Designing Uniformly Yours: A UX Journey from Real-World Problem to Digital Solution
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Overview
I often find that the most meaningful design challenges stem from lived experiences. Uniformly Yours was born out of one such experience-volunteering at my child’s school. I realized there was a better, more scalable way to manage second-hand uniforms and lost property, one that could support families, volunteers, and schools alike. And I could design it.
Role
User Research
Creating User Persona
User Journey Map
Competitve Audit
User Flow
Wireframing
Prototypes
Usability Testing
I was part of a parent-led initiative to collect, organize, and sell pre-loved school uniforms. While these sales raised funds and supported families, the process was far from user-friendly. It relied on WhatsApp announcements, where updates were inconsistent, messages got lost, and volunteer coordination was difficult.
Parents often rearranged work schedules to attend weekday sales, only to discover the right sizes or conditions weren’t available. Many families missed out entirely due to distance or timing. With new uniforms costing over £250 and pre-loved alternatives reducing that to £50 or less, the stakes were both financial and emotional.
Meanwhile, schools were overwhelmed with unclaimed lost property, and volunteers spent countless hours sorting through clothing with little success. These challenges highlighted the urgent need for a digital solution that would simplify the process and make it more accessible for everyone.
Research Grounded in Reality
Being part of the uniform and lost-and-found volunteer group allowed me to do embedded user research. I had direct access to parents, staff, and volunteers — the very users facing these challenges daily. I conducted informal interviews, noted recurring frustrations, and collected feedback on current pain points.
This helped me define core problems:
A fragmented process for buying, donating, and finding items
Inconvenient, time-restricted sales inaccessible to many parents
Lack of visibility into available inventory (especially sizes)
Lost items piling up with inefficient return mechanism
Perception-based stigma around buying used clothing
Ideation and Content Development
These insights became the foundation of Uniformly Yours.
to bring convenience, transparency, and impact to second-hand uniform sales.
My goal was to design a single digital space where parents could:
Browse and buy pre-loved uniforms by type
List gently-used items easily and directly before handing it over to school as a donation
View and claim lost property through photo based listings
Reduce textile waste and carbon footprint
I also wanted the app to subtly reframe the narrative around buying second-hand uniform not as a compromise, but as a conscious, eco-friendly choice that supports the school community.
Design Language and Visual Identity
To reinforce this message, I selected a calming blue color palette relating to planet Earth, and an eco-friendly theme to instantly signal to users that they were in a supportive and responsible space.
This helped convey:
Trust and clarity in the buying process
A welcoming, stigma-free environment
An association with sustainability and responsible choices
I used soft illustrations and clean UI to make the experience feel approachable and intuitive.
Prototyping and Iteration
I created low-fidelity wireframes and conducted usability testing with a small group of parent users. Their feedback led to several key iterations:
Adding filters by size, price and condition for quicker navigation
Including more detailed categories (e.g., PE kits, sports equipment and stationery items)
Improving image-based listings for lost items to support quicker recognition
Giving option to collect or choose direct delivery to the child at school
These iterative changes shaped a high-fidelity prototype that was both functional and emotionally intuitive — addressing needs across financial, environmental, and community dimensions.
Impact and Reflection
Uniformly Yours solves real problems for real people: it makes purchasing pre-loved uniform easier, reduces waste, and supports school fundraising efforts — all while saving families hundreds of pounds each year.
It’s a tool that empowers parents to make smarter, more sustainable choices, while also reducing the burden on school staff and volunteers.
For me, this project was a powerful reminder that by listening, observing, and deeply understanding the ecosystem around a problem, I was able to build something meaningful — a tool that doesn’t just solve logistical challenges, saves time, but changes the way people feel about their choices.
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