Furniture Experience for Millennials

Problem Statement

Millennials faced challenges in finding furniture that met their needs for sustainability, affordability, and style. The existing market offerings were often inconvenient, expensive, and lacked the desired modern aesthetics.

Objectives

• Simplify the process of capturing and digitizing handwritten content.

• Enhance ease of editing, organizing, and sharing digital lists.

• Improve accessibility and usability for diverse user groups.

Process and Methodology

This module was by far the most interesting, as it involved continuous learning and required us - students, to be agile throughout the course. The project followed the design thinking approach, with the solutions being centred around the user.  Here is a classification of activities conducted in the process:​

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1. Explore

   • Secondary research was conducted to get started with the chosen topic - Furniture Experience. 

   • Post a substantial data was collected from secondary research sources, a deep dive with primary research was accomplished next. 

   • 10-Consumers were interviewed to understand their purchase inspiration/trigger, requirement gathering, buying process, issues and delights, after-sales experience, and maintenance.

   • 5-Furniture stores were visited to gain a deeper understanding of the stakeholders, users and the consumer market. Store owners, managers, and sales professionals were interviewed to understand the purchase patterns, roles of various stakeholders, demand and supply, and consumer behaviour.​
      

2. Define

   • Data collected was synthesised and artefacts like User Personas, and in-depth User Journey Maps were generated.

   • Insights derived from the research were used to create 'How Might We' problem statements.
      

3. Ideate

   • Ideation activities were conducted to produce a concept. The proposed concept was further detailed.  

   • Next, a market study of the proposed concept was carried out.

   • This helped to understand the environment landscaping, conduct a PESTLE analysis and then map the Stakeholders.

   • The proposed concept was further validated with user interviews conducted with 20 users.

   • User insights derived were used to create 3-user personas and in-depth user journeys.​
      

4. Design and Develop

   • A Value Proposition Statement was generated to communicate the concept with utmost clarity.

   • Service Design Blueprint was created to understand the user interaction with touchpoints and their effects on various levels of processes. This also helped to suggest mitigations for possible limitations. 

   • Business Model Canvas was formulated to record key business propositions and factors to help streamline the business idea.

   • Service Manual Booklet for the proposed business idea was published. 

   • The digital user experience of the business was covered by designing a concept mobile application.

   • This application is a proof of concept and is being updated with design upgrades over time. 

Design Solution

• Low-Fidelity Designs:

  • Initial wireframes and sketches to visualize the core functionality and layout.

  • Focused on user flows and basic interactions to validate the concept.
     

• High-Fidelity Designs:

  • Detailed and polished designs incorporating branding and visual aesthetics.

  • Included interactive elements and refined user interfaces for a seamless experience.
     

• Prototypes:

  • Developed interactive prototypes to simulate the user experience.

  • Conducted usability testing to identify areas for improvement and ensure a smooth user journey.

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Check out the mobile application's journey here, followed by the prototype: