Trend Finder
Trend Finder is an app that identifies major fashion trends and compiles the featured pieces from various stores and brands. Functioning as a marketplace, it offers a comparative with diverse options of places to buy the desired piece.
Scope: Branding and App
Date: 2018
How can we find a specific piece of clothing the user is looking for? And how can we offer multiple shop options with comparison for that specific clothing item?
When working in the fashion industry I realized a need: Have you ever caught yourself searching, shop after shop, for a specific piece of clothing or accessory, and could not find it? The problem I experienced myself and after talking to multiple people I noticed this is a very common problem. The interviewed friends, family, and co-workers that explained that they usually go shopping after noticing that they need a specific clothing item, either because they need it for an especial occasion, something they have is not good for use anymore, or there is a new fashion trend that sparked their desire. When start shopping, they lose a lot of time visiting multiple stores (online or physical) to find that item they have in mind. This journey often ends up in frustration without finding anything satisfactory or sometimes they end up buying a similar just so they can use it.
Trend Finder identifies major fashion trends and compiles the featured items from several stores and brands. Functioning as a marketplace, it offers a comparative with many shop options to buy the desired clothing. The app was developed to save time and make the user's life easier. To find a jeans jacket the user wants, for example, he can simply choose from the many options that the app found in different shops and buy straight from the app. Each consumer prioritizes certain qualities that appear in filters such as price, rating, size, among others. The user can stay updated on the latest fashion trends or get the specific products they are looking for.
I interviewed friends, family, and co-workers to understand their problems, needs, and experiences. After that, I researched the current apps and online stores that function as market places, and also other online stores. I wrote on paper the main features the app needed to have to solve the problems and started sketching.
I moved on to digital design and had to make several changes. In the first version, the app was confusing. Having the homepage already with the trends list did not make clear the user flow, so I created a homepage and a separate page with the trends listed. Another page with categories was created to facilitate the search.
Design issues were also addressed, I changed the typography to increase readability, made the interface cleaner and a better hierarchy of information was required on the product pages.
One of the biggest challenges of online shopping is to build trust, so I designed the product page with a lot of information explaining e.g. details about the product's material, fitting and added a customer's review with rating section so the user can know more the item and feel safe buying. I also placed on the product page a section with products suggested to complete the look to which encourage shopping and serve as an inspiration source. Since it's a marketplace the user may come across new brands, and the largest number of information such as description, fabric composition, and size chart is of great importance to define the purchase.
For the future, some actions could be developed: Trend Finder could be expanded to other markets, with home decor and beauty products. Photoshoots with products from different segments could be made for use in newsletters, to inspire and generate shopping desire in the customer. A blog or online magazine linked to regular newsletters that inform on the market news and trends could be a complement to creating value for the user.
