Tiny Threads Exchange

Project Overview

The Product

Product Duration

Design an app and a responsive website for parents to purchase and resell children's clothing. The target audience of Tiny Threads Exchange is parents in need of affordable clothing with children ages 0-14.


I began to work on this project in April of 2024 and have completed it over the course of a month. I dedicated approximately 20 hours a week to completing Tiny Threads Exchange.


As part of the Google UX Design Professional Certificate on Coursera, I completed this end-to-end case study—one of three portfolio projects. I completed the full UX process, including user research, ideation, wireframing, high-fidelity mockups, and interactive prototyping for both desktop and mobile experiences. The project also included usability testing and iteration based on participant feedback.

Project Vision

Tiny Threads Exchange is an app and a responsive website that allows any user to purchase and resell children's clothing. For this project, I created a concise website in both desktop and mobile form and a dedicated mobile app which streamlines transaction processes with an emphasis on social good.


Challenges

  1. Provide accessibility to parents of varying demographics to access affordable clothing options.

  2. Create a minimalistic UI that can be understood by all users regardless of internet literacy.

  3. Design a cohesive interface that provides seamless transaction processes

User Research:

To inform the design of Tiny Threads Exchange, I conducted targeted user research with parents of children ages 0–14 before moving into wireframing.

Initial Assumptions I initially assumed that most parents would find browsing listings, locating seller details, and completing transactions straightforward on a dedicated resale platform, provided they were aware of it.

Key Insights Through user interviews and surveys, I discovered significant variability in digital literacy across demographics. Many participants faced barriers in navigating resale interfaces, uploading quality photos, understanding sizing/condition filters, and trusting transaction processes—issues that disproportionately affected less tech-savvy users and hindered both buying and selling experiences.

These findings directly shaped the design direction, leading to simplified flows, enhanced guidance (e.g., auto-suggestions, tooltips), clearer trust signals, and mobile-optimized interactions to ensure accessibility and confidence for a broad parent audience.

Summary

Pain Points

  1. Internet Literacy: Individuals of varying demographics do not possess equivalent internet literacy. I counteracted this issue by making my UI cohesive and concise to allow for easy comprehension.

  2. Qualifications: When completing online transactions, parents worry that they are obtaining quality items and that they are sending their items in the correct manner. I assuaged these concerns by providing condition information and item details about each piece of clothing. I also provided a list of parameters and selling instructions to ease selling concerns.

  3. Time: Parents are often busy with work, multiple children, after school activities, and household duties. For this reason, I made the user journey simple and quick.

Persona: Lauren

Problem statement:

Lauren is a mother of 3 who works as a registered nurse. With limited time, she needs purchasing and selling her children's clothes to be simple.

Overview:

Education: Bachelor's Degree

Hometown: Tampa, Florida

Family: Husband, 7 year-old son, 5 year-old son, 2 year-old daughter

Occupation: Registered Nurse

Quote:

“I just don’t have a lot of time between work and the kids' extracurricular activities, I just need things to be easy and time efficient."

Goals:

  • Wants to quickly and easily purchase and sell clothing for her three children.

Frustrations:

  • Has limited time to do activities outside of the daily routine, is tired after a long day at work and looking after children outside of daycare hours.

Mobile App Wireframes

Usability Study: Findings

Usability Testing – Tiny Threads Exchange

I conducted moderated usability testing with 5 parents (representing the target demographic: parents of children ages 0–14) to validate the proposed designs for both the responsive website and mobile app.

Key Findings Participants successfully completed core tasks with high confidence:

  • Browsing and filtering children's clothing listings across age, size, condition, and other criteria

  • Completing a full purchase flow (from cart to checkout)

  • Creating a seller listing (uploading photos, setting condition/pricing, publishing)

  • Navigating seamlessly between desktop and mobile views

All participants understood the overall user flow and expressed that the interface felt intuitive, trustworthy, and tailored to busy parents’ needs.

Impact Positive task completion and feedback confirmed the effectiveness of simplified flows, clear trust indicators, and responsive design decisions. Minor friction points identified (e.g., photo upload guidance) were addressed in final iterations to further reduce cognitive load.

Mobile App Mockups

Mobile Website Wireframes

Mobile Website Mockups

Desktop Website Wireframes

Desktop Mobile Mockups

Interactive Mobile App Prototype

Interactive Mobile Website Prototype

Interactive Desktop Website Prototype

Key Takeaways

Throughout this project, I learned how to ideate for multiple platforms and to make content accessible for all users regardless of their device, internet accessiblity, or internet literacy. I conducted independent research and learned how to create new components and variants as well as scale ideas from one platform to another. If Tiny Threads Exchange became a responsive website and app, it has the potential to do social good by providing affordable clothing options for families and helping the environment. Overall, I have grown tremendously as I continued to complete projects and I am excited to see where my UX design journey brings me!