✨NOMINATED FOR UX DESIGN AWARDS - SPRING 2025✨
✨NOMINATED FOR UX DESIGN AWARDS - SPRING 2025✨
Connecting shoppers and sellers locally and online to build stronger communities.
K I L A N A
Team: Lead UX designer and UX designer (my role).
Tools: Figma, Survey Monkey, Miro
Duration: 2 weeks
Kilana is a social e-commerce platform designed to connect shoppers and sellers, fostering stronger community engagement and supporting local economies.
The platform helps shoppers discover and support these businesses through a social commerce experience that facilitates social engagement, promotional activities, and event notifications.
This design project has been nominated for the 2025 UX Design Awards!
Design
Outcome
A comprehensive app that bridges the gap between shoppers and sellers by creating a platform tailored to the needs of both.
For Shoppers: An intuitive app that allows users to discover and support small, local businesses.
For Sellers: An all-in-one solution to sell products, promote their brand, and connect with their community and customers seamlessly.
Research
& Survey
Target Audience:
Small business owners (local artisans, food vendors, etc.) and primarily Millennials and Gen Z (users on Instagram, Etsy, etc.)
Insight on Shoppers:
70% of shoppers (20- 40 yrs) prioritize local and sustainable shopping.
75% shopped and shared on social media.
Over 75% are willing to pay more for sustainable products.
Insight on Sellers:
Over 90% reported experiencing burnout, with 80% attributing it to the demands of keeping up with social media and algorithms.
Over 65% attended events to promote their work in person.
100% reported using Instagram or other platforms as a tool to promote and communicate with their customer base.
Problem
Analysis
After conducting the research on the two target groups I learned that:
Shoppers want to shop sustainably and support local businesses but struggle to find them because there is no centralized way to discover local online sellers.
Small businesses struggle to connect with local communities due to limited resources and visibility, often facing burnout from juggling multiple platforms for sales and promotion
Shared Problems:
Both seller and shoppers use multiple tools to locate, shop, and connect with one another.
Both groups want to connect with their communities at events or online
User Personas
& User Flow
Arictecture
After completing the research, my partner and I began brainstorming by exploring user flows, information architecture, and creating a feature roadmap.
Final Design Decisions
Home Screen
Seller Stories- Enable users to be notified of events and updates.
Events Near You- Displays a list of events and markets occurring within the user’s vicinity.
Posts/Feed- Enables sellers to promote, communicate, and share new products to their followers.
Seller Profile
The profile is organized into four categories for easy navigation:
Posts: Showcases all the posts shared by the seller with their followers.
Shop: Lists all currently available products for purchase.
Events: Highlights upcoming events the seller is participating in.
About: Provides details about the seller’s background, additional social links, and any key information they wish to share.
**Note: “Shop” and “Events” will be hidden if the seller doesn’t have a product to sell or events to attend.
Explore
The Explore screen enables users to discover businesses using a variety of filters:
Proximity Feature: Users can set their location and range to find businesses nearby or in distant areas.
Visual Content: Engaging videos and images of posts and products helps users discover exciting new businesses.
Tags: Useful tags streamline shopping and browsing, making it easier for users to find exactly what they’re looking for.
Reflection
I genuinely enjoyed this one-week design sprint with my partner. It was an eye-opening experience that emphasized the importance of teamwork and how collaboration can streamline the design process.
Throughout the sprint, I gained valuable insights into the challenges faced by both sellers and shoppers. These learnings have inspired me to create solutions that could help alleviate their struggles and bring more balance to their lives.
Future Plans for the Project
Kilana is a project I believe has significant potential to bring value to users. My partner and I are committed to continuing our research and refining the concept. We aim to eventually build the platform with the help of a development team.
In the short term, we plan to conduct additional usability tests to gain deeper insights into user needs. Our future vision includes expanding the platform's capabilities, particularly around event exploration, to create a more robust and user-focused solution.
We are so proud to have received a nomination for the UX Design Awards and will continue to explore this project.