Furniture Space: Fostering Gratitude Through Design

Embellishing Gratitude through Technology.

Introduction

I’m Uday Kumar Madarapu, a Product Designer based in the United States. This case study delves into Furniture Space, a project designed to address the challenges international students face when acquiring furniture, all while fostering gratitude and community spirit. Through the principles of Human-Centered Design, we crafted a solution that bridges logistical gaps, promotes sustainability, and strengthens interpersonal connections.

This six-week project focused on strategy and visual design, combining innovative problem-solving with a user-centric approach.

Timeline: 6 weeks
Role: UX Researcher, UI Designer
Scope: Research, Design, Evaluation, Testing
Tools: Figma, Zoom, Notion, Audio Recorder

Design Brief

The objective of Furniture Space was to create an innovative platform that reimagines how gratitude is expressed and shared within a community. By understanding the specific needs of international students, we focused on:

• Reducing economic burdens through furniture sharing.
• Facilitating resource-sharing and logistical coordination.
• Building trust between donors and recipients.

To achieve this, we incorporated stakeholder collaboration (e.g., universities, and city councils) and explored IoT technology to streamline operations and enhance user experience.

Process Overview

We adhered to the Design Thinking Framework, an iterative methodology emphasizing user-centered solutions.

• Discovery: Identified user pain points through research.
• Define: Synthesized insights into actionable requirements.
• Ideation: Explored multiple ideas to address the identified challenges.
• Design: Developed user flows, wireframes, and prototypes.
• Testing: Refined the solution through usability tests and heuristic evaluations.

Design Thinking Process

Discovery phase

Research Activites

To understand the core challenges, we conducted:

• Interviews: Conversations with donors, recipients, and volunteers to gather qualitative insights.
• Observations: Participated in donation activities to identify bottlenecks.
• Volunteering: Engaged with community members facilitating furniture donations to gain firsthand experience.

Our research included interviews, observations, and volunteering activities. Through open-ended discussions with donors and recipients, we identified critical pain points:

• For Donors: Difficulty arranging transportation and limited trust in the process.
• For Recipients: Uncertainty about item availability and challenges coordinating pickups.

Key Stakeholder Challenges:

Problems faced by our Stakeholders

Insights:
One significant observation was the donor’s concern about the lack of emotional connection. Many donors wanted meaningful feedback to ensure their contributions were valued.

Conclusion: Gratitude mechanisms could be vital in fostering trust and encouraging participation.

Define Phase

Personas:
Based on our research, we developed two primary personas to represent our stakeholders:

Recipient Persona: A new international student with a limited budget, seeking affordable furniture.

User Persona Recepient

Donor Persona:Profile: A middle-aged individual looking to declutter while helping the community.

User Persona Donor

User Requirements

From our findings, the critical requirements were:

• Trust-Building Features: Transparency between donors and recipients.
• Efficient Logistics Management: Simplified processes for inventory tracking and delivery coordination.
• Gratitude Mechanisms: Opportunities for recipients to express appreciation directly.
• Accessibility: Designs accommodating both tech-savvy users and those unfamiliar with digital platforms.

After understanding our requirements we started using mapping techniques to understand user behavior and to identify the main areas in which our users are facing challenges.

Affinity Mapping:

After collecting data from various participants via interviews we planned to organize the data and group them based on the information obtained. With this grouping, we were able to analyze the main areas our users are facing.

Affinity Mapping Furniture Space

Empathy Mapping:

We created empathy mapping to define the target audience with more clarity, as well as to illustrate their needs and actions. This technique helped us to gain a good understanding of their thoughts and feelings. The data in the map is based on the insights we collected from the discovery phase.

Empathy Map Furniture Space

Ideation Phase

Using brainstorming methods like Crazy 8 and 10+10, we generated over 80 ideas. After evaluating their feasibility, alignment with user needs, and impact, we shortlisted three concepts:

Idea 1 — Gratitude Fest:

• A physical fair allows donors and recipients to interact directly.
• Features: Interactive kiosks for inventory management, wristbands to facilitate matches, and gratitude walls for feedback.

