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Unbound
Research + Design
Case Study
Unbound
Research + Design
Case Study
Unbound
OVERVIEW
The project aimed to understand and improve the online shopping experience for trans and non-binary individuals by addressing specific needs and challenges these users face on existing online retail platforms.
The project aims to provide a curated, accessible, and customizable shopping experience for users with different preferences and needs.
ROLE
User Research, Interaction, Visual design, Prototyping.
Sept 3, 2023 - Dec 3 , 2023
Group Project
Project Focus
The project’s goal was to understand the shopping experiences of trans and non-binary individuals when using cis-gendered shopping platforms.
So, our team brainstormed and came up with 2 ideas.
1. Redesigning the current sizing experiences of online retail outlets.
2. Introducing a gender-neutral clothing extension.
Our team initiated the project with a hypothesis about the online shopping experiences of trans and non-binary individuals, informed by an online survey. We proceeded with individual contextual inquiries involving non-binary participants from RIT to gather qualitative data. This was followed by collaborative sessions to draft interpretations and construct an affinity diagram, which helped us in distilling common patterns and insights into their experiences. Leveraging these insights, we developed storyboards and detailed use cases to deepen our understanding of the application "Unbound." This iterative process informed the design of a user-centric extension page, tailored to the unique needs uncovered during our research.
Our project’s goal was to understand the shopping experiences of trans and non-binary individuals when using cis-gendered shopping platforms.
Our target audience were individuals who identify as trans or non-binary and are above 18 years of age. In total, we conducted 5 contextual inquiries as a team and recruited participants from the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Our project’s goal was to understand the shopping experiences of trans and non-binary individuals when using cis-gendered shopping platforms.
Our target audience were individuals who identify as trans or non-binary and are above 18 years of age. In total, we conducted 5 contextual inquiries as a team and recruited participants from the Rochester Institute of Technology.
CONTEXTUAL INTERVIEWS
Research
AFFINITY DIAGRAMS
Our affinity diagram helped to understand the problems our participants faced and form patterns among them.
Affinity Diagrams
Our affinity diagram helped to understand the problems our participants faced and form patterns among them.
Analysis
Understanding Struggles: Through contextual inquiry, interviews, affinity diagrams, and discussions, we gained insights into the challenges faced by the users.
FINDINGS
1
Sizing is a major issue
Individuals lost weight or shopped from the maternity section to find the right size. The fit of clothing is also often not very comfortable.
3
The effect of gender dysphoria
During the transition of gender or immediately after, participants struggled with shopping from the gender section they used to identify with.
For ex: if a male who recently transitioned cannot find the right clothing, he would think he is not ‘man’ enough to fit in but also did not want to shop from the women’s section.
2
Struggle to find clothes that match their style
After transition, individuals would not be able to match their clothing with their identity.
For ex: male to female transition does not mean they want to wear ‘feminine’ clothes
4
Opinions for a more inclusive shopping experience
Participants said it would be better to organize clothing by product type (tops, pants, etc.) and body size rather than gender to cater to everyone’s needs.
INSIGHTS
Understanding Struggles: Through contextual inquiry, interviews, affinity diagrams, and discussions, we gained insights into the challenges faced by the users.
We created vision boards and storyboards based on the findings to create the designs.
VISION BOARDS
Vision 1
The extension does this by taking in your body measurements and mapping them to the brand's size charts in the male and female sections and finally recommends the closest fit for your personal body needs irrespective of your gender.
Secondly, we envision gender-neutral e-commerce stores. We imagine that this could be achieved by removing categories of gender labels (male/female) and providing categorization by apparel type, such as shirts, pants, skirts, swimwear, etc.
In addition, providing sizes for all apparel in the entire range from the smallest in current female sizing to the largest in male sizing would allow users regardless of gender or body type to shop from these stores. They can shop like they normally do without having to choose from cis-gendered shopping categories, therefore making the experience more inclusive.
Vision 2
Vision 1
The extension does this by taking in your body measurements and mapping them to the brand's size charts in the male and female sections and finally recommends the closest fit for your personal body needs irrespective of your gender.
Vision 2
Secondly, we envision gender-neutral e-commerce stores. We imagine that this could be achieved by removing categories of gender labels (male/female) and providing categorization by apparel type, such as shirts, pants, skirts, swimwear, etc.
In addition, providing sizes for all apparel in the entire range from the smallest in current female sizing to the largest in male sizing would allow users regardless of gender or body type to shop from these stores. They can shop like they normally do without having to choose from cis-gendered shopping categories, therefore making the experience more inclusive.
Storyboard and Use Case
Design
Figma Link
Part 1: Entering the user’s details
Part 2: Body measurements of the user
Part 3: Running the plugin on a retail store’s product
Reflection
Reflection
Reflection
