Altera

Experience Design

Overview

ALTERA is the future of customization and tailoring to your old and unwanted clothing in order to reduce fast fashion culture and garment waste.

With the use of generative AI and advanced measuring and scanning, ALTERA allows the user to select their desired yet realistic alterations and show these changes immediately. To ensure customer safety and privacy, ALTERA only requires specific measurements based on the selected changes and relies on a smart measuring tape to guarantee the most accurate results.

Class: Interactive Studio

Fall 2023, 3-month project

In collaboration with

Elizabeth Marmo: CAD model, drawings, renders

Angie Bai: Interface design/UI testing, presentation graphics,

user research

Kavya Jade: video composition/editing, user research,

presentation content

My contribution: interface design/UI testing, presentation graphics, user research/testing

Have you ever discarded a clothing item because it…

isn’t TRENDING anymore?

Have you ever discarded a clothing item because it no longer…

FIT?

Only 15% of people recycle their clothes through donations or resale

About 3.4 billion pounds of textile waste are produced each year in the US

So in light of that, we asked ourselves

How might we…

Streamline online and in person interactions to be efficient and reduce information overload

Facilitate longevity in purchases and thought processes behind the purchase

Introducing

revive • repurpose • reinvent

30 second commercial video:

So let's backtrack a bit. How did we get from a prompt encompassing all of retail to an interactive kiosk where you can alter your clothes and give them a new life?

Background research and observations

To start our process, we began thinking about all elements of retail - the types, locations, places we liked and disliked, and unique elements. Then, we moved to conducting surveys and interviews to gather more personal opinions and insights.

“The ease of comfort of going to a store you already know or a website that you’ve purchased from before and liked the product also is a huge decision maker for buying items.”
“ My dream shopping experience would be having a completely personalized and curated shopping experience."
“I like the in-person bc it’s more of an experience than online. That would usually make me buy it based off of pressure more whereas with online I can just leave the app. So I’m not as pressured to buy it.”
"I hate capitalism, but love shopping"
"Most stores in the US doesn't provide tailoring services. In India, there are people there that assume it doesn't fit you perfectly because everyone's body is different."

Shop with 1-2 people as a social event

of Gen Z prefers shopping in person over online

The things people prioritize while shopping

59.66%

58%

Prices

Distance

Familiarity

Efficiency

Time to obtain product

Tailoring clothing is not part of the Gen Z clothing purchase culture

Younger shoppers value streamlined digital interaction driven shopping

Shoppers prefer seeing photos and videos showcasing a product

Many shoppers prioritize categorical organization and structure

Key findings and insights

These findings were the foundation of our design decisions - why we decided with an in-store experience that is accessible and is a new interactive experience.

Scoping down

Target Demographic

Age

Location

Online Tendencies

Transport Method

Shopping habits

Income

Occupation

20-22

Lives on campus or off campus housing

Active on social media such as instagram, twitter, and TikTok

Follows social media influencers and brands and engages with their content

Walking, bike, bus, or electric scooter

Goes thrifting often and shops in person more as a social occasion. Does not interact with employees much; relies mostly on online shopping from the same brands once they have figured out their sizes.

On campus/other part time job, allowance from parents

On campus/summer job/restaurant/retail

means...

I need to buy a new top

I need to be clothed better

I need to express myself differently

I need to find the top I want as quickly and efficiently as possible

if solved...

Need Hierarchy

Stage 1: Prep

Aspirational Journey

Current Journey

Try on Garment

Determine Issue

Transport Garment

to location

Stage 2: Service

Getting Measured

Taking off Garment

Service Fees

Stage 3: Post

Waiting for Garment

Post Evaluation

This journey map represents the current aspirational journey of clothes tailoring and alteration, compared with our aspirational journey for Altera.

Concept Development

We had 40+ ideations as a group, and 12 concepts total. But we chose "Alter" because of the new opportunities it presented of being an uncommon concept - it's a service designed to reduce waste by encouraging the transformation and revitalization of clothing.

Item scanning testing

Scanning item
Pin Up Clothing Item
Pinup Complete!
Please confirm when you have
completed the item pin up!
Scanning item
Pin Up Clothing Item
Insertion Complete!
Please confirm when you have
completed the item insertion!
Please hang your item on the side of the kiosk to be 3D scanned
Item
Scanning
53

Our original concept consisted of a magnetic pin-up board as our item insertion and 3D scanning mechanism. During testing, we found out that:

The instructions we provided were unclear
The magnets were not strong enough to hold up clothes
The flow was interrupted by moving to different sides of the kiosk to pin-up
The roller would inevitably squish the clothing item

Measurement testing

Measurements
Please step back onto the marker and do the exact pose of the model while we scan for your measurements.

This will take a
few moments.
slowly rotate
around 360
Measurements
Please step back onto the marker and do the exact pose of the model while we scan for your measurements.

This will take a
few moments.
Measurements
Please step back onto the marker and do the exact pose of the model while we scan for your measurements.

This will take a
few moments.

We originally had a full 360 body scan for hassle-free measuring. But through testing we found that that specific system would not work for our experience.

Users had to hold their items in uncomfortable spots while being scanned
The instructions were unclear, and users were confused about when to proceed to the next steps
Full body scans were a big concern of data privacy and safety

revive. repurpose. reinvent.

Altera 2 minute experience video

Generative AI

Altera | Generative AI Insights

Large visual representation for potential alterations

AI database is robust and recognizes

types of clothing

Scanning / clothing insertion

Smart measuring system

Interface layout

Kiosk design

The Altera Journey

Meet Mak, a 21 yr old college
student, who's very displeased
with her sweater.
She has an idea for how she
wants to alter her sweater, but
is not confident in her sewing
abilities
She heads over to her local
ALTERA location and
approaches a kiosk.
She inserts her sweater into
the kiosk to be 3D scanned.
She selects the alteration
option from the services
available
The generative AI feature
shows Mak the feasible/
realistic options
She chooses to make her
sweater cropped, and adds
buttons and a candy cane
embroidery
By selecting crop, Mak is
required to take measurements;
She opts to use the privacy
curtain
The kiosk dispenses a smart
measuring tape for her to use.
A tutorial video plays to help
Mak understand how to take
the measurement. An option for
employee assistance is
available too.
She measures herself, and the
data is automatically synced to
the kiosk from the smart tape.
She confirms the measure-
ment and returns the smart
measuring tape to the kiosk.
She confirms her payment
alterations and checks out.
She chooses to get it delivered
to her.
She receives her confirmation
and tracking info via text, and
leaves the kiosk.
The package tracking info
can be viewed through text
updates.
She is ecstatic to try on her
newly altered sweater and give
it a new life!
Mak, with her upcycled
sweater, radiates confidence
and attracts attention from all
the passerbys.