After completing the first iteration, we ran two rounds of usability testing with 10 participants total to validate the core design decisions. We used the NASA Task Load Index to measure how demanding the experience felt, paired with a post-test survey to gather qualitative feedback.
Across both rounds, results pointed the same direction: low task load and high usability for the flows I specifically prioritized — outfit creation, browsing, and uploading all felt intuitive rather than effortful to the people using them.
Validating design decisions
VALIDATION
Identifit was awarded Best Overall Design at the DFA UW showcase, judged by industry design professionals. It was a meaningful validation — not just of the final screens, but of the research-driven process behind them. Knowing that people outside our team could trace the line from a real user pain point to a specific design decision told me the thesis held up under scrutiny, not just inside our own heads.
Working within a structured, research-first system was harder than it sounds. It's tempting to jump straight to solutions, especially under a six-month deadline with a team depending on momentum. Holding the team back to actually sit with affinity mapping, sketch competing flows, and test light versus dark before committing to a direction often felt like it was costing us time. In hindsight, every one of those slower moments is exactly what made the final product defensible — the dark mode decision, the branching architecture, even the outfit creation flow all trace back to a specific finding, not a guess. The discipline of letting insight lead design, rather than instinct alone, was the real skill this project taught me.
Trusting the process, even when it's slower
Winning Best Overall Design
REFLECTION
Contributing UX research and mobile design within a team of five meant constantly translating between what research was telling us and what was actually feasible to design and build in time. The hardest moments weren't generating ideas — we had plenty — they were advocating for which insights deserved to shape the product and finding alignment with teammates when our instincts pointed in different directions.
Leading without losing the thread
Lo-fi testing revealed it directly: dark backgrounds made clothing colors and textures read more clearly than light ones did. That single finding shaped the entire system — a near-black base, soft periwinkle accent, and a serif/sans pairing that feels considered without competing with what users are actually trying to see: their own clothes.
Letting the clothing lead
Identifit transforms closet chaos into clarity — making it effortless to browse what you own, discover forgotten pieces, create outfits, and build a wardrobe that feels intentional, yet personal.
VISUAL DESIGN
SOLUTION
Clean navigation paired with intuitive category organization. High-contrast dark mode makes clothing colors and textures more visible, letting users scan their wardrobe without the visual noise competing for attention.
Browse your closet without the clutter
Search, filter, and category tools address the decision fatigue we saw in testing — helping users quickly surface a specific item or rediscover a forgotten piece instead of scrolling endlessly.
Enhanced filtering and discovery
A streamlined upload flow with smart categorization and tagging makes populating the closet feel quick rather than tedious — so the wardrobe gets more useful the more it's used.
Build your wardrobe effortlessly
Outfit generation simplifies styling into a few taps, turning what used to be a chore into something closer to creative play. Customization stays optional, never required.
Create outfits in seconds
I developed two distinct approaches to the core browsing experience, exploring different ways users could navigate and organize their digital closet — each addressing the same challenge: making wardrobe management feel intuitive rather than overwhelming.
We tested both with users before committing to a direction. Feedback validated Version 1's intuitive navigation, but consistently favored Version 2's dark interface — clothing colors and textures read more clearly against a dark background than a light one. That single insight became the foundation for our entire visual identity.
Lo-Fi prototyping
PROTOTYPING
How do users keep track of their wardrobe?
To better understand how users manage their wardrobes and express personal style, we conducted research with users aged 15–26 over the course of 4 weeks.
RESEARCH
The main questions that helped guide the discovery process:
How do people currently organize their wardrobes and where do existing systems fail?
What drives daily outfit choices and what creates friction or fatigue in the styling process?
How do shopping behaviors impact wardrobe functionality and satisfaction?
What barriers prevent people from exploring and expressing different personal styles?
100+
16
4
SURVEY RESPONSES
INTERVIEWS
WEEKS DURATION
What was discovered
Competitive analysis
We synthesized interviews and surveys into an affinity map. Four themes emerged that anchored every design decision that followed.
Four themes: closet organization, daily decision fatigue, style exploration, and shopping behavior — each pointing to the same root issue: a disconnect between what users own and how they actually get dressed.
To find where Identifit could stand apart, we mapped five existing wardrobe apps against the capabilities that mattered most from our research. The gap was clear: most tools help you manage clothes, but none help you actually understand your style.
KEY INSIGHTS
The virtual closet experience
Outfit generation and board saving
My design scope
Research showed users wanted robust wardrobe management but felt paralyzed by too many options upfront. My challenge was designing flows that gave complete control without front-loading complexity — a branching architecture where every journey starts with one clear decision, then opens into optional paths based on what users want to accomplish. Complexity becomes optional, not mandatory: surfacing it when someone wants to slow down and build, staying invisible when they just want speed.
Prioritizes speed and inspiration — users can create and save a look in seconds, with AI suggestions and color palettes available as optional next steps.
IDEATION
Uploading a new item
Interface exploration
Prioritizes thoroughness — encouraging users to build rich item metadata through detailed prompts, tagging, and image cropping, since this is where the closet's data foundation gets built.
"How can I create a view for users to browse the items in their closet without losing the intuitive category organization they expect from their wardrobe?"
I explored two approaches — grid view for comprehensive scanning, and list view for focused category browsing — and implemented both as a toggleable option, giving users control over their view mode rather than prescribing one.
Grid View
List View
Inspired by Clueless's digital closet, this approach uses horizontal scrolling to separate categories visually, supporting detailed filtering without visual overwhelm.
Prioritizes visual browsing in a familiar gallery layout, organizing the closet logically while keeping everything visible at a glance.
PROBLEM
The hidden wardrobe crisis: "I have nothing to wear"
Gen Z users, especially college students navigating newfound independence, face challenges managing cluttered closets due to fast fashion consumption. On average, only 20% of their wardrobe is worn regularly, while the other 80% gets buried in forgotten clutter.
How might we streamline the process of organizing users' existing clothing items to help explore and identify their styles?
02
An unorganized closet creates cognitive overload. Users can't visualize outfit combinations, leading to decision fatigue and defaulting to the same safe choices daily.
Styling paralysis from too many options
03
Without understanding their style or what's missing, users make reactive purchases influenced by trends rather than intentional additions that complement their existing pieces.
Impulse shopping to fill an unclear gap
01
Users lack tools to identify patterns in their existing wardrobe. Without seeing what they consistently gravitate toward, they can't articulate or refine their aesthetic identity.
No visual system for self-discovery
OPPORTUNITY
Our research revealed that the wardrobe crisis runs deeper than clutter alone — rooted in a fundamental disconnect between users and what they own.
It's not just about having clothes, it's about knowing what to do with them
DESIGN FOR AMERICA UW
ROLE
Lead Designer - Virtual
Closet Profile / Filtering
Dec 2024 - Jun 2025
Michelle Kim
UX Research
Sketching
User Testing
UX/UI Mobile Design
Prototyping
Brittney Van
Ici Su
Lele Zhang
Subin Jo
DURATION
TEAM
RESPONSIBILITIES
Identifit: Your Virtual Closet App
Identifit helps users organize their wardrobe and create outfits that reflect their personal style. Over six months with Design for America UW, I collaborated with a team to close the gap between self-expression and everyday closet use — making outfit creation easier, more intentional, and confidence-building.
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