Meet the Team
A cross-university research project involving the University of Minnesota, Cornell University, and the University of Delaware.
This work was funded by the National Science Foundation under grants #2222903, #2222904, and #2222905.
#1
Research Problem
Completed by my team before I joinedThe fashion design industry contributes to a lot of waste.
Main finding
97% of all garments produced are wasted.
Hypothesis
If designers understood consumers better...
Designers will produce garments of higher ultility value
Consumers will keep the garments & not throw them away
Less waste produced!
Project Timeline
How might we reimagine the design process to minimize finished-product waste using augmented design intelligence?
Where I joined
Where we ended
Research
1. Research
Verify problem and layout project direction
Prototype
2. Prototype
Rapidly iterate on a testable prototype
Develop
3. Develop
Implement the solution
Testing
4. Testing
Assess financial feasibility
#2
The Design Brief That I Got
Create a design tool for fashion designers that predicts utility of a design, within the wardrobes of actual consumers.
Across the consumer base, what fraction of the existing wardrobe is compatible with the designed concept?
What My Task Really Was
I wasn’t just a designer, but also a pilot that helped my team navigate muddy waters.
- Understand the project and turn ideas into concrete features
- Ask questions that solidify the team’s vision
- Be unafraid to constantly present new ideas and revise them based on feedback
Can we predict the ultility of a design concept before we produce it?— Summary of the design brief
#3
UI Design Process
My background lies in UX/Graphic Design, while my team specialized in Fashion Design. We knew what the app should do, but had no clue how it could all work together.
Start from UI Design Mood board
My mood board focuses on:
- UI of apps that fashion designers like to use
- UI of apps with data visualization/analytics
User Research Finding
Fashion design is heavily illustrative process. Their mood boards tend to be conceptual e.g. scenery that provokes some kind of atmosphere.
UI Design Iterations
With some sketches, I rapidly prototyped. Ultimately, we decided to separate our design inspiration app from the data analytics app for the time being.
Approach 1
Produce 1 representative image from selected data
Approach 2
Generate cards of individual garments from selected data
Approach 3
Generate an inspiration image collage from selected data
Approach 4
Generate a scrapbook-style mood board from selected data
Final Design
p.s. I’m no longer on the team, but feel free to reach out if you’re interested in project updates!
Design Inspiration App
Draws inspiration from fashion design’s illustrative process to answer objective 1 of the design brief.
"Can we predict the ultility of a design concept with the wardrobes of existing consumers?"— Objective 1
Data Analytics App
Draws inspiration from fashion design’s ideation process to answer objective 2 of the design brief.
"What fraction of the consumers's existing wardrobe is compatible with this design?"— Objective 2
Design System
#5
Moving forward
The end goal is to develop a working prototype that is economically viable for implementation in the fashion industry.
- Incorporating software details
Further development of augmented intelligence technology with Cornell University.
- Visual branding
Color scheme, logo, fonts, etc.