sydney lai



Weave Your Path



An all-inclusive kit to help individuals navigate a major life transition through reworking a sentimental piece of clothing.




ROLE:

Product Designer + Researcher
TEAM:

Reagan Sprinkle + Lew Walker + Amila Srivastava
Overseen by Dr. Cayla Key TIMEFRAME:

Winter 2024 | 10 Weeks TOOLS:

Figma








PROMPT

An Object’s Life






Tasked with designing a product on the topic of maintenence, repair, and care, we began by exploring how design can embrace the imperfections of an object over time.

Early on, we recognized that the act of mending can be a reflective, attentive, and emotional task, so we set our sights on promoting and improving that experience.












DESIGN PREVIEW

A Sneak Peek








Reflective guided prompts.


The kit acts as a choose-your-own-adventure, with three paths—Mending, Personalizing, and Remaking— the user can embark on. 

Each path contains a variety of project options and each project contains instructions and coinciding prompts for the user to reflect on.







A space to reflect.


As users follow alongside project instructions, they are prompted to reflect on their purpose in engaging with their clothing of choice. A project log journal is tucked into the kit for users to write down their answers to reflection questions.












An all-purpose sewing kit.


The kit houses sewing supplies so users can find everything they need to engage with their sewing projects.















USER RESEARCH

Why mend?




To begin, we explored what textile goods are commonly mended and how people feel about them. We asked three menders to share photos of imperfect items and completed projects, followed by interviews about their relationships with their clothes. 

From our research, we discovered that clothing plays a major role in self-expression, mirroring connections, and memory preservation.






















THE CHALLENGE

How might we promote the experience of mending clothing as a way for people in the process of self-discovery to build intimate connections with themselves and others?

















IDEATION

What could this look like?





Our design needed to celebrate the memories stored in clothing while also giving users a space to grow. Ultimately, we wanted to design a response that would allow people to use repurposing clothing as a way to know themselves more deeply.




To that end, we ideated 60 concepts, each with descriptions and sketches. While I was brainstorming, I focused on major life events and what sort of clothing may be associated with them. My most compelling idea was a kit for re-purposing an ex’s clothes after a breakup—an idea we later adjusted to include broader life events other than a breakup.













IDEATION

Downselecting



We narrowed down our 60 ideas, selecting our strongest ideas across three categories: products, services, and events. In the end, we chose two products and one event, as our strongest service idea was weaker than our second strongest product idea.

Among our chosen ideas were a mending kit for sentimental clothing, a needle that guides users through cultural sewing practices, and a collaborative sewing installation.

   
At this stage, a point of confusion was whether our design would focus on the user connecting with themselves or with other people, as our three ideas tended to lean towards one, but not both. To narrow our scope, we revised our “How Might We” question.











THE CHALLENGE

How might we promote the experience of repurposing clothing as a way for people in the process of self-discovery to build more intimate connections with themselves?
















WORKSHOP

Hi, it’s us again






The Workshop


We conducted a participatory design workshop where participants engaged in writing, card-sorting, and collaging to refine our concept. The purpose of this workshop was to better understand the relationship between self-discovery, life events, and clothing. 

A key insight was that users avoid reflective tasks during intensely negative experiences, such as mourning the loss of a loved one. This prompted us to shift focus on experience that may be negative but have positive opportunities for growth. 








ITERATIONS & EXPLORATIONS

Development













Directing the Video


The industrial designers on our team took charge in designing the physical prototype, so I focused on making the video showcasing our design. Professional video equipment is no joke—it took me an hour just to get the camera stabilized!
Storyboard showcasing a use case scenario, drawn by Lew


Referencing Lew’s storyboard, I drew up a lo-fi video storyboard




After developing our prototype, we checked back in with users and developed a user feedback report. They highlighted the importance of portability, approachable prompts, and the use of compassionate, authentic language in our design. These insights were integrated into the final product.












THE DESIGN

Weave Your Path




The result of our efforts was Weave Your Path, an all-inclusive kit that helps users who are going through major life transitions rework a sentimental piece of clothing into a new form.

PROTOTYPE











VIDEO


CLOSE-UP OF GUIDED PROMPTS















TAKEAWAYS

What I Learned



It pays to prepare.




The majority of our time spent on this project consisted of conducting research, drawing insights, and addressing the insights. By choosing to spend our time this way, we had foundational knowledge that consistently guided our design and informed our decisions. 

Communication is everything.



From decisions to visuals to explanations, communication is embedded in every stage of design (and life!). Throughout this project, we juggled communication in its many forms—navigating interpersonal communication among our group of four designers, organizing visual information hierarchies, and articulating our ideas clearly. After all, an idea is only as powerful as how effectively it is communicated.









SHOUT-OUTS

Thank you!







Thank you Reagan, Lew, and Amila for being such great teammates throughout this project. Nothing quite like holing ourselves up in a study room for eight hours to get the creative juices flowing—though I would argue it was eight hours well spent! A special shoutout to Professor Cayla Key and TA Maya Kaneko for the involved critique sessions and support every step of the way. Thank you!





Lew’s scary clay dog










Forging my path,
Sydney






Let’s create something delightful together.


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       sydneylai77 (at) gmail (dot) com