Renown
Consignment website promoting conscious consumption and reduction of climate change in the consumeristic influencer space.
Overview
The notoriety of influencers and review-based content, alongside a consumer’s desire to manifest a TikTok trendy closet on a budget, has normalized a sinister cycle of fast fashion, overconsumption, discard, and repeat. However, both general consumers and influencers have been shifting towards sustainability and speaking up about the environmental impact of the fashion industry to make thrifting a competitively trendy topic against consumerism. But being at odds between your highly consumeristic influencer occupation and moral compass as someone sustainable at heart, surely, isn’t easy.
Client
Suvai Gunasekaran
Team
Alexis Arnold (UX Designer)
Alex Hernandez (UX Designer)
Role
Project Lead | Product Design
Duration
Jul 2022 - Aug 2022
The Challenge
Influencers struggle with overwhelming consumption and profusely declutter without a real way of sustainably disposing of their unwanted items. We were tasked with designing a web-based solution that promotes the upcycling of an influencer's unwanted money while raising money for important causes.
The Solution: Renown
A nonprofit consignment store and direct creator-to-fanbase marketplace that is currently in its concept stages.
A web-based consignment store, combining standard eCommerce and easy online consignment selling features. Renown promotes conscious consumption by giving creators a platform to declutter their overwhelming collections in a sustainable manner by selling their items to fans with all proceeds going to charities.
The Research
Based on our survey with 38 responses, we discovered that:
A large majority of users are both buyers and sellers of secondhand goods
92% of our users have strong sustainability values and partake in the secondhand market with environmental change in mind
Getting to know the industry: Competitors & Comparators
Competitors
Platforms most frequently used among our users:
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I found that most of these platforms had implemented the standard eCommerce features, but was surprised to find that our competitors claim sustainability values despite their lack of charity affiliations or actions specified to bring about substantial change.
This detail, in combination with the lack of influencer affiliation among consignment platforms, left Renown an opportunity to stand out from the rest of the market.
Comparators
3 other well-established companies that are famous for their actions against climate change
Influencer programs appear driven by positive publicity and monetary gain
Their dedication to the cause was made transparent by specifying the company’s environmental goals and affiliations with activists
They openly disclosed the concrete dollar amounts (or percentage of sales) they planned on donating to charity organizations
What our users care about
We recruited 11 individuals and synthesized the interview insights to the most prominent trends:
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Secondhand shopping is a mechanism against the fast fashion
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(Saving the Earth is cool and all but...)
A trustworthy eCommerce experience is necessary for my peace of mind
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Buyers value the appeal and pricing of a product over the notoriety of the seller
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Selling used items isn’t always about the money, sometimes it's about closet space
The biggest challenge we faced during our outreach was getting in touch with an actual influencer, and I studied influencer habits on social media as an alternative. Although we were (unfortunately) unsuccessful, I was able to synthesize the pain points raised by our sellers and my observations to create a compelling persona.
But where are the influencers?: Our biggest obstacle & solution
Meet the users: Our Personas
Seller Persona (target of project scope)
Buyer Persona (created for context of primary persona's needs)
The Core Problem
Our sellers need a philanthropic way of donating their excessive goods for reuse because they detest the idea of their overwhelming collection contributing to landfills.
They are open to the idea of selling for charity to give their goods renewed life, but their lack of business knowledge and time makes smooth sales difficult.
How might we...
Decrease influencer stress when creating product listings?
Amplify the influencer's sense of fulfillment regarding their time and donations to make the selling process exciting?
Provide influencers with a sustainable approach to reselling their goods?
A Proposition: User flows & Sitemap
Avisual flow of the influencer submitting an application to become a Renown seller, as well as the process of creating a listing.
Seller application process
As a creator-to-fanbase marketplace, it is necessary to verify that the applying user is an influencer with a following to sell to.
Creating a listing
Although the process is standard to that of other consignment platforms, ours is unique for the added options highlighted in red.
Structuring the website: Information Architecture
A proposed map of the website's main navigation system.
Ideating the solution
We started off with some rough UI sketches and low-fidelity wireframes to establish the foundations of our solution.
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Prototyping and validation
After 3 iterations with 2 rounds of testing, we arrived at our final, clickable prototype.
We tested our mid and high-fidelity prototypes with two rounds of usability testing with 5 users each, and below are the mockups of the final product and changes made after testing.
How might we provide influencers with a sustainable approach to reselling their goods?
Design Solution: A comprehensive registration/onboarding process enticing influencers to join as a seller on a reliable eCommerce consignment platform making selling an organized endeavor.
Seller registration/onboarding screens from mid-fidelity, high-fidelity, and final iteration.
(click on gallery to see full images and annotations)
Seller Onboarding
Task: Submit an application to become a seller.
How might we amplify the influencer's sense of fulfillment regarding their time and donations to make the selling process exciting?
Design Solution: Encouraging badges with progress trackers to appeal to the user’s sense of completionism and validation.
Seller badges (located in their private profile) and progress trackers from mid-fidelity, high-fidelity, and final iteration.
(click on gallery to see full images and annotations)
Seller Badges & Progress Tracking
How might we decrease influencer stress when creating product listings?
Design Solution: Minimize the amount of typing needed with an easy form with drop-down tabs and radio button options.
Product listing screens from mid-fidelity, high-fidelity, and final iteration.
(click on gallery to see full images and annotations)
Seller Listing
Task: Create a listing
Outcomes
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10% improvement in overall satisfaction rating
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21% improvement in listing speed
(We were successful in targeting a major pain point from users: finding the button to create a listing)
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Doubling engagement time for seller onboarding
(Although more time was spent registering as a seller, the users were able to gain a more comprehensive idea as to what that would entail)
So, what's next?: The Buyer's experience
Browsing the Renown catalog
Going forward, we would like to flip the script and aim to fully build out the buyer's experience:
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Building the buyer onboarding and profile pages.
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Expanding shopping tabs/pages and streamlining the checkout flow.
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Create a dedicated page for donations.
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Test and validate with users.
Takeaways: My lessons learned
To start off my conclusion, it would only be appropriate to mention that stepping up to lead my team throughout this project turned out to be a wholly unexpected experience. I have learned that leadership isn’t just about taking charge or the pedestal of who may doing the most of what, but rather embracing a relationship of mutual exchange (in which we all teach each other something new ).
Something that had me questioning the integrity of my research was my failure to acquire the influencer experience from someone who is influencing firsthand, and overcoming this through my alternative of studying from afar (via social media) taught me that perfection in UX isn’t what I ought to strive for as it’s something that doesn’t exist. Although not ideal, there is value to be had in those creative solutions and problem-solving.
Through it all, I have learned to better research and design for a niche interest for my client’s business goals. It is necessary for the designer to step outside their comfort zone and get creative with their journeys to solutions in order to bring forth an equally effective product for their innovative ideas (and I can personally attest that the sense of fulfillment from bringing someone’s vision to life is a feeling unlike anything else).
Thank you so much for reading, and thank you so much to my client, Suvai, and my teammates for making this all possible.
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