Revive
Project Overview
Background
With rising environmental awareness and demand for unique, emotional products, upcycling is gaining attention. However, in the U.S., participation paths remain unclear, and creators lack visibility and support. On platforms like eBay, upcycled products are often viewed as low-value second-hand goods, limiting consumer recognition and interest.
Project Goal
This project aims to make upcycling easier to create, discover, and understand through system design and relationship building, gradually integrating it into people’s daily consumption and self-expression.
My role & contributions
I led the end-to-end process from analysis to validation. I analyzed 568 data points, extracted six key insights, and defined design challenges. By combining competitive analysis and Blue Ocean Strategy, I clarified the platform positioning and design direction. I focused on three key scenarios, built prototypes, conducted user testing, and iterated to deliver the final design solution.
Impact
Creator Workflow Efficiency
90%
of upcycling creators said ReVive’s material supply and AI listing features reduced operational burden, improved workflow efficiency, and increased motivation to keep creating and sharing.
Preference Matching Efficiency
80%
of consumers agreed that ReVive was able to help them quickly find works and creators matching their style preferences and emotional resonance.
Willingness for Continuous Participation
90%
of participants (including creators and consumers) said ReVive helped build mutual understanding and trust, and they were willing to continue using the platform.
Identify the Problem
Insight from the market research:
Consumers value emotional experiences, and creators prefer offline channels.
While consumers consider price and sustainability, they also value personalization and emotional connection, preferring limited and story-driven products. Despite the reach of online platforms, most U.S. creators still prefer offline markets for sales and interaction.
User research
100+
Survey Recipients
10
Interviewees
568
Valuable Data Points
We analyzed these insights using Affinitization and synthesized the findings with Empathy Maps and the Customer Segments from the Value Proposition Canvas, identifying the Pains, Gains, and Jobs To Be Done in each user group.
User profiles
We gathered a total of six key insights, which helped us focus on and understand these two core user groups, ultimately enabling us to successfully create the user profiles.
Problem breakdown
We analyzed the upcycling journey and found that creator and consumer challenges are interconnected and cause breakdowns at key stages.
These cascading barriers disrupt value delivery and prevent a continuous loop.
Defining the Solution
Competitor landscape
To identify market differentiation and value gaps, we built a 2×2 map ("creator engagement × upcycling focus") to analyze our competitor platforms.
We selected Etsy, Depop, and Poshmark as key competitors to analyze their strategies for creator support and user value perception, providing structured guidance for us.
Insights from competitive analysis
Empowering Pre-Creation
Extend support to pre-creation with an integrated system and lightweight education to lower barriers and boost efficiency.
Style-Driven Community
Build a style-driven community that encourages collaboration and co-creation among creators and with consumers.
From Selling to Connection
Encourage creators to share product stories and inspirations, shifting from selling products to building emotional connections with consumers.
Blue ocean strategy
We identified service gaps and value blind spots in the market through a Blue Ocean strategy, supported by a comparative analysis of value curves across multiple platforms.
Faced with mainstream platforms focusing on "circulation efficiency" and "sales conversion", we aim to move beyond sales-driven logic and instead center our ecosystem on three key mechanisms: creative expression, trust and understanding, and collaborative connection.
We distilled key strategic opportunities and, using the Four Actions Framework, translated Blue Ocean insights into concrete strategies, outlining future value structure directions for the product.
We aim to raise the expression and visibility of creator ideas, reduce user burdens, maintain trust and community stability, and most importantly, create emotional connections so works are truly understood and loved, not just sold.
Solution
ReVive——An e-commerce platform focused on upcycling that integrates the entire journey — from material sourcing and concept expression to co-creation, customization, and transaction — aiming to build authentic connections and value resonance between creators and consumers.
North star
We defined three North Star goals to guide the long-term direction of the product.
01
02
03
The following showcases how I applied three design strategies to specific scenarios, aligning them with users flows to create practical solutions.
Design Strategy 1
The pain point
Scattered information and unreliable sources in material sourcing have become key pain points for upcycling creators, hindering idea realization and limiting efficiency and output stability.
Current material access path
Online Channels
Search on Google using keywords (e.g., “upcycling materials near me”)
Browse forums like Reddit for experience posts, check Craigslist / OfferUp “Free Stuff” sections
Join Facebook groups to get material exchange information
Offline Channels
Visit thrift stores and material shops (e.g., Goodwill, Habitat ReStore)
Explore waste collection sites and corner recycling points
Attend flea markets and community material swap events
User need: A single platform with clear photos, sizes, and defect details to avoid repeated offline searches, plus a stable supply to support continuous creation.
Solution concept
Provide creators with an integrated portal for one-stop material search and purchase, improving acquisition efficiency.
The interface follows Jakob’s Law, using familiar e-commerce card layouts, tags, and price displays to reduce cognitive load, enhance selection efficiency, and balance professionalism with usability.
User testing
To evaluate usability and solve key pain points, we held on-site tests at Forsyth Park and The Shed with 10 upcycling creators, observing real usage patterns through guided scenarios.
