stronger, we put ‘Apply Credit’ section in their payment, so they can use the credits from their previous donation. Also when they process payment, they can choose whether they have clothes for donation or not. By putting donation in payment process, we try not to miss the opportunity of donation.