Omkar Talwalkar

Thriftrove.

An ideal service experience for donating clothes at thrift store

This year, I focused on improving the thrifting process in Savannah. Research revealed that while there’s a dire need for winter clothing for the homeless, many people struggle to donate due to time, effort, and inconvenient processes, leaving usable clothes unused in homes.

My Role

Service Designer

Date

7 Sept 2024

Timeline

3.5 Months for end to end planning & implementation

Project Introduction

ThriftRove is a project aimed at reimagining the thrifting experience, focusing on making donations more convenient and engaging for users, especially younger audiences. By addressing the challenges of donation processes and connecting users to the impact of their contributions, the project emphasizes the importance of community and sustainability.

Problems

Many people face significant barriers when it comes to donating clothes, including the time, effort, and lack of an engaging process. Items that could help the homeless or those in need often remain unused in homes due to the hassle of the current donation system. Additionally, users struggle to see the impact of their contributions, which can discourage future donations.

Solution

ThriftRove introduces an app that simplifies and enhances the donation process. Key features include:

Effortless Donation Locators: Users can find nearby thrift stores that align with their preferences using GPS-guided directions.
Gamified Rewards: Each donation unlocks a unique collectible character, adding a layer of fun and engagement.
Impact Notifications: Real-time updates notify users when their items are purchased, allowing them to feel connected to the difference they’ve made.

Our approach towards solving the problem

LEXTANT FRAMEWORK

The Lextant Framework is a tool for understanding and mapping user experiences. It focuses on identifying key emotional and functional drivers that influence how users interact with products and services.

The framework typically helps teams uncover deep insights into what motivates users, shaping designs that align with users needs and values. Below are a few examples.

Ideal experiences are future-focused.

Concentrating on current challenges and obstacles diminishes the potential for innovation.

Ideal experiences are aspirational.

Harness people's visions of an ideal future to cultivate strong connections with consumers.

Ideal experiences are actionable.

Explore how the design of products can create emotional bonds with individuals.

Creating an experience framework

Experience framework is a tool that is used to describe experiences. It is broken down into 4 categories emotions, benefits, features and sensory cues. These categories represent the information you need in order to design something meaningful.

This is how our anatomy of experience framework looked like

01 Emotions

Helpful / Valued / Connected

02 Benefits

Engaged / Supporting / Contributing

03 Features

Interactive / Rewarding / Sustainable

04 Sensory Cues

Clean / Celebrates / Updates

Following the creation of our Ideal Thrift Store Experience framework,

we proceeded to recruit participants for our interviews

Following the creation of our Ideal Thrift Store Experience framework,

we proceeded to recruit participants for our interviews

Our approach towards solving the problem

INTERVIEWS

In exploring the concept of 'The Ideal Experience,' we conducted in-depth interviews with over 15+ participants to understand their emotional responses. Through targeted questions, we aimed to uncover how specific words resonate emotionally with users, influencing their perception of an ideal experience of donation. This chapter presents key insights, illustrating connections between participants' emotions and the visuals that represent their ideal experience.

We collected the data and started affinitizing it

Affinitization helps by grouping similar ideas to reveal patterns, simplify complex information, and support better decision making.

YELLOW PHASE

I feel connected to people when I go out to eat or drink with them.

"Supporting" means putting yourself in others' shoes to understand their situation.

My church teaches children to be selfless.

I believe in Buddhist teachings and karma.

My church teaches children to be selfless.

I believe in Buddhist teachings and karma.

I believe that everything would work out if we put in enough effort.

I feel helpful when I do something without expecting anything back.

I'd feel like I'm helping someone in need who can benefit from the stuff I've already benefited from.

"Contributing” is selflessly forgetting yourself for the greater good.

I'd rather give the clothes to someone in need than throw them out.

Apart from love and support, we don't get anything back.

I feel helpful during a community clean-up.

I feel helpful when I do something nice unconsciously.

I feel valued when I look at how much my mother sacrificed for me.

It makes you feel good helping other people out.

I'm a soft-hearted person, and I feel bad seeing others suffer.

I feel helpful when I help people feel better.

