Resume

A Centralized Marketplace and Toolkit for Fiber Artists

Team

Affan Ashraf, Kareena Patel, Mustafa Arshad & Me! (4 UX Designers)

Roles

Ideation, Contextual Research & Designs

Timeline

November 2024, 1 month

Context + Problem

As an avid crocheter, I've found myself toggling between multiple online marketplaces, often unable to find exactly what I need, losing momentum before I even started a project.

I pitched LoopyLoop to my classmates: a centralized hub where crafters could buy, sell, and translate inspiration into a ready-to-go materials list.

Goal

To design a marketplace and toolkit that reduces logistical friction from the crafting process.

Outcomes

Designed a cohesive desktop hub consolidating a disjointed multi-platform process.

Confirmed ease-of-use across multiple crafter expertise levels through testing and a participatory design workshop.

Integrated an AI-powered web extension tool to directly address material sourcing pain points.

Jump to solution

On to the details 🔍

The crafter's workflow spans inspiration, sourcing, making, and selling.

But no single platform covers more than one of these stages well.

On to the details 🔍

The crafter's workflow spans inspiration, sourcing, making, and selling.

But no single platform covers more than one of these stages well.

Etsy and Ribblr handle finished items and patterns. Retailers handle supplies. Pinterest handles inspiration, but it pretty much stops here.

This forces crafters to constantly context-switch.

But before designing a solution, I needed to validate a key assumption I made: was this fragmentation actually a source of frustration, or was the hunt part of the joy? We set out to find out.

In the Field

We visited local JOANN and Michaels stores to observe shoppers and speak with employees after evaluating online marketplaces.

Our field notes confirmed the friction immediately.

We visited local JOANN and Michaels stores to observe shoppers and speak with employees after evaluating online marketplaces.

Our field notes confirmed the friction immediately.

We visited local JOANN and Michaels stores to observe shoppers and speak with employees after evaluating online marketplaces.

Our field notes confirmed the friction immediately.

Customers wandered aisles holding their phones up, struggling to translate an inspiration photo into the actual materials they needed.

Customers wandered aisles holding their phones up, struggling to translate an inspiration photo into the actual materials they needed.

Employees filled the gap, acting less as store staff and more as consultants, suggesting what to buy rather than just where to find it.

Employees filled the gap, acting less as store staff and more as consultants, suggesting what to buy rather than just where to find it.

Through interviews, we learned that not every employee had the crafting knowledge to do this well. And regardless, stores frequently didn't stock the exact colors or materials customers were looking for.

Through interviews, we learned that not every employee had the crafting knowledge to do this well. And regardless, stores frequently didn't stock the exact colors or materials customers were looking for.

Participatory Design Workshop

Interviews and observations told us what wasn’t working. The workshop showed us exactly where.

We gave crafters a specific design probe: a photo of a green striped sweater and asked them to free-form map the full process of making it , start to finish, and identify exactly where it got difficult.

Participatory Design Workshop

Interviews and observations told us what wasn’t working. The workshop showed us exactly where.

Two moments stood out:

1) One participant got stuck at step one. She described just how specific her material searches really are.

2) Another mapped their entire process but struggled to document it in a way they could share or sell.

These two pain points became the blueprint for LoopyLoop's two standout features.

Two moments stood out:

1) One participant got stuck at step one. She described just how specific her material searches really are.

2) Another mapped their entire process but struggled to document it in a way they could share or sell.

These two pain points became the blueprint for LoopyLoop's two standout features.

Building & Testing

We designed two core features in parallel: a Material Identifier and a Pattern Writing Tool.

Building & Testing

We designed two core features in parallel: a Material Identifier and a Pattern Writing Tool.

The Material Identifier lets users upload an inspiration photo, filter by project specs, and receive a generated materials list with direct purchase links. (Available both within the platform and as a browser extension for use across the web)

The Pattern Writing Tool lowers the barrier to entry for pattern documentation, with a slash-command shortcut menu that lets users insert complex stitch terms with a single click.

Testing surfaced some friction points:

The Pattern Writing Tool lowers the barrier to entry for pattern documentation, with a slash-command shortcut menu that lets users insert complex stitch terms with a single click.

Testing surfaced some friction points:

Users loved the Material Identifier but had nowhere to save their results. The fix: a Download CSV option added to the extension.

The Pattern Writing Tool was too minimal, participants opened it and froze. The fix: an Info/Help toggle and clearer onboarding to make the shortcut system intuitive from the first click.

Users loved the Material Identifier but had nowhere to save their results. The fix: a Download CSV option added to the extension.

The Pattern Writing Tool was too minimal, participants opened it and froze. The fix: an Info/Help toggle and clearer onboarding to make the shortcut system intuitive from the first click.

Final Designs

With the Material Identifier, one simply has to make an image selection, enter their project specs, and a material list gets generated with direct purchase links.

Pattern writing with smart shortcuts to trigger a menu of click-to-insert stitch types.

Reflections

This was a foundational project in my journey as a UX designer, and a personal one. The hardest balance was utility vs. delight. We didn't want to automate the fun out of crafting; we only wanted to automate the frustration out of it.

If I revisited this today, I'd look to modernize legacy platforms (like Ravelry) rather than build from scratch, making existing data and communities accessible to a new generation of crafters.

Our project concluded in 2024, and in early 2025, JOANN Fabrics shut down all its outlets, which, in hindsight, validated the problem space. As fast fashion crowds out physical craft stores, we're losing spaces that encourage creativity, sustainability, and making things by hand. I plan to keep exploring how design can protect that joy.

If I revisited this today, I'd look to modernize legacy platforms (like Ravelry) rather than build from scratch, making existing data and communities accessible to a new generation of crafters.

Add me to your team, or befriend me!

Feel free to reach out ⋆ ˚｡･* ⋆˚｡･* ⋆

Based in West Lafayette, USA

Links

Pages

Add me to your team, or befriend me!

Feel free to reach out ⋆ ˚｡･* ⋆˚｡･* ⋆

Based in West Lafayette, USA

Links

Pages

Pattern writer lowers the barrier to entry with smart shortcuts. Users just press '/' to access a pop-up menu of stitches, instantly inserting complex terms with a single click.

Our Notion-esque Pattern Writer was too minimal. When users opened it, they froze, unsure where to start.

The Fix: We added a clear Info/Help toggle and refined the onboarding instructions, making features like Stitch Shortcuts intuitive from the first click.

Reflections

If I revisited this today, I'd look to modernize legacy platforms (like Ravelry) rather than build from scratch, making existing data and communities accessible to a new generation of crafters.

Add me to your team, or befriend me!

Feel free to reach out ⋆ ˚｡･*

Based in West Lafayette, USA

Links

Pages