With the help of this idea, we can ensure Inventory Management, Public Awareness, Gratitude, and building Human and Economic Welfare.

The Gratitude Fest | Idea 1

Donors Story | Idea 1

Receivers Story | Idea 1

Idea 2 — Carpooling App:

• An extension of carpooling focused on furniture logistics.
• Features: Real-time tracking, ride-sharing options for recipients, and cost-sharing mechanisms.

This application is an effective response to solve planning, transportation concerns, time, and energy consumption.

Donors Story | Idea 2

Receivers Story | Idea 2

Idea 3 — Interactive Kiosks:

• Physical vending machines are placed in public spaces for donations and furniture browsing.
• Features: Gamification elements, secure payment slots for services, and enhanced privacy for donors.

We can use this money for inventory management, transportation, and other services. We can also maintain the privacy of the donors and we expect a broad audience and social connectivity.

Donors Story | Idea 3

Receivers Story | Idea 3

Final Choice: Gratitude Fest

We selected Gratitude Fest as it addressed both logistical and emotional challenges effectively. Its focus on human interaction and public engagement aligned well with our goal of fostering gratitude.

Design Phase

To complement the Gratitude Fest, we designed an online platform with features like:

1. Gratitude Wall: Enables recipients to share feedback and thank donors.
2. Wall of Fame: Highlights top donors to motivate community participation.
3. Gratitude Meter: Allows users to customize their gratitude expressions, fostering deeper engagement.

User Flows

User Flow for Furniture Space

Screens

Screens

Furniture Space App Screens

Prototype

Test the Prototype

Testing Phase

In this phase, we performed Usability Testing and Heuristic Evaluation to identify user challenges and improve the application’s functionality.

Usability Testing:

Participants were given tasks such as donating furniture and enrolling for products. Key observations:

• Confusing UI: The “Follow” button on the dashboard caused ambiguity, leading us to relocate it to the product overview page.
• Text Readability Issues: Small font size and unclear terms like “Order Confirmed” were revised for clarity.

Heuristic Evaluation:

Using Jakob Nielsen’s severity ratings, we assessed the app based on design heuristics:

• Visibility of System Status: Improved labeling and progress indicators.
• Real-World Match: Simplified terminology for better comprehension (e.g., “past events” changed to “completed events”).

Match between the System and the real world

• User control and freedom: Back-and-forth navigation allowed flexibility.
• Consistency: Uniform design maintained across screens.
• Error prevention: Introduced a “Waitlist” button for unavailable products.

Error Prevention

• Help and Recovery: Identified the need for help shortcuts and pop-ups to guide users through errors.

Outcome:
Through usability testing and heuristic evaluation, five key usability issues were identified and prioritized. These insights guided critical fixes, enhancing user trust, navigation, and overall experience.

Future Explorations

To enhance the Gratitude Fest experience, we plan to explore:

1. IoT Devices: Wearable technology to facilitate donor-recipient connections. Interactive kiosks with real-time inventory tracking.
2. Advanced Features: Augmented reality (AR) tools for virtual furniture previews. AI-driven recommendations for matching donors and recipients.
3. Scalability: Partnering with universities and community centers to expand the initiative. Exploring global implementation with localized adaptations.

Future Explorations

Key Learnings

• Iterative Design:
  Continuous feedback loops minimized late-stage changes and ensured user satisfaction.
• Emotional Connection:
  Understanding the role of gratitude in human interactions led to more meaningful solutions.
• Accessibility:
  Balancing digital and physical touchpoints made the solution inclusive for diverse user groups.

Conclusion

Furniture Space demonstrates how thoughtful design can address logistical and emotional challenges. By fostering trust, community engagement, and sustainability, this project highlights the power of gratitude-driven design in creating a positive societal impact.

Through iterative research, ideation, and testing, we created a platform that simplifies resource-sharing while strengthening interpersonal connections. This case study serves as a testament to the potential of Human-Centered Design in solving real-world problems.

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