How AI is Revolutionizing Online Thrifting for Personal Style
Infographic exploring the benefits between AI and Recommerce.
Project Summary
Role: Researcher, Designer, Illustrator
Tools: Figma
Duration: 1 Month
Objective: Design a cohesive and visually compelling infographic in Figma that communicates information clearly while reinforcing core design principles and best practices
Table of Contents
Concept Development
Because I already had a broad interest in how AI is shaping consumer behavior across different industries, particularly in fashion, I was able to notice a gap in conversation around secondhand fashion and re-commerce, where personalization and sustainable values are increasingly important. Inspired by my own experiences with online thrifting and AI-powered recommendations, I asked: What if AI could help users find secondhand clothing as easily as fast fashion? I then narrowed the scope to focus on how AI improves the secondhand shopping experience—through smarter search, trend prediction, and visual matching—while promoting sustainability. The final concept aimed to combine my interests in tech, fashion, and design, and offer both insight and encouragement for users to embrace AI-powered thrifting.
Research
Problem Statement
Explored how AI is specifically impacting thrifting and secondhand fashion within the broader context of e-commerce.
Investigated which AI tools are making sustainable shopping more accessible, personalized, and seamless for consumers.
Research Approach
Gathered insights from a variety of sources, including:
News articles and trend reports
Company blogs and case studies (e.g., ThredUp, Poshmark, The Yes)
Pre-existing consumer research and industry surveys
Key Insights
AI mimics a personal stylist, offering curated recommendations based on color, fit, style, and trend analysis.
Tools like visual search, recommendation engines, and trend forecasting enhance the digital shopping experience.
While virtual try-on tech is evolving, there are still gaps in fit accuracy and item representation that affect trust.
Re-commerce is growing rapidly, driven by sustainability values and budget-conscious consumers.
AI empowers users by increasing control, surfacing relevant items faster, and supporting individual style discovery in cluttered marketplaces.
Design Process
Layout Decisions
Chose a horizontal layout to suit a listicle-style format without requiring a specific reading order.
Placed a central visual element to immediately convey the theme and draw attention.
Used a three-column grid to balance white space and reduce eye strain while reading.
Identified a potential improvement: testing a vertical layout split by categories like brands vs. benefits.
Visual Choices
Color palette blends cool grays (to reflect AI and technology) with warm creams and browns (to convey personalization and fashion).
Accent reds are used to highlight individuality and nod to traditional retail visuals.
Typography combines a clean sans serif for readability with a decorative font to evoke a fashion-forward feel.
Illustrations incorporate metaphorical elements—such as a smartphone with a storefront canopy, AI personas, and clothing tags—to ground tech concepts in familiar retail imagery.
Noted improvement for future iterations: shift from tech-corporate geometric visuals to a more editorial, fashion magazine-inspired style to better engage consumer audiences.
Iterative Changes
Applied feedback from peers to improve alignment and centering.
Removed underlines from key points to reduce visual clutter and avoid hyperlink confusion.
Enhanced visual consistency by adding white circle accents to all corner tag illustrations.
Final Outcome
Does it Communicate Effectively?
Clear hierarchy, minimal text, and strong white space make the infographic easy to digest.
Visual metaphors and iconography enhance accessibility for non-technical audiences.
Future improvement: refine the art style and layout to better match consumer-facing aesthetics (less tech-corporate).
What I Learned:
Discovered practical AI tools shaping the future of secondhand fashion.
Gained hands-on experience with advanced Figma techniques.
Improved understanding of visual hierarchy and when to avoid underlines for cleaner design.
Learned the importance of focused storytelling and persona alignment in message design.
Challenges & Solutions:
Challenge: Low engagement from online feedback sources.
Solution: Sought input from peers in tech and design for more actionable critique.Challenge: Tries to speak to too many personas (budget shopper, fashion lover, reseller, etc.).
Solution: Identified the need to narrow the focus to one target audience for greater clarity and impact in future iterations.