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University of Melbourne · Academic Project

Reinventing Clothes Trading Digitally through an end-to-end Mobile App

Tools

Figma, Balsamiq, SUS Surveys, Think-aloud Observations, Pen & Paper

Team

5 UX Generalists

Stakeholders

Professor & Tutor

Duration

6 Weeks

Problem Overview

Fast fashion creates excessive waste, driving people toward sustainable solutions like clothes trading. Yet, existing trading platforms feel tedious and unreliable—bogged down by complex interactions, overwhelming listings, and trust concerns—hindering adoption and engagement.

Solution

Switcheroo is a mobile app that simplifies clothes trading with a swipe-to-trade mechanism, a reputation system, and a community-driven giveaway model—making sustainable fashion accessible and fun.

My Role

As one of the UX Generalists, I worked on research, ideation, interaction design, and usability testing to create a user-friendly and engaging experience.

My contributions included designing the reputation system and micro-interactions of the prototype, and post-feedback revamping of the Request/Giveaway Hub.

Key Outcomes

Sustainable Fashion Adoption and Building a Trusted Community

📹 Watch the 3-min video for a quick overview OR ⬇️ Scroll down for the full case study

Understanding the Users

Who Are We Designing For?

Sustainability-conscious Gen Z & Millennials who love fashion but seek eco-friendly, hassle-free ways to refresh their wardrobes without spending money.

How I Gathered Insights?

With no time for user interviews, I turned to research papers, blogs, and fashion forums to understand user behaviours and frustrations.

Key Takeaways

Convenience matters: Users want sustainable fast fashion options, but want to put in minimal effort.
Trust is a Concern: Fear of scams, bad trades, and personal security, deters users from trading apps.
Discoverability is key: Users struggle to find relevant and preferred items.

A User Persona describing the type of user the app caters to.

Understanding the Users

Who Are We Designing For?

Sustainability-conscious Gen Z & Millennials who love fashion but seek eco-friendly, hassle-free ways to refresh their wardrobes without spending money.

How I Gathered Insights?

With no time for user interviews, I turned to research papers, blogs, and fashion forums to understand user behaviours and frustrations.

Key Takeaways

Convenience matters: Users want sustainable fast fashion options, but want to put in minimal effort.
Trust is a Concern: Fear of scams, bad trades, and personal security, deters users from trading apps.
Discoverability is key: Users struggle to find relevant and preferred items.

Design & Key Solutions

A Swipe-to-Trade Mechanism

💡 Problem: Users needed a more engaging way to explore clothing trades. Traditional listings felt transactional, lacking the intuitive, playful interaction they were used to.

🚀 Solution: Designed a Tinder-like swipe experience, mirroring familiar interactions from dating apps. This made browsing effortless—like flipping through a fashion catalogue.

✅ Impact: Boosted engagement, quicker decision-making, and made trading feel fun and intuitive.

Building Trust with a Reputation System

💡 Problem: Users hesitated to trade due to reliability & security concerns.

🚀 Solution: Introduced ratings, reviews, and badges to validate trade partners.

✅ Impact: Enhanced trust, leading to more successful trades.

3 annotated mobile screens displaying the badge, rating, and feedback systems. the complete list of badges and their meanings is also present.

Designing a Fair & Inclusive System

💡 Problem: Some users struggled to find a match, while others simply wanted to donate or request items without trading.

🚀 I explored 2 potential solutions:

A 3-Way Trade System

Increased match potential by connecting three users, but added complexity to find more than two willing users.

A 3-Way Trade System

Increased match potential by connecting three users, but added complexity to find more than two willing users.

A Giveaway/Request System

A dedicated way to donate or request items, ensuring flexibility.

A Giveaway/Request System

A dedicated way to donate or request items, ensuring flexibility.

➡️ We chose the Giveaway/Request System for its simplicity and accessibility.

🚀 Preventing Abuse with Request Credits: To maintain fairness, we introduced a Request Credit (RC) system — ensuring users gave before they received, discouraging hoarding and misuse.

A flow-chart describes how the concept of request credit works. It demonstrates the support for environmental impact and prevention of abuse.

✅ Impact: A balanced system where users could give, request, and trade seamlessly while preventing exploitation.

Streamlining Filters & Trade History

💡 Problem: Users struggled to find filters and past trades.

🚀 Solution: Refined navigation by adding an accessible filter menu & trade history.

✅ Impact: Faster browsing and improved usability.

User Testing & Iterations

How We Tested & What We Uncovered?

A Venn Diagram gives an overview of the usability testing methods - Think Aloud Observations & SUS Surveys - along with the total participants.

69 / 100

While the SUS Score is above average, it reveals area for improvement.

Key Pain Points

❌ Users struggled to locate giveaway requests due to a lack of visibility.

❌ Filters felt buried and unintuitive, making it hard to refine searches.

❌ Lack of onboarding left first-time users confused, impacting adoption.

Key Iterations

Revamped Request Marketplace → Seamlessly Integrated it with Rest of the App

Annotated mockup describing inbox integration for RC system.

Annotated mockups describing RC Integration throughout the system.

Simplified Filters & Swiping UI → Improved Discoverability & Control

Enhanced onboarding & help screens → Increased clarity for new users

Added onboarding screens to demonstrate the workings of the app.

User Testing & Iterations

How We Tested & What We Uncovered?

69 / 100

While the SUS Score is above average, it reveals area for improvement.

Key Pain Points

❌ Users struggled to locate giveaway requests due to a lack of visibility.

❌ Filters felt buried and unintuitive, making it hard to refine searches.

❌ Lack of onboarding left first-time users confused, impacting adoption.

Key Iterations

Revamped Request Marketplace → Seamlessly Integrated it with Rest of the App

Simplified Filters & Swiping UI → Improved Discoverability & Control

Enhanced onboarding & help screens → Increased clarity for new users

Final Impact & Takeaways

What We Achieved?

🌍 Increased adoption of sustainable fashion through an engaging, frictionless trading experience.

📈 Built a trusted community, boosting user retention & repeat trades via reputation-based interactions.

🔄 Improved conversion & usability by iterating based on user insights, ensuring long-term product success.

What We Learnt?

Intuition ≠ usability; real-world testing is key.

Users' mental models shape product decisions.

Design is never finished - iteration drives excellence.

Note: This app design was adapted and extended to a real-life app called MatchTee, co-created by one of our team members Minseo (Matthew) Kwon.