Upcycling. Accessible. To All.

For my final project as a Digital Arts graduate student with three of my teammates, we made-up a company from branding to prototype in the span of six months. We brainstormed some ideas and came up with

Zyklus, an upcycling company with a mission to connect rising designers and creative individuals with customers.

Our team consists of four graduate students (including myself) from different backgrounds. I have a background in business, while my other teammates are architects and graphic designers. We divided our work equally for all the stages in the design process, since all of us are studying Digital Arts, concentrating in UI/UX.

In order to create accountability during the span of our trimester, we decided to split our project into three phases:

• Construct Business Plan & Research (3 months): We researched the market demand for the upcycling movement. We also conducted research to make sure that we know who our target customers are.
• Design & Prototype (2 months): We created an application design for the Zyklus app, we made sure that the app will be easy to use and suitable for the users.
• User Testing & Revision (1 month): We user tested our app to make sure that it is easy to use for the users. We also fixes the app based on the feedback we received from our respondents.

Business Plan & Research

In this project, we took a goal-directed design approach that proved to be quite effective in our design efforts. We found qualitative research methods to be the most useful, consisting of a kickoff meeting, literature review, competitive analysis, and most important our persona hypothesis construction. We started out by asking ourselves some initial key questions.

"What is the product and who is it for?"

"What do our primary users need most?"

"Which users are the most important to the business?"

"What challenges could we face moving forward?"

"Who do we see as our biggest competitors?"

What is Zyklus?

Zyklus (read: tsüh·klus) comes from German which means cycle or circle. Considering the kind of service that we provide, we believe that the name "Zyklus" would be fit. In addition, it embodies our vision to bring circular fashion accessible to users.

Why did we choose upcycling?

Our idea to create an upcycling project was based on our own concern surrounding fast fashion and how much waste come from the fashion industry.

During our research, we discovered that clothing production is the third biggest manufacturing industry after the automotive and technology industries. Also, textile production contributes more to climate change than international aviation and shipping combined; with more than $500 billion of value is lost every year due to clothing underutilization and the lack of recycling.

We wanted Zyklus to be a beacon of hope for social entrepreneurship by providing customized services for old wardrobes. We also want to solve some problems within the fashion industry, including:

• The need for better-quality clothing without harming the environment
• Saving materials from landfill
• Reducing what goes into landfill
• Minimal use of natural resources
• Celebrating artisanal work and old school craftsmanship
• Reduced manufacturing costs
  

Who are Zyklus' Competitors?

Based on our research, we created a thorough competitor analysis for Zyklus.

Who are Zyklus' target customer?

We defined our target customers into 4 categories:

• Young Millennials, who prioritizes forward-thinking and innovation,
• Enthusiastic Experts that are vocal about sustainable living,
• Considerate Environmentalists with a mainstream view on sustainability,
• Reserved Rationalists that prioritize value and convenience above anything else.

From our initial target, we created 3 different personas who match with the four categories. Let's meet them!‍

Design & Prototype

User Flow

We constructed a user flow of what a basic start to finish journey looks like while purchasing an item. This helps us in understanding ways users can interact with the product, as well as allowing us to see navigation through user goals.

Sketch

We started off our design process with sketching. Through this stage, we know better what our app would look like based on the user flow.

Wireframe

We turned our sketches into low fidelity wireframes. We reviewed what was necessary and what areas needed improvement. We poured a lot of our time into this step to make sure we had the finishing touches on the underlying UX before moving onto the visuals.

Final Design

Customized Content based on User's Interest

Since Zyklus is created to connect users and designers, we wanted to create a personalized experience beginning with the onboarding process where we asked users their styles and connect it with designers who have similar taste.

Designer's Page

We created a page specifically design to cater both designer's and user's ease. On this page, users can access everything easily from the designer's portfolio, their orders, and a chat feature.

User Testing & Takeaways

Feedback Based On User Testing

1. Comprehensive Designer : 85% of Respondents would use the app if there's a comprehensive list of designers
2. Cleanliness : 87% of Respondents are worried about cleanliness if they were to order directly from Zyklus
3. Solution for Waste : 92% of Respondents agree that the app creates a solution for fast fashion

What did I learn from taking on this project?

Although creating a conceptual product is completely different to what real-life design process looks like, I've learned to manage my expectation from ideation to output. I can't always push my ideas into reality, just because I hold on to a preference dearly. As a product designer, I think it is a key aspect to always put user first before our own personal gains; and the more we are accustomed to allow users' needs first, we can be a better designer through and through.

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