Little Lives

Overview

I always loved the charity shop world, the concept of selling something that belonged to someone else to other people that might find that certain object beautiful or useful. This whole industry should be bigger and making a better use of new technologies, like mobile phones. That's why when I was asked to create an app for an english charity shop chain (Little Lives UK), I quickly and enthusiastically accepted.

Objective

Starting developing the idea in late 2020, I was in charge of every aspect of this platform, being the digital product, UI, UX designer and also focusing a bit on some needed rebranding of the overall chain. Loving the sustainable nature of this industry, I took some extra steps in making sure the platform would be appealing to millenials, scalable and functional. Given the case, it was particularly important to be cost-effective.

Process

Process Step 1: Brainstorming & Product Set Up

To my surprise, once I started the research towards the creation of this app, I realised not many charity shops had a functional online platform and even fewer (almost none) had a mobile app. Keeping the "vintage" feel Little Lives UK has throughout its shops, I started outlining some ideas, brainstorming and wireframing, until it was clear what the main features I wanted this in this app had to be.

Process Step 2: Layout & Style Search

After all the main features were decided on paper or wireframing, I moved on to find a true identity for this platform. It somehow had to be modern, clear, vintage, soft and functional. I tested a few different options and colour combinations after settling for a pastel palette that felt perfect for a charity shop chain focusing on helping children. This style choice screamed warmth, safety, sweetness and kindness.

Process Step 3: Production

With the approval of my clients, I moved on and started working on the production itself. In this step of the product design process I need to craft all the assets the programmers need in order to code the online platform. Consistency is key here, and all the details need to share similar traits in order to create that sense of "polished" we love seeing in every platform we roam through.