Passion Project
E-Commerce
Mobile App
Startup
Simplifying the way to manage belongings without stress for international students
A student marketplace where they can sell, buy or donate their belongings items to make moving in-and-out easy.
Time
4 weeks
Role
UX Research, UI Design
Tools
Figma
Problem
Managing leftover items often leads to waste when students move out after they finished university.
Solution
A marketplace helping students pass things on through sustainable choices.
Impact
Students move in and out easy, while earning pocket money.
Users
9 out of 10 participants said the solution was easy to manage and something they’d like to use.
Environment
Helps reduce waste and carbon footprint by extending the life of products.
Product
Becomes a trusted marketplace tailored for both international and local students.
Other benefits:
Affordable, trustworthy exchanges within student only network
Save time to manage unnecessary items
Supporting those in need through donation
Minimizing waste and promote sustainability
Solution At Your Fingertips
EcoBuddies focuses on donating and selling unused items, turning belongings management into stress-free.
Sell unused items just one click
Students can directly upload unused belongings to the sale board.
Set automatic donation after sale period
Unsold items can be donated after a chosen sale period, ensuring nothing goes to waste.
Direct donation without sales
Items can be donated straight to organizations so they can be used by those who need them.
Buy affordable and scam-Free
Students can discover budget-friendly items and save money, with no need to worry about scams.
Background
One of my graduate student friends, rushing to move out, listed as many belongings as she could in the student group.
My friend’s belongings ended up left in what seemed to be the recycling bin under her apartment, and other students told me they had long kept unused items with no idea what to do.
User Research
My first steps was interviewing other students to learn about pain points and the ways they handled them.
Here's what I discovered from them:
Unused items often end up beside trash bins: Unaware of where to donate, many students left items at trash bins when moving out, causing unnecessary waste.
Limited trust in informal group: Sometimes people post things for sale in Facebook or Line groups, but worry about scams, or the seller not showing up.
Desire to earn pocket money: Many students often expressed interest in selling unused items for a bit of extra pocket money.
Exchange students didn't want to buy brand-new items for daily use: Since they came to study only for few months, they preferred to buy affordable items.
Inconvenient to manage stuffs during exams: During exams or before leaving, they don’t have much time to manage all items.
international Students
12
local STUDENTs
3
Breaking down student behaviours in managing their belongings
Digital Platforms
Offline Methods
Ecosystem
Competitor Analysis
No app brings student selling, buying, and donating into one.
A deeper look into the existing second-hand marketplaces, most platforms are designed primarily for either buying and selling or for donations. These platforms typically serve a broad user base, which makes it challenging to ensure trust and safety, particularly for students.
User Personas
Who I designed for
After understanding the students' behaviors and needs, I developed three representative personas that reflect their needs and pain points.
budget saver berlin
Exchange Student
“I only need things for a few months, so buying everything new feels like a waste.”
Pain Points
Workarounds
Feels like buying new items is too expensive for short-term use.
Borrows from roommates.
Hard to find trust sellers on Facebook marketplace.
Asks around and buys from mutual friends or in same university groups.
Thinks it is not worth paying extra baggage to take back home when university ends.
Buys cheap new items and leaves them behind.
Graduating girl Gigi
Final Semester Student
"I just want to make a little money from my leftover stuffs, or at least have it gone to someone who actually needs it."
Pain Points
Workarounds
Unsure about what to do with last minute leftovers.
Leaves items in the hallway or throws them into trash.
Overwhelmed by packing and sad about waste.
Tries giveaway postings on student LINE groups and WhatsApp.
Not enough time to deal with multiple buyers.
Bundles items together at low price in Facebook marketplace.
donation seeking Dylan
Student Volunteer
"I wanted to donate my things, but I honestly had no idea where to bring them or who to contact."
Pain Points
Workarounds
Tries Googling but hard to understand about donation process.
Asks around in LINE or WhatsApp student groups.
No transport or time to drop things off.
Leaves donation bags near dorm common areas or hands off to friends.
Unsure about which local organizations accept what kind of items.
