An app designed with independent fashion designers in mind recognizing how difficult it is to gain visibility and reach the right audience organically.
TIMELINE
4 Weeks, Spring 2025
ROLE
Lead Product Designer, UX Researcher
TOOLS
Figma, FigJam, Illustrator
User Problem
Finding the right audience is hard…
Independent fashion designers struggle to gain visibility in a saturated market and without the same resources, marketing power, or established platforms as larger brands, their work often goes unseen by potential customers.
Solution
Lume creates a vibrant ecosystem where independent fashion designers can thrive and shoppers can discover with intention.
The platform combines shopping and tagging designers with tools like stylized search themes, moodboards, and performance insights, enabling designers to grow their visibility while giving shoppers a more curated, inspiring, and community-driven experience.
Research Methods
User Problem
User Problem
After conducting user interviews and competitive swot analysis, we found that Independent designers struggle most with discoverability and platform barriers.
On major marketplaces like Etsy and Shopify, designers feel “buried” without paying for ads, and these platforms’ high commissions and pay-to-be-seen models discourage scaling and undermine independent creators’ autonomy.
I interviewed 5 independent designers and 5 shoppers from diverse range of design aesthetics and experiences with existing online marketplaces. After interviewing I found that 80% of independent fashion designers say getting discovered is their biggest challenge when starting out.
Finding the right audience is hard…
Independent fashion designers struggle to gain visibility in a saturated market and without the same resources, marketing power, or established platforms as larger brands, their work often goes unseen by potential customers.
Finding the right audience is hard…
Independent fashion designers struggle to gain visibility in a saturated market and without the same resources, marketing power, or established platforms as larger brands, their work often goes unseen by potential customers.
Research Methods
After conducting user interviews and competitive swot analysis, we found that Independent designers struggle most with discoverability and platform barriers.
On major marketplaces like Etsy and Shopify, designers feel “buried” without paying for ads, and these platforms’ high commissions and pay-to-be-seen models discourage scaling and undermine independent creators’ autonomy.
I interviewed 5 independent designers and 5 shoppers from diverse range of design aesthetics and experiences with existing online marketplaces. After interviewing I found that 80% of independent fashion designers say getting discovered is their biggest challenge when starting out.
Synthesizing the Research
Seven distinct categories emerged from my research…
Desire
Current likes
Promotion & Marketing
Feedback
Engagement
Commission
Customization
Three main distinct themes came from these categories.
These themes represented the problems independent fashion designers were facing with current platforms they use to promote their own designs.
Buyer & Seller Personas
Designing for two types of users…
To design with users in mind, I created two personas. Mariko, an independent fashion designer, struggles with visibility, limited organic discovery, and lack of performance insights. My secondary persona, Derrick, is a fashion-forward shopper who loves finding emerging designers but feels overwhelmed by too many options; his frustrations highlighted the need for discovery tools that make exploration fun, intentional, and inspiring.
Seller User Flow
Buyer User Flow
Key Feature
Four key features were created for Lume.
From Mariko and Derricks pain points it helped me land on four core features. Features such as social feed for tagging designers, built-in performance metrics for sellers, and more playful tools like stylized keyword categorization and moodboard creations to make discovery feel fun and personal. These became the foundation of Lume’s experience.
Seller User Flow
Buyer User Flow
User Testing
To validate whether Lume’s flow and features were effective, I conducted two rounds of user testing, with eight participants in each round. Our goal was to discover the main friction points of our intial design, and whether our organic discovery flow worked.
During these sessions, I paid close attention to points of friction, questions participants asked out loud, and how quickly they were able to achieve key tasks without additional guidance. The feedback revealed not only whether the flow was intuitive but also highlighted areas where users felt confused or overwhelmed.
Iterating after User Testing
Independent fashion designers valued visual clarity, intuitive navigation, and feature visibility above all else.
Through testing, it became clear that while users were drawn to the platform’s concept and aesthetics, visual clutter, unclear navigation, and hidden features created friction in their experience. Simplifying the layout and emphasizing imagery helped designs stand out; restructuring navigation improved flow and ease of exploration; and giving the Moodboard its own space increased engagement and perceived purpose.
Branding and Design System
Lume’s visual identity to feel warm, editorial, and empowering, while still maintaining a sense of structure and clarity for everyday usability.
