Ethnographic research and System design
User research methods | Concept development | B2C SCAD
Overview
A study to understand the behavior of people with regards to their clothes which they don’t use anymore (previously worn by them)
The intent of this study was- first to understand the different journeys of various stakeholders involved through a contextual research lens; second; to identify insights and possible areas of opportunity for improving the current state and to decreasing the waste stream.
Project timeline
10 Weeks
Team
3 UX Researchers
My Role
User research
Data analysis
Concept development
Tools
Photoshop
Illustrator
Keynote
Define: Problem statement
In spite of several alternate solutions available, 85% of recyclable/reusable clothes end up in the landfill. In this day and age people don’t realise the kind of waste that is generated due to textile/ clothing as they are overshadowed by other problems prevailing in the society. Most of the youth indulge in fast fashion at a higher frequency now; they either don't discard old clothes or discard it in a non-eco-friendly manner.
How might we understand the behavior of people with regards to their clothes which they don’t use anymore (previously worn by them).
Methods:
Rapid ethnography
Mindmaps
Stakeholder mapping
Online survey
Personal interview
In-Store Ethnographic observations
Cultural Probe
AEIOU
Empathy mapping
Journey mapping
Data affinitization
Persona
Eisenhower matrix
Secondary Research
Insight note
For the fashion industry to thrive in the future it needs a fundamental redesign.
There is an opportunity to shift from the take-make-waste model that characterises it today by embracing circular economy principles.
This approach would see business models increase the use of clothes, clothes made from safe and renewable materials, and old clothes used to make new ones.
For this study, we decided to focus on only one aspect and dive into in-- We wanted to increase clothes utilization
Buzz reports
helped us understand patterns of change and new development with respect to our topic. We used keywords to search through huge data bases to find relevant articles and writings. The list of documents generated through a search is analysed to understand the nature of what is being written about the topic or uncover emergent non obvious relationships.
Stakeholders Map
Helped us put the potential interested parties in a structure. Using a stakeholder map we could finally tell how invested each one of them are or can be in the idea of cloth wastage. This helped us brainstorm further and conduct primary research.
Primary research
is solely carried out to address a certain problem, which requires in-depth analysis. We chose to use a few techniques to conduct our primary research, namely -
Online Surveys ( n=90) : We made a quick online survey using Survey Monkey (an online software) with 9 questions related to our research topic
Conducting Interviews ( n=07 )
Since we interviewed people from different age groups, we got a lot of different answers and interesting findings. Some of the findings amongst many are:
People saw the value in donating, but still didn’t do it often enough.
They did not try out new ways of getting rid of clothes, just stuck to their old tried and tested ways.
They did not want to give away clothes which were defected, torn or were in a bad condition and hence, some of them trashed these clothes.
On site observations
We decided to go to a few second-hand stores to conduct some observations. We stepped in with a clear agenda to observe the environment, the participants and the objects involved. Since we were new to the concept of second hand clothing we had very little idea of what to expect
Observations
Participant
What’s the exercise: Observation method by taking part in a process (shopping/donating) within the subject. The objective is to have them explain to you What-When-Who-How-Why?
What are we looking for: This exercise helps us move away from pure observation to engaging with the subject. Participant Observation is Anthropology’s signature methodology and a key research method in ethnography and HCD (Human-Centered Design)
Unstructured
What’s the exercise: Unstructured observation acts as a breather from the other forms of observations. As you have an agenda in other methods, you might miss out on something that you did not even think of. Unstructured helps you identify new patterns, behavior, and responses by people.
What are we looking for: We are looking for things that you would not notice when you have an observation agenda. It helps to make the observer more relaxed and contemplate and then identify things that they did not think of.
Open
What’s the exercise: The exercise was to select a field for research related to the topic of cloth waste and/or second-hand clothing. The idea was to identify and observe subjects for one hour, take notes on what you see in whatever way makes sense to you. Include sketches as needed
What are we looking for: The mission of this observation was to figure out the elements and subjects in a vintage shop; that would include the activities, environment interactions, objects and the people involved.
Analysis and Synthesis of data
After collecting all our data through multiple data collecting methods we started to deconstruct it using multiple methods namely: AEIOU, Journey Maps, Empathy Map and Affinitization. With the help of these tools, we came up with key stories of users which further helped us create personas. These methods really helped us to understand our findings better.
Interventions
1. Smart donation basket
Insight:
People don’t feel they can trust the donation organisations Convenience is an important factor while donating People are conscious about what to do with their old clothes People are aware about the clothing waste problems People are conscious about what to do with their old clothes.
Opportunity :
Convenience: They don’t have to make a separate trip to the donation store Frequency: Increase the frequency of donating/giving away clothes Awareness: Help create awareness about waste i.e. clothe, plastic etc Involved: Involve the user in the donation/recycle process Feel good factor: For the person donating and act as a CSR opportunity for the brand involved Incentive: Create a process to incentivise the donation process for all stakeholders involved.
“How might we Increase the frequency of people giving away/donating their clothes by making it convenient, accessible and time saving and by making the process transparent, so that people participate and contribute to the cause.”
2. Recycled bags at Kroger
Insight :
People don’t feel they can trust the donation organisations Convenience is an important factor while donating People are conscious about what to do with their old clothes People are aware about the clothing waste problems People are conscious about what to do with their old clothes .
Opportunity :
Convenience: They don’t have to make a separate trip to the donation store Frequency: Increase the frequency of donating/giving away clothes Awareness: Help create awareness about waste i.e. clothe, plastic etc Involved: Involve the user in the donation/recycle process Feel good factor: For the person donating and act as a CSR opportunity for the brand involved Incentive: Create a process to incentivize the donation process for all stakeholders involved.
“How might we Increase the frequency of people giving away/donating their clothes by making it convenient, accessible and time saving and by making the process transparent, so that people participate and contribute to the cause”
3. SCAD + Linkedin collaboration
Insight :
Lack of awareness about what to do with the clothes that they don’t wear People are conscious about what to do with their old clothes People are aware of the clothing waste problems 06
Opportunity :
Convenience: They don’t have to make a separate trip to the donation store Awareness: Help spread awareness about clothing waste and connect with other people who are conscious about the cause in a professional network Incentive: People want to receive validation, recognition, acknowledgment for their good deeds Bragging rights: People get bragging rights to show off to their friends and peers.
“How might we give incentives to the people who are conscious about their image but not about the environment”
