Project overview
Timeline
2021-2022, 4 weeks
Project
School project
Team
Elsa Sörensen, Julia Knabe, Deimante Butkute, Linnea Vanden Wyngaerd
Work
Research, wireframing, UX/UI design
The world is grappling with a pressing issue of overconsumption and waste. A staggering amount of items, including clothes, bikes, and electronics, end up in landfills despite being salvageable with minor repairs. As a core component of a broader design initiative, we introduced MENT - Made to Mend - an innovative concept that fosters repair culture by connecting individuals with local repairers and creating trust by providing transparency in pricing and services.
In this collaborative group project, my contributions encompassed conducting comprehensive research through surveys and interviews, alongside designing and prototyping the user-friendly website to deliver an enhanced repair experience.
Process
Survey with potential clients → Field trip and observation in repair shops → Interview with service providers and potential customer → Concept ideation → Wireframes → HiFi prototype
Research
Through the survey, we wanted to know who people trust to repair their broken objects, and what creates trust in repairers.
People don’t trust their own capabilities of repairing items
People generally have low trust in themselves for making their own repairs. In the cases for electronic devices, bikes and clothes/textiles, first party repairers were the most trusted, followed by third party repairers and family/ friends. Online repairers had mostly neutral to low trust.
Aspects of trust in repairers
• When searching for a repairer the participants mostly ask people they know for recommendations or read reviews from former customers and look at the price range. The participant’s own personal experience was also considered important.
• Aspects like good reviews, experience and expertise, price transparency and price range and a shop that trustworthy characterized trustworthy repairers. On the other end: bad reviews or reputation, bad quality and service, and not being able to give a set price are a few of the reasons that makes a repairer less trustworthy.
• People were most concerned about the quality of repair and price when bringing their item to a repairer.
Solution
We created a prototype of a website to make it easier to find a repairer. This website provides value for the customer and service provider by keeping all information in one place; the consumer can easily find local repairers based on their needs and easily compare them to get the best service based on their needs; and the repairer gets their own platform where they can market themselves and their services, keep track of their bookings, and communicate with the customer.
Educating about and encouraging repair
The landing page makes it quick and simple to start your repairs, both for customers and service providers. It aims to educate people by showing the benefits of repair, and inspire people and building trust by displaying recently repaired items. This can also help repairers to display their work and to reach new customers.
Finding and comparing services
Searching for a repairer is easy with the filters which gives relevant results based on category of repair, location, reviews and price range. The cards give you the most important information, such as opening hour and distance for the user to make a decision to go there or not.
Communication and reviews
The repairer has their own page where they can add information such as contact information, opening hours, types of services and a photo gallery of their repaired objects. This removes the need to have a separate website or social media, and can help the business market themselves to their customers.
Booking and communication with their customers stays in one place to avoid confusion or mistakes. Customers can leave reviews and rate the service to help other customers and make a repairer more trustworthy.