The name “Lume” comes from the word illuminate—and that’s intentional. The entire purpose of the app is to shine a light on independent designers who are often overlooked. I wanted the name itself to reflect that mission.For the color palette, I selected a deep burnt orange as the signature accent. Orange, in this context, conveys warmth, confidence, and forward motion. It feels energizing without being aggressive, and pairs well with a clean black-and-white base.
Final Prototype
Easily discover designers from style tags.
Filter and narrow through by material, color, or concept to find niche and aligned styles.
For You, works like a social media feed, post your outfits, tag your designers and explore styles.
Search similar items from existing outfits by using Lume Search AIe.
Final Prototype
Post your style creation and tag designers.
Post your style creations, utilized for both buyers and sellers
Tag designers, tag stylized key words, easier searching
Social media feed to explore and get inspired.
Final Prototype
Create moodboards and get Inspired.
Turn inspiration into action with shoppable, style-matched suggestions.
Create custom moodboards and pin your favorite pieces to organize and share your style vision with friends or designers.
Final Prototype
Simplify sale and track performances.
Monitor orders and revenue in real-time, identify your best-selling styles at a glance and get insights to improve and grow your brand.
Validating MVP Through Testing
After testing with 16 users, they found the app to be curated and designed for creatives.
One designer noted, “This is the first time I’ve felt a platform actually supports my brand, not just my products.” Another emphasized, “Everything feels intentional. It doesn’t overwhelm me, but it still feels creative.” Shoppers were particularly enthusiastic about the moodboards, with one saying, “I’d use this just for the moodboards alone. They’re like Pinterest, but shoppable.”
Next Steps
Personalize, polish, and test
My next steps for Lume are to integrate more personalization tools, perfect the UI for a smoother user experience, and expand user testing to gather deeper insights. These improvements will help ensure the platform feels truly tailored to both designers and shoppers, setting the stage for stronger engagement and future growth.
Key Takeaways
Scope down to go deep
Designing for everyone diluted the experience—so I narrowed Lume’s focus to fashion designers. This shift allowed me to build features that truly matter: brand storytelling tools, inventory tracking, and visual merchandising. Focusing on one creative field made the platform more intentional, impactful, and tailored.
Smooth Scroll
This will hide itself!
This will hide itself!
Smooth Scroll
This will hide itself!
This will hide itself!
Smooth Scroll
This will hide itself!
This will hide itself!
TIMELINE
4 Weeks, Spring 2025
ROLE
Lead Product Designer, UX Researcher
TOOLS
Figma, FigJam, Illustrator
Solution
Lume creates a vibrant ecosystem where independent fashion designers can thrive and shoppers can discover with intention.
The platform combines shopping and tagging designers with tools like stylized search themes, moodboards, and performance insights, enabling designers to grow their visibility while giving shoppers a more curated, inspiring, and community-driven experience.
Buyer & Seller Personas
Designing for two types of users…
To design with users in mind, I created two personas. Mariko, an independent fashion designer, struggles with visibility, limited organic discovery, and lack of performance insights. My secondary persona, Derrick, is a fashion-forward shopper who loves finding emerging designers but feels overwhelmed by too many options; his frustrations highlighted the need for discovery tools that make exploration fun, intentional, and inspiring.
Key Features
Four key features were created for Lume.
From Mariko and Derricks pain points it helped me land on four core features — like a social feed for tagging designers, built-in performance metrics for sellers, and more playful tools like stylized keyword categorization and moodboard creations to make discovery feel fun and personal. These became the foundation of Lume’s experience.
User Testing
To validate whether Lume’s flow and features were effective, I conducted two rounds of user testing, with eight participants in each round. Our goal was to discover the main friction points of our intial design, and whether our organic discovery flow worked.
During these sessions, I paid close attention to points of friction, questions participants asked out loud, and how quickly they were able to achieve key tasks without additional guidance. The feedback revealed not only whether the flow was intuitive but also highlighted areas where users felt confused or overwhelmed.
Iterating after User Testing
Independent fashion designers valued visual clarity, intuitive navigation, and feature visibility above all else.
Through testing, it became clear that while users were drawn to the platform’s concept and aesthetics, visual clutter, unclear navigation, and hidden features created friction in their experience. Simplifying the layout and emphasizing imagery helped designs stand out; restructuring navigation improved flow and ease of exploration; and giving the Moodboard its own space increased engagement and perceived purpose.
Branding and Design System
Lume’s visual identity to feel warm, editorial, and empowering, while still maintaining a sense of structure and clarity for everyday usability.
