Giftd: Turning Sustainable Gifting into Visible Impact
Giftd: Turning Sustainable Gifting into Visible Impact
“Bianca’s designs made Giftd’s mission clear, helping users understand and share their impact, which boosted engagement and supported our community-focused growth.”
- Hannah, GIFTD Founder
“Bianca’s designs made Giftd’s mission clear, helping users understand and share their impact, which boosted engagement and supported our community-focused growth.”
- Hannah, GIFTD Founder
About
Giftd is a Berlin-based startup app for iOS and Android, designed to help users gift pre-loved clothes to friends and neighbors, promoting sustainability and community connection.
Problem
While Giftd's mission is to foster eco-friendly practices, users lacked a clear way to see the tangible impact of their contributions, such as CO2e savings from their clothing giveaways. This gap affected user engagement, as it limited their motivation to participate and share the app with others. By making these impacts visible, we sought to enhance user satisfaction and drive increased participation, ultimately supporting Giftd's growth objectives.
My Role
As the sole UX/UI designer, I led the project to create a user journey that clearly communicates the positive environmental impact of users' actions. My objective was to design an engaging experience that helps users feel a sense of accomplishment, ultimately boosting engagement and incentivizing further participation and sharing.
Key Responsibilities:
Facilitated workshops for feature alignment and discovery
Conducted thorough user research to identify user needs, which informed design decisions
Collaborated closely with the product owner, developer, and marketing team
Designed the entire user experience from concept to completion
About
Giftd is a Berlin-based startup app for iOS and Android, designed to help users gift pre-loved clothes to friends and neighbors, promoting sustainability and community connection.
Problem
While Giftd's mission is to foster eco-friendly practices, users lacked a clear way to see the tangible impact of their contributions, such as CO2e savings from their clothing giveaways. This gap affected user engagement, as it limited their motivation to participate and share the app with others. By making these impacts visible, we sought to enhance user satisfaction and drive increased participation, ultimately supporting Giftd's growth objectives.
My Role
As the sole UX/UI designer, I led the project to create a user journey that clearly communicates the positive environmental impact of users' actions. My objective was to design an engaging experience that helps users feel a sense of accomplishment, ultimately boosting engagement and incentivizing further participation and sharing.
Key Responsibilities:
Facilitated workshops for feature alignment and discovery
Conducted thorough user research to identify user needs, which informed design decisions
Collaborated closely with the product owner, developer, and marketing team
Designed the entire user experience from concept to completion
Key metrics:Increased user engagement and user base growthTeam:1 UX Designer – Myself, 1 Founder, 1 Co-Founder & CTO, and 2 MarketersTimeline3 months from concept to handoff, 2023
The Impact I Achieved
Turning a Problem into an Opportunity
Turning a Problem into an Opportunity
Giftd users lack a clearer way to understand their impact, like CO2e savings from giveaways, and the product’s mission required better communication. We turned this challenge into an opportunity to engage users more deeply and grow the community around sustainability.
I began by analyzing existing user interviews to uncover key patterns and motivations in the community. The goal was to understand how users perceive their contributions and what drives their excitement to give.
Grouping these insights revealed core themes — users wanted to see tangible results of their actions, feel part of a collective mission, and be inspired to continue giving back.
Giftd users lack a clearer way to understand their impact, like CO2e savings from giveaways, and the product’s mission required better communication. We turned this challenge into an opportunity to engage users more deeply and grow the community around sustainability.
I began by analyzing existing user interviews to uncover key patterns and motivations in the community. The goal was to understand how users perceive their contributions and what drives their excitement to give.
Grouping these insights revealed core themes — users wanted to see tangible results of their actions, feel part of a collective mission, and be inspired to continue giving back.
Challenge 1: Designing an Entry Point to Track and Visualize Impact
Challenge 1: Designing an Entry Point to Track and Visualize Impact
With these findings, I explored how to design an entry point for users to see and track both their personal and community impact.
To make this engaging, I explored gamification strategies and visual storytelling from similar products, aiming to go beyond simply displaying numbers.
I sketched multiple solutions that could transform raw data into a motivating, easy-to-understand experience, ensuring that users could visualize their contributions clearly and stay inspired to engage more actively.
With these findings, I explored how to design an entry point for users to see and track both their personal and community impact.
To make this engaging, I explored gamification strategies and visual storytelling from similar products, aiming to go beyond simply displaying numbers.
I sketched multiple solutions that could transform raw data into a motivating, easy-to-understand experience, ensuring that users could visualize their contributions clearly and stay inspired to engage more actively.
Challenge 2: Encouraging Users to Share Their Impact
During ideation, I explored how to make sharing environmental impact more engaging. I designed three key elements:
community impact cards showing collective achievement
personal impact metrics that feel relatable (like powering a home for 6 months)
clear calls-to-action that make sharing feel natural
Each element aimed to help users see their role in growing our sustainability community.
During ideation, I explored how to make sharing environmental impact more engaging. I designed three key elements:
community impact cards showing collective achievement
personal impact metrics that feel relatable (like powering a home for 6 months)
clear calls-to-action that make sharing feel natural
Each element aimed to help users see their role in growing our sustainability community.
What Does x amount of CO2e saved mean to me?
