Lume

Introduction

In this project, my team and I designed Lume, a mobile app that helps independent designers gain visibility in a saturated market. The project specifically addressed the challenge of showcasing their work effectively by providing curated explore pages, personalized recommendations, and seamless mood board creation, making it easier for designers to connect with a broader audience.

Skip to Prototype

The Problem

Independent designers struggle to gain visibility in a saturated market.

90%

of new brands fail in the first five years from lack of visibility.

85%

of fashion shoppers rely on visual platforms for inspiration.

70%

of online shoppers are more likely to purchase from curated recommendations.

How can we help independent designers get noticed, manage their shops easily, and see their progress?

The Solution

With curated explore pages and seamless mood board creation, Lume empowers independent designers through effortless and engaging brand visibility.

A solution bridging inspiration and purchase, Lume addresses limited discoverability and lack of organic engagement in independent fashion. Through explore, save, and share features, it fosters a community-driven fashion ecosystem.

WHEN WAS THIS?

Jan - Feb 2025 (2 Weeks)

WHAT DID I DO?

User Researcher | UX/UI Designer | Product Designer

User Research & Discovery — Interviewed independent designers and fashion enthusiasts to uncover pain points. Mapped insights and analyzed five marketplaces to identify gaps in designer discovery.
Information Architecture & User Flows — Defined personas and mapped user journeys for mood board creation and designer discovery. Designed intuitive navigation for explore and save features.
Design System & Visual Identity — Built a cohesive design system with typography, color palette, layouts, and reusable components. Applied consistent interactions and micro-animations for a seamless experience.
Wireframing & Prototyping — Created low to high-fidelity prototypes in Figma, focusing on mood board creation and personalized recommendations. Developed interactive prototypes to validate discovery and sharing flows.
Usability Testing & Iteration — Ran usability tests with designers and shoppers to refine curation and mood board features. Conducted A/B testing to optimize save and share interactions.

User Research

To better understand user frustrations, we conducted interviews with five independent designers at varying levels of brand establishment. Through affinity mapping, we analyzed and grouped their responses to identify common patterns and pain points. Here's what we found:

Visibility Struggles

Independent designers lack visibility without costly ads.

Pricing Challenges

Platform fees make competitive pricing and profits hard to sustain.

Operational Burdens

Order management and customer service drain time from creating.

Logistics Roadblocks

Shipping and production across sizes and variants are inefficient.

Competitor Analysis

eBay

eBay connects designers to a vast, global buyer base. Lume can expand reach by helping designers access wider, targeted audiences.

Depop

Depop thrives on social shopping and personal brand building. Lume can add community features to boost designer visibility and engagement.

Etsy

Etsy attracts buyers seeking unique, handmade goods. Lume can spotlight designer stories and originality to appeal to similar audiences.

The Real Real

The Real Real builds trust through authentication and premium presentation. Lume can adopt verification tools to enhance credibility and buyer confidence.

Vestiaire Collective

Vestiaire focuses on sustainability and quality in luxury resale. Lume can promote ethical design and offer quality assurance to attract conscious buyers.

Opportunities for Lume

Enhance Discoverability

Introduce curated collections and personalized recommendations to boost organic reach.

Branding and Store Customization

Allow custom branding options for designers to differentiate their stores.

Automate Business Operations

Offer inventory sync tools for real-time stock updates.

Optimize Fulfillment & Shipping

Partner with on-demand production & shipping services for streamlined logistics.

User Flow

Low Fidelity Wireframing

From our research, we developed low-fidelity wireframes to piece our solutions together. After a team critique, we then moved onto high-fidelity prototypes.

Design System

To ensure optimal readability and maintain a clean, modern aesthetic, we chose Satoshi as our primary typeface. The entire design follows a structured 4-column grid system with 20px margins and 10px gutters, creating a balanced and harmonious layout.

High-Fidelity Prototypes

Onboarding

Streamlined onboarding process that helps users set up their profiles and preferences for a personalized experience.

Discovery & Exploration

Curated explore pages with personalized recommendations to help users discover new designers and products.

AI Integration

AI-powered visual search and recommendations for finding similar clothing, enabling effortless browsing and discovery of style-matched pieces.

Designer Dashboard

Comprehensive dashboard for designers to manage their store, track analytics, and engage with their audience.

Prototype Demonstrations

Below are video demonstrations showcasing the key features and user flows of Lume in action, including the personalized discovery experience, mood board creation, and AI integration.

Tools & Methods

Figma for wireframing, prototyping, and design system creation
Adobe Creative Suite for visual asset creation
WCAG guidelines for accessibility compliance and testing
User interviews and surveys for qualitative research

Reflection & Next Steps

While initially envisioned as a platform for all independent designers, we discovered that focusing specifically on fashion designers enabled more meaningful features and specialized tools for brand storytelling and inventory management.

Moving forward, we aim to enhance Lume with improved customization options, deeper analytics, and stronger community features including networking and mentorship programs. Through continuous iteration based on designer feedback, Lume will evolve beyond a selling platform into a thriving community where independent fashion brands can grow and connect.

See Next

Whole Foods In-Store Checkout Experience

A UX case study on streamlining access to the Whole Foods in-store checkout code within the Amazon app for a faster, frustration-free experience.

Redesigning Salesforce's Flow Builder

A case study on improving accessibility and user productivity for sight-impaired users in the Salesforce Flow Builder.

Resource Selection with Keyboard Navigation

A case study on ensuring comprehensive keyboard navigation towards an improved resource selection experience in the Salesforce Flow Builder.