I feel it was a wholesome moment to help something bigger than yourself.

My mother didn't understand English, but she still tried to read it with me.

I bought a lot of lottery tickets but never checked the results once.

I feel valued when one of my friends texted me a thank you note.

I feel confused when I don't have knowledge or resources.

"Engaged" is learning something new and getting sucked into it.

I feel engaged when working on something creative.

I want to give back to society.

I feel most connected with people when we’re doing something together.

I feel connected when we think about similar issues and facing similar challenges.

I feel connected when find mutual understandings.

I feel connected when I’m with like-minded people.

I feel helpful when I listen to my friends and provide emotional support.

I feel supporting when I’m there for my friends during tough times.

I feel supporting when I’m there for my friends.

I feel supporting when I emotionally supported a friend.

“Supporting” is to cheer someone up when they’re feeling down.

I feel valued when people rely on me.

I feel supported when I resonate with my friends emotionally and can help her when she needs support.

I feel helpful when I helped my friends during a difficult time.

To be honest, I like receiving money when I donate.

I’d like to have a reward, it might motivate mw to donate more.

I feel engaged when I found my role on the team and have a satisfying results.

I feel contributing when my proactive ideas lead to a successful outcome.

I feel valued when my manager publicly recognized my project.

I feel valued when my efforts are appreciated.

I feel contributing when something I did receives timely feedback or facial expressions from others.

“Contributing” is feeling passionate when being relied on.

I feel valued when my abilities got recognized.

I feel valued when my teammate praised my contribution.

“Engaged” is when your works are positively received by other people.

I feel engaged when everyone is working towards the same goal.

If I lack familiarity resource or knowledge I feel overwhelmed

The process can be annoying & time consuming

I feel like I’m contributing to sustainability in a minor way

They say they can’t accept my items because they’re out of fashion or season

Engaged is planning and being passionate about the future

I feel connected when I was a part of something bigger working as a whole

It makes me feel socially acceptable

People who might not otherwise do something might feel encouraged by community

I feel engaged in community based activities

I’m very vigilant on what’s going on around me

Feel good when doing something nice for the community

Implementing the decision of taking clothes out of the wardrobe to go donate is the most challenging part

I feel contributing when I volunteer at local food drives

If I’m new to the area I’ll google Goodwill or Plato’s Closet near me

Donation as social activity can help people socialize & contribute to a bigger cause on a large scale

I feel helpful when my work have a impact to people

Contributing is planning ahead for my future

Engaged is planning and being passionate about the future

I don’t want the clothes to sit in a dumpster for years

I feel like I’m contributing to sustainability in a minor way

I feel like my donations contribute to a larger cause

Contributions significantly make an impact

I feel connected when I was a part of something bigger working as a whole

Twitter is a good app; it has a clean design.

The Chat GPT app is very easy to use.

I keep my phone on silent & mostly rely on vibrating notifications.

I’m an organized person, so I pack items by category.

If I put items in the wrong place and they tell me to fix it in public, it’s a bit embarrassing.

It’s a cycle of keeping my closet manageable.

I’m an absolute follow-the-instruction person.

Picture of the smiling woman radiates positive energy.

My eyes got attracted to colorful, soft-edged pictures.

I have a hard time letting go of things I’m used to.

I’m quite afraid of things I’ve never tried.

I feel like the joyful and cartoonist elements help me process better.

I have heard bad stories about fake donation organizations.

I only trust sources with credibility and proof.

I love Duolingo. It’s fun, scary and easy to recognize; it reminds me of how bad my English is.

88 Individual data points

I feel connected when I hug people, from the warmth of physical touch.

I feel valued when one of my friends texted me a thank you note.

I feel connected to people when I go out to eat or drink with them.

"Supporting" means putting yourself in others' shoes to understand their situation.

My church teaches children to be selfless.

I believe in Buddhist teachings and karma.

My church teaches children to be selfless.

I believe in Buddhist teachings and karma.

I believe that everything would work out if we put in enough effort.

I want to give back to society.

I feel helpful when I do something without expecting anything back.