Keeps items packed and stored away in his rooms.
Sketching & Wireframing
I quickly brought ideas on paper to capture every possibility.
I started sketching out all ideas, visualize how the platform might work before refining them into wireframes.
Wireframe
HMW
How might we help graduating GiGi offload her items without stress?
Chaw Chaw's quote:"I just want to make a little money from my leftover stuffs, or at least have it gone to someone who actually needs it."
Graduating Gigi plans to sell and donate her belongings since the semester has come to end.
She opens EcoBuddies and verify student identity.
She lists her unused furniture with a limited-time sale.
She also sets any unsold items to be automatically donated afterward.
Budget-saver Berlin whose study lamp just broke, is on the hunt for an affordable replacement.
He opens EcoBuddies, filters items by his university, and spots a lamp being sold by GiGi who happens to attend the same university.
He messages her through the app and they arrange the exchange.
He picks up the lamp in person, smooth, safe, and affordable.
Once Gigi’s sale period ends, her unsold items are automatically donated through the platform.
Gigi earns some extra cash and feels good knowing her leftovers helped others. She moves out stress-free.
Berlin gets what he needs without breaking the bank.
User Flow
Seller: From registration to sale posting
User Flow
Buyer: From exploring items to checkout
Information Architecture
Structure of EcoBuddies
As a student-to-student platform, EcoBuddies begins with student verification to ensure a trusted network. The app is structured into three core sections: sell with auto-donation for unsold items, buy, and donate.
Style Guide
Colors for reflecting sustainable solutions
EcoBuddies is built around the idea of turning unused belongings into shared value creating meaningful, sustainable impact.
Primary
#015927
Represents sustainability, renewal, and trust.
Secondary
#FFC857
Symbolizes reward, and the warmth of helping others.
Tertiary
#CFE7C3
Uses for eco-friendly hints and subtle highlights.
Neutral
#2D2E2E
Uses for paragraph descriptions and labels.
Icons with outline styles
Outlined icons are chosen for a clean, minimalist look that enhances clarity and easy recognition for users.
Components
Creating components helps speed up the design process, maintain organization, and ensure consistency across all screens.
Sans-serif font for friendly and serious tone
A clean sans-serif font is used throughout the app to reflect a tone that is sustainable, serious, yet friendly—aligned with the platform’s student-first, purpose-driven mission.
Regular/ Medium/ Bold
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789[{]}\|;:’”,<.>/?`~
!@#$%^&*()-=_+
Title
16px Regular/ Medium
Body, Paragraph
14px Regular
Label
12px Regular/ Medium
Measurable Result
9 out of 10 students reported the solution was easy to manage and saved them time.
I conducted usability testing with 10 participants.
Flow Tested
(Main flow) Uploading items for sale with automatic donation.
(Secondary flow) Searching and buying affordable items.
Methods
Tracked errors and measured task completion for each flow.
Metrics
Collected post-test feedback using SUS (System Usability Scale) and NPS (Net Promoter Score).
50% completed with zero errors
while others encountered only minor slips: wording, checkbox selections.
50% were promoters
(NPS > 9) means half of the students showing strong advocacy potential.
82 average SUS score
Placing the app in the excellent usability range, showing users found the app easy to use.
90% task completion
Completed main task flow successfully showing that the app can be used with confidence.
Reflection
What I have learned from this project
Iterative testing and interviews reveal insights for better solutions.
I learned that listening closely to users and validating ideas through iteration always leads to more effective, user-centered designs. I discovered how small usability issues can add up to big frustrations for users.
Flaws are part of the process.
This project reminded me that design is continuous. Each flaw uncovered through testing or feedback gave me clarity on how to refine the experience. Instead of seeing flaws as failures, I now view them as stepping stones toward better solutions.
Users prefer simple steps: just post and pass things on.
From usability testing, I learned that students’ main target is to sell items and move out easily. They need a very simple and quick flow to complete the process without hassle.
Next Steps
What I will do for future steps
Refine the design from feedback of participants.
Bring the app to life with a demo version.