Through interviews and early sketches with Giftd ambassadors, we discovered that users found CO2e savings too abstract. They wanted a clearer understanding of how their clothing donations impacted the environment. This led us to broaden our approach, exploring the full scope of their contributions—focusing on the environmental impact of clothes and fabrics.
To address this, I iterated the design to offer a clearer, more engaging view of their full environmental impact. The revised interface highlights not only CO2 savings but also water and electricity conservation, creating a holistic picture of each user’s contribution. This shift from numbers to a broader, more relatable narrative encourages users to engage more deeply with their impact.
We also learned that users needed a clear distinction between personal and community impact because they wanted to understand how their individual contributions fit into the bigger picture. While they valued being part of a community, they also wanted to track their personal progress and see the direct results of their actions.
Through interviews and early sketches with Giftd ambassadors, we discovered that users found CO2e savings too abstract. They wanted a clearer understanding of how their clothing donations impacted the environment. This led us to broaden our approach, exploring the full scope of their contributions—focusing on the environmental impact of clothes and fabrics.
To address this, I iterated the design to offer a clearer, more engaging view of their full environmental impact. The revised interface highlights not only CO2 savings but also water and electricity conservation, creating a holistic picture of each user’s contribution. This shift from numbers to a broader, more relatable narrative encourages users to engage more deeply with their impact.
We also learned that users needed a clear distinction between personal and community impact because they wanted to understand how their individual contributions fit into the bigger picture. While they valued being part of a community, they also wanted to track their personal progress and see the direct results of their actions.
Impact Stats – Get a Holistic Understanding of Your Impact and Your Community’s
Impact Stats – Get a Holistic Understanding of Your Impact and Your Community’s
When users wanted more than just numbers, we knew we had to make their impact feel real. Through this feature, we transformed abstract data into a relatable narrative. By toggling between "You" and "Community," users can seamlessly compare their personal contributions with those of their team.
The clear visualization of CO2 offset, water, and electricity savings creates a deeper, educational connection to their actions. Users now feel motivated by both their individual achievements and how they support the collective, driving further engagement and loyalty to the platform.
When users wanted more than just numbers, we knew we had to make their impact feel real. Through this feature, we transformed abstract data into a relatable narrative. By toggling between "You" and "Community," users can seamlessly compare their personal contributions with those of their team.
The clear visualization of CO2 offset, water, and electricity savings creates a deeper, educational connection to their actions. Users now feel motivated by both their individual achievements and how they support the collective, driving further engagement and loyalty to the platform.
Your Green Contribution: Make It Personal
Initially, we envisioned a dedicated section in the navigation menu where users could track and share their green contributions. However, due to tight deadlines and technical constraints, we opted for a simpler approach, integrating this feature directly within the user's profile for the first launch.
For the first launch, the priority was to offer a simple way for users to share their impact, with the entry point located within the user's profile. As a secondary goal, we aimed to make the experience more delightful and enjoyable. Feedback from user revealed that people were more excited about customizing their impact before sharing, rather than using a basic share button.
Initially, we envisioned a dedicated section in the navigation menu where users could track and share their green contributions. However, due to tight deadlines and technical constraints, we opted for a simpler approach, integrating this feature directly within the user's profile for the first launch.
For the first launch, the priority was to offer a simple way for users to share their impact, with the entry point located within the user's profile. As a secondary goal, we aimed to make the experience more delightful and enjoyable. Feedback from user revealed that people were more excited about customizing their impact before sharing, rather than using a basic share button.
Beyond the Launch: Iteration and Key Takeaways
A key challenge we faced was streamlining the journey for users joining through referrals. When we gathered post-launch feedback, it became clear our initial approach fell short on visibility - users just weren't seeing the referral options as prominently as we'd hoped. That feedback prompted us to refine the design and enhance the user acquisition experience without introducing any new friction points.
Looking ahead, we plan to make the impact feature a dedicated section in the app’s navigation, ensuring it’s prominent and easy to access while maintaining a delightful user experience.
A key challenge we faced was streamlining the journey for users joining through referrals. When we gathered post-launch feedback, it became clear our initial approach fell short on visibility - users just weren't seeing the referral options as prominently as we'd hoped. That feedback prompted us to refine the design and enhance the user acquisition experience without introducing any new friction points.
Looking ahead, we plan to make the impact feature a dedicated section in the app’s navigation, ensuring it’s prominent and easy to access while maintaining a delightful user experience.
In their Words
At its core, Giftd is about creating connections and empowering users to make a tangible difference. By showcasing the positive impact of each clothing giveaway, Giftd enables users to see the collective results of their actions, motivating them to continue contributing to a more sustainable community.
At its core, Giftd is about creating connections and empowering users to make a tangible difference. By showcasing the positive impact of each clothing giveaway, Giftd enables users to see the collective results of their actions, motivating them to continue contributing to a more sustainable community.
Let's create thoughtful experiences, with care and intention,together.
Reach out 👋🏼 bianca.ioana.basan *at* gmail.com
Let's create thoughtful experiences, with care and intention,together.
Reach out 👋🏼 bianca.ioana.basan *at* gmail.com
Let's create thoughtful experiences,with care and intention, together.
Reach out 👋🏼 bianca.ioana.basan *at* gmail.com