Rent My Wardrobe is an app-based platform that facilitates consumer-to-consumer rental services for women's fashion. Women can easily rent dresses from other users at a low cost or rent their dresses out to other users for profit. Think of it as Airbnb for women's fashion!
What was the
Problem
In 2016, I met the entrepreneur, Rachel Sipperley. She wanted to create an mobile platform for listing and renting women’s dresses. She saw that women were spending too much money on outfits for special occasions. These outfits were expensive, used once, and collected dust afterward. But an open rental system brought the added challenges of building trust and safety among strangers. Rachel had a vision for a platform that would address these challenges.
What was the
Solution
The community closet has arrived.
The solution was a mobile platform to rent and list dresses in their closet locally and with peace of mind.
Impact
In 2017 the product launched in Dallas, and continues to expand the service to other cities. Since the initial design the product team has continued to improve the platform into a product users love.
1/28/2019
Thank the Lawd!
What was our
Process
I collaborated directly with Rachel and the team members of the agency leading the project.
Project Goals
- Verify users to foster trust and unlock potential through face-to-face meetings.
- Enable Listers to generate a profit on the dresses they already own.
- Give Renters fine-tuned control over their local searches for the perfect dress.
My Role
I started out as the UX and UI designer on the project. I received requirements from the external agency managing the project. They assigned me user stories, and I created wireframes and mood boards. From there I mocked up the interface in Sketch, and prototyped them in InVision.
Later, I transitioned the work to a designer at the agency.
Steps I took
I gathered data and insights from internal and brand stakeholders. Then I began brainstorming, mood boarding, and designing against user stories. I focused on two personas. Listers would be the ones listing their dresses for a fee. Renters would be the ones paying for temporary usage of the items.
I drew inspiration from Airbnb, Google Allo, and the material design language. I shared initial designs with the Rent My Wardrobe team over video conference. I offered 3 distinct design interface options for Rachel to select from. After receiving her feedback, I revised the preferred concept. The direction became clear quickly. It enabled me to push forward with wireframing the app based on the agency’s requirements.
I made sure to have a screen or set of screens match up with each user story. I checked in completed screens to Zeplin. They received verification and approval by the development team and product owner. The team used Zeplin’s commenting system to communicate minor design changes. We huddled in Google Hangouts for bigger items that required further discussion.
Challenges
It was a hurdle for me to empathize with the “Renter” persona. Their interest in this app centered around important events filled with emotional highs. These highs would drive users to buy a dress for the event—even if it were for a one-time use. Overcoming this block drove the creation of the landing screen. I designed it to help women find perfect dresses for big occasions.
Another challenge was understanding dresses, their styles, and how they fit. I interviewed several women about the types of dresses they wore. I asked about how the sizing compared to other clothing. If women felt comfortable discussing it, I asked about body types and how they translated into dress sizes. This helped me create a meaningful experience for search and filtering.
Introducing the
Final Product
The community closet has arrived.
Identity Verification & Rapport
Women would be coordinating local exchanges. It was important to verify users and ensure that they were who they said they were. To keep things simple, we used social media to verify users during sign up. The intention was to create a simple approach to let the community members vet one another. Once verified, a ribbon displayed beneath the user’s profile photo for others to see.
Upon returning the dress, the app encouraged Renters and Listers to leave reviews. This helped to build rapport and trust. The Renter was given the opportunity to rate the Lister and the borrowed dress. This gave them space to provide honest, but separate feedback. We didn’t want Listers to be judged for a dress they own, which might be subjectively displeasing to the borrower. On the flip side, a user’s experience with another person shouldn’t influence their view of a borrowed product.
Smart Messaging
We wanted to remove barriers and make the experience personal. We achieved this by encouraging users to meet up to try on the dress. It was likely that borrowers would be renting dresses for special occasions, so making sure it’s the perfect fit is important. The solution was to have the app create a conversation between the Renter and Lister upon checkout completion. The app facilitated the discussion by automatically notifying the Lister when there was a new request for an item. The Renter requests a date to meet, and it is presented to the Lister. The lister has to either confirm or select a date that works better for them.
There were more opportunities to extend this messaging service, so we used it to encourage reviews. When a dress is returned, both users receive a message to rate one another. The rating, although embedded in their message, is only visible to them. The benefit of embedding reviews was that it reduced the risk of users not leaving a review. The conversation around a product already drew users in through the messaging service. It felt right to complete the process in the same place, rather than expect them to go elsewhere.
Calendar Availability
We felt it was important for users to mark and view the availability of dresses to avoid double booking. We required Renters to input the dates they want to borrow the dress and used the data to create blackout dates. The Lister could also blackout dates if they wanted to reserve the dress for personal use.
Viewing and Filtering Searches
For Renters, we wanted to provide alternative ways to find dresses other than scrolling through endless options. The simplest approach was providing two views when browsing: a list view and a map view. As the user zooms in and out of the map, dresses available in an area will group together and display a number. This avoided having several overlapping pins that are difficult to select.
Additionally, we created filters that made sense for the audience. Users could search dresses by designer, color, size, style, body type, age range and more.