Final design solution
We envision the material page as more than just a search tool — a starting point for inspiration that invites exploration, aligns with real creator habits, and sparks creativity.
Iteration 1: Transform the material page from a “list-based search” into a “creativity-driven exploration experience” that sparks inspiration.
Impact: By enhancing exploration and visual warmth, the page shifts from a simple search tool to a possibility-filled creative marketplace, sparking users’ creativity and engagement.
Iteration 2: Align filtering logic with creators’ real selection habits to improve the efficiency and experience of finding inspiring materials.
Impact: By aligning both filtering logic and information presentation with creators’ material selection habits, the design significantly improves search efficiency and reduces cognitive load.
Design Strategy 2
The pain point
Though functionally sound, the complex listing process on mainstream platforms feels long, tedious, and unguided for creators, distracting them and lowering engagement.
Many creators said that a complex listing process discourages online selling. So, despite greater reach and potential, they still prefer offline channels. Providing an easy, efficient, and clear listing experience for creators is the key design opportunity we aim to address.
Solution concept
Introduce AI-powered auto-listing to reduce the operational burden for creators.
To evaluate usability and solve key pain points, we also conducted on-site tests at Forsyth Park and The Shed with 10 upcycling creators, observing real usage patterns through guided scenarios, and gathering three key pieces of feedback for design refinement.
Final design solution
Iteration 1: Enrich AI description features to enhance control and expressive freedom.
Impact: By adding style options and version control, AI descriptions shift from one-way generation to user co-creation, boosting flexibility, trust, and user control.
Iteration 2: Strengthen pricing confidence by clarifying revenue structure.
Impact: By combining revenue transparency with smart suggestions, the platform helps creators make informed pricing decisions, avoid one-size-fits-all frameworks, and build trust and control.
Iteration 3: Complete shipping options and improve the listing process.
Impact: Completing the shipping setup creates a fully integrated listing flow, allowing creators to finalize key decisions in one go and strengthening professionalism and trust.
Design Strategy 3
The pain point
Mainstream platforms rely on product- and category-based matching, making it hard for consumers to quickly find style-aligned creators, lacking transparency to build trust.
Why important
The motivation for buying upcycled products is not just the product, but the people who represent a lifestyle. These consumers often don’t know exactly what they want — they seek understanding, inspiration, and style connection.
The platform should help build three types of trust during onboarding:
If not established within a minute, users may abandon online exploration and turn to other platforms.
Upcycling consumers seek “people with attitude” and “creations worth sharing,” not just products. The true value of an upcycling platform lies in connecting people and styles.
Solution concept
Based on upcycling consumers’ unique needs, we avoid the typical “category-and-filter” approach used by e-commerce platforms. Instead, we create an emotional and human-centered exploration flow — leading with interests and enabling lightweight discovery to help users effortlessly connect with style-aligned products and creators.
To evaluate usability and verify if the prototype truly addressed consumer pain points, we ran on-site tests at Forsyth Park and The Shed. Eight upcycled product consumers participated, and we gathered three key pieces of feedback to refine the design.
Final design solution
Iteration 1: Strengthen visual preference expression and free exploration, enhancing user resonance and engagement.
Impact: Upgraded preference expression supports a natural “like → explore → build” journey, boosting emotional engagement and onboarding motivation. Multi-view options enhance adaptability and confidence, making it easier for users to start.
Iteration 2: Reduce cognitive load while enhancing guidance and operational trust in the recommendation flow.
Impact: Clearer naming and improved error tolerance lower cognitive barriers, increase trust and control, and boost content exposure and conversion.
Iteration 3: Restructure information hierarchy and user flow, clarify product page positioning, and improve conversion efficiency.
Impact: By combining product focus with emotional cues, the design helps users understand faster, act confidently, build trust, and boost conversion.
Data Validation
We invited 10 upcycling creators and 5 consumers who had purchased upcycled products to participate in the final prototype test.
Creator Workflow Efficiency
90%
of upcycling creators said ReVive’s material supply and AI listing features reduced operational burden, improved workflow efficiency, and increased motivation to keep creating and sharing.
Preference Matching Efficiency
80%
of consumers agreed that ReVive was able to help them quickly find works and creators matching their style preferences and emotional resonance.
Willingness for Continuous Participation
90%
of participants (including creators and consumers) said ReVive helped build mutual understanding and trust, and they were willing to continue using the platform.
These results validate ReVive’s potential to guide users from initial interest to deeper engagement, effectively supporting our north star goal and moving upcycling toward everyday participation and lasting recognition.
Next Step
Based on user interviews and follow-up co-creation tests, we evaluated platform features across two dimensions — Impact and Implementation time — and created a 2×2 feature matrix to clarify future priorities and development focus.
Continuously optimize platform functions, addressing the “last 20%”.
Build a “creator toolbox” to support creator growth.
Strengthen interaction mechanisms and foster a co-creation community.
Expand collaborations and increase project impact.