I'd feel like I'm helping someone in need who can benefit from the stuff I've already benefited from.

"Contributing” is selflessly forgetting yourself for the greater good.

I'd rather give the clothes to someone in need than throw them out.

Apart from love and support, we don't get anything back.

I feel helpful during a community clean-up.

I feel helpful when I do something nice unconsciously.

I feel valued when I look at how much my mother sacrificed for me.

It makes you feel good helping other people out.

Contributing is planning ahead for my future

I'm a soft-hearted person, and I feel bad seeing others suffer.

I feel helpful when I help people feel better.

I feel it was a wholesome moment to help something bigger than yourself.

My mother didn't understand English, but she still tried to read it with me.

I bought a lot of lottery tickets but never checked the results once.

I feel rewarded just by getting rid of my stuff.

I feel confused when I don't have knowledge or resources.

"Engaged" is learning something new and getting sucked into it.

I feel engaged when working on something creative.

I feel most connected with people when we’re doing something together.

I feel connected when we think about similar issues and facing similar challenges.

I feel connected when find mutual understandings.

I feel connected when I’m with like-minded people.

I feel helpful when I listen to my friends and provide emotional support.

I feel supporting when I’m there for my friends during tough times.

I feel supporting when I’m there for my friends.

I feel connected when I hug people, from the warmth of physical touch.

I feel supporting when I emotionally supported a friend.

I feel valued when one of my friends texted me a thank you note.

“Supporting” is to cheer someone up when they’re feeling down.

I feel valued when people rely on me.

I feel supported when I resonate with my friends emotionally and can help her when she needs support.

I feel helpful when I helped my friends during a difficult time.

To be honest, I like receiving money when I donate.

I’d like to have a reward, it might motivate mw to donate more.

I feel engaged when I found my role on the team and have a satisfying results.

I feel contributing when my proactive ideas lead to a successful outcome.

I feel valued when my manager publicly recognized my project.

I feel valued when my efforts are appreciated.

I feel contributing when something I did receives timely feedback or facial expressions from others.

“Contributing” is feeling passionate when being relied on.

I feel valued when my abilities got recognized.

I feel valued when my teammate praised my contribution.

“Engaged” is when your works are positively received by other people.

I feel engaged when everyone is working towards the same goal.

Twitter is a good app; it has a clean design.

The Chat GPT app is very easy to use.

I keep my phone on silent & mostly rely on vibrating notifications.

I’m quite afraid of things I’ve never tried.

I’m an organized person, so I pack items by category.

I have a hard time letting go of things I’m used to.

If I put items in the wrong place and they tell me to fix it in public, it’s a bit embarrassing.

It’s a cycle of keeping my closet manageable.

I’m an absolute follow-the-instruction person.

Picture of the smiling woman radiates positive energy.

My eyes got attracted to colorful, soft-edged pictures.

I feel like the joyful and cartoonist elements help me process better.

I have heard bad stories about fake donation organizations.

I only trust sources with credibility and proof.

I love Duolingo. It’s fun, scary and easy to recognize; it reminds me of how bad my English is.

I’m very vigilant on what’s going on around me

Engaged is planning and being passionate about the future

If I lack familiarity resource or knowledge I feel overwhelmed

The process can be annoying & time consumin.g

They say they can’t accept my items because they’re out of fashion or season

It makes me feel socially acceptable

People who might not otherwise do something might feel encouraged by community

Donation as social activity can help people socialize & contribute to a bigger cause on a large scale

Implementing the decision of taking clothes out of the wardrobe to go donate is the most challenging part

I feel engaged in community based activities

Feel good when doing something nice for the community

If I’m new to the area I’ll google Goodwill or Plato’s Closet near me

I feel contributing when I volunteer at local food drives

I feel helpful when my work have a impact to people

I don’t want the clothes to sit in a dumpster for years

I feel like I’m contributing to sustainability in a minor way

Contributions significantly make an impact

I feel connected when I was a part of something bigger working as a whole

I feel like my donations contribute to a larger cause

I feel good contributing to society.

I feel anxious when I feel rejected.

Contribute to a larger cause.