The name “Lume” comes from the word illuminate—and that’s intentional. The entire purpose of the app is to shine a light on independent designers who are often overlooked. I wanted the name itself to reflect that mission.For the color palette, I selected a deep burnt orange as the signature accent. Orange, in this context, conveys warmth, confidence, and forward motion. It feels energizing without being aggressive, and pairs well with a clean black-and-white base.
Seller User Flow
Buyer User Flow
Three main distinct themes came from these categories.
These themes represented the problems independent fashion designers were facing with current platforms they use to promote their own designs.
Synthesizing the Research
Seven distinct categories emerged from my research…
Desire
Current likes
Promotion & Marketing
Feedback
Engagement
Commission
Customization
Final Prototype
Easily discover designers from style tags.
Filter and narrow through by material, color, or concept to find niche and aligned styles.
For You, works like a social media feed, post your outfits, tag your designers and explore styles.
Search similar items from existing outfits by using Lume Search AIe.
Final Prototype
Post your style creation and tag designers.
Post your style creations, utilized for both buyers and sellers
Tag designers, tag stylized key words, easier searching
Social media feed to explore and get inspired.
Final Prototype
Create moodboards and get Inspired.
Turn inspiration into action with shoppable, style-matched suggestions.
Create custom moodboards and pin your favorite pieces to organize and share your style vision with friends or designers.
Validating MVP Through Testing
After testing with 16 users, they found the app to be curated and designed for creatives.
One designer noted, “This is the first time I’ve felt a platform actually supports my brand, not just my products.” Another emphasized, “Everything feels intentional. It doesn’t overwhelm me, but it still feels creative.” Shoppers were particularly enthusiastic about the moodboards, with one saying, “I’d use this just for the moodboards alone. They’re like Pinterest, but shoppable.”
Next Steps
Personalize, polish, and test
My next steps for Lume are to integrate more personalization tools, perfect the UI for a smoother user experience, and expand user testing to gather deeper insights. These improvements will help ensure the platform feels truly tailored to both designers and shoppers, setting the stage for stronger engagement and future growth.
Key Takeaways
Scope down to go deep
Designing for everyone diluted the experience—so I narrowed Lume’s focus to fashion designers. This shift allowed me to build features that truly matter: brand storytelling tools, inventory tracking, and visual merchandising. Focusing on one creative field made the platform more intentional, impactful, and tailored.
Final Prototype
Simplify sale and track performances.
Monitor orders and revenue in real-time, identify your best-selling styles at a glance and get insights to improve and grow your brand.
TIMELINE
4 Weeks, Spring 2025
ROLE
Lead Product Designer, UX Researcher
TOOLS
Figma, FigJam, Illustrator
Solution
Lume creates a vibrant ecosystem where independent fashion designers can thrive and shoppers can discover with intention.
The platform combines shopping and tagging designers with tools like stylized search themes, moodboards, and performance insights, enabling designers to grow their visibility while giving shoppers a more curated, inspiring, and community-driven experience.
Research Methods
After conducting user interviews and competitive swot analysis, we found that Independent designers struggle most with discoverability and platform barriers.
On major marketplaces like Etsy and Shopify, designers feel “buried” without paying for ads, and these platforms’ high commissions and pay-to-be-seen models discourage scaling and undermine independent creators’ autonomy.
I interviewed 5 independent designers and 5 shoppers from diverse range of design aesthetics and experiences with existing online marketplaces. After interviewing I found that 80% of independent fashion designers say getting discovered is their biggest challenge when starting out.
Synthesizing the Research
Seven distinct categories emerged from my research…
Desire
Current likes
Promotion & Marketing
Feedback
Engagement
Commission
Customization
Three main distinct themes came from these categories.
These themes represented the problems independent fashion designers were facing with current platforms they use to promote their own designs.
Final Prototype
Easily discover designers from style tags.
Filter and narrow through by material, color, or concept to find niche and aligned styles.
For You, works like a social media feed, post your outfits, tag your designers and explore styles.
Search similar items from existing outfits by using Lume Search AIe.
Final Prototype
Post your style creation and tag designers.
Post your style creations, utilized for both buyers and sellers
Tag designers, tag stylized key words, easier searching
Social media feed to explore and get inspired.
Final Prototype
Create moodboards and get Inspired.
Turn inspiration into action with shoppable, style-matched suggestions.
Create custom moodboards and pin your favorite pieces to organize and share your style vision with friends or designers.
Final Prototype
Simplify sale and track performances.
Monitor orders and revenue in real-time, identify your best-selling styles at a glance and get insights to improve and grow your brand.