I like to receive rewards and money when I donate.

I feel good when I am recoginzed.

I feel connected to people with the same interest and working towards same goals.

I feel good when I can emotional connected with people.

Religious and personal beliefs play a big part.

I feel engaged when I use my brain.

I help people out of my selflessness.

I like to use applications with clean designs.

I got attracted to colorful and positive pictures.

I feel safe when my stuff is organized.

I use products that are recognizable and credible.

I feel good contributing to society.

I feel anxious when I feel rejected.

I feel engaged when I use my brain.

I feel connected to people with the same interest and working towards same goals.

Contribute to a larger cause.

Religious and personal beliefs play a big part.

I like to receive rewards when I donate.

I feel good when I am recoginzed.

I feel good when I can emotional connected with people.

I got attracted to colorful and positive pictures.

I use products that are recognizable and credible.

I like to use applications with clean designs.

I help people out of my selflessness.

I feel safe when my stuff is organized.

BLUE PHASE

14 Things matter

to the user

14 Things matter

to the user

I feel connected to people with the same interest and working towards same goals.

I feel good when I can emotional connected with people.

I like to receive rewards when I donate.

I feel good when I am recoginzed.

I feel anxious when I feel rejected.

Contribute to a larger cause.

I feel good contributing to society.

I like to use applications with clean designs.

I feel safe when my stuff is organized.

I use products that are recognizable and credible.

I got attracted to colorful and positive pictures.

I feel engaged when I use my brain.

Religious and personal beliefs play a big part.

I help people out of my selflessness.

I enjoy when my contributions are recognized and rewarded.

I feel socially accepted when I contribute to a larger cause.

I enjoyed clean and organized visual communication.

I feel good when I get emotionally connected to people with the same interest.

I feel good when using products with a positive reputation and message.

Inner growth is important.

I feel good when I got emotional connected to people with the same interest.

My contributions are recognized and rewarded.

I feel socially accepted when I contribute to a larger cause.

I enjoyed clean and organized visual communication.

I feel good when using products with a positive reputation and message.

Inner growth is important.

PINK PHASE

6 Key Issues

Inner growth is important.

I feel good when I got emotional connected to people with the same interest.

I enjoy when my contributions are recognized and rewarded.

I feel socially accepted when I contribute to a larger cause.

I feel good when using products with a positive reputation and message.

I enjoyed clean and organized visual communication.

The product should provide emotional and spiritual satisfaction.

The product should be community-based to create connection between users and rewards.

The product should have clean visual communication, friendliness and positivity.

The product should provide emotional and spiritual satisfaction.

The product should be community-based to create connection between users and rewards.

The product should have clean visual communication, friendliness and positivity.

GREEN PHASE

3 Core Stories

Psychology

Feature

Design

3 Core stories we identified after the affinitization were

We decided to design and ensure that the experience fulfills the core stories

Find the Perfect

Thrift Store Near You

Our app helps you effortlessly locate the best nearby thrift store that suits your donation preferences. With GPS-guided directions, we make it easy for you to reach the right place, ensuring a smooth and convenient donation experience.

Unlock Collectible Characters
with Each Donation

Every time you make a donation, you receive a unique collectible character, turning your good deeds into a fun and engaging collection. Scan the QR code on your thank-you tag to reveal your character, motivating you to keep donating and expanding your collection.

Get Notified When Your Item Finds a New Home

Stay connected to the impact of your donations with real-time updates! When someone purchases an item you've donated, the app will notify you, giving you the satisfaction of knowing your items have found a new home and continue to make a difference.

We always gotta have a conclusion right?

Through this project, we gained valuable experience in applying the Lextant Framework to guide our research process, which allowed us to delve deeply into user motivations, behaviors, and needs. This framework provided us with a structured approach to uncovering insights and understanding the emotional touchpoints in the donation experience, especially among young users.

By leveraging these insights, we developed a donation app that not only facilitates the act of giving but also rewards and connects users to the impact of their contributions. This project has highlighted the importance of empathy-driven design and has enhanced our skills in user-centered research and solution creation, preparing us to tackle similar challenges in future endeavors.