Pomu
Product Designer
Worked with Vandana Rajesh
Overview
During my two months in the role, I was responsible for product and visual design, developing the interface, defining the user flow, and finalizing the brand identity. A key lesson I learned was the importance of collaborating closely with the development team from the start to ensure alignment and deliver a product that meets both user needs and technical requirements.
Empathize
Problem Statement
Emerging fashion designers and brands often struggle to find reliable manufacturers that meet their standards for price and quality. “I'm having difficulty finding the right manufacturer. I'm a complete beginner, never done this before, and there’re so many different ones to choose from.”
Research Goals
Initially, we had little understanding of how the fashion production industry works. Our goal was to learn about designers' challenges in finding manufacturers, their workflows, the key factors they consider for reliability, and how they perceive the value of the platform.
Methods
To understand the challenges faced by fashion designers, we conducted 15 interviews with designers and manufacturers to gain a broader perspective.
Key Takeaways
85% of designers struggle to find manufacturers that share their brand values. 90% worry about poor communication and transparency during production. Designers emphasized the need for a centralized platform to make finding and vetting manufacturers faster and easier.“Everything I search up just gives me create your own graphic tee which isn't what I'm looking for.”
“There are a lot of clothing manufacturers on the market, but the quality is uneven.”
Define
We used user personas, user journeys, and empathy maps to help frame the problem by identifying friction points and opportunities. We also analyzed our competitors in the market to see how we can differentiate ourselves.
Refined Problem Statement
How might we simplify the process for fashion designers to find reliable manufacturers while ensuring transparency and efficient communication?
Ideate
Ideation
With that, Pomu is more than just an AI-powered search tool. It’s a platform designed to help manufacturers and designers build trust and form long-term partnerships. It's an ambitious goal, with strong competitors on the horizon and limited time. So, we made sure to come together as a team and brainstorm before doing anything in high fidelity.
Prioritization
We prioritized features based on the needs and challenges of our audience using an effort and impact matrix. We focused on including AI-powered image search, a database of clothing manufacturers, and an easy way for designers to view manufacturer details and contact them. Optional but helpful features could be a rating and review system.
Sketches
When working on our sketches, we primarily focused on reducing unnecessary steps and explored multiple layouts for the search, image upload, and filter systems to ensure the AI integration felt natural and didn’t overwhelm our users.Prototype
Solution
The final design of Pomu integrates essential features to streamline the manufacturing process for fashion designers.
On-Boarding
The goal is to ensure both parties have the necessary information to make informed decisions, while making the process quick and easy for both designers and manufacturers.AI-Image Search
Designers can now upload images of the clothing they want to produce, and they'll receive a list of manufacturers capable of producing that type of clothing.Manufacturer’s Profile
Manufacturer profiles include images of their facilities, a description of their services, and a link to their website, providing designers with all the information they need to make informed decisions.Test
75% of testers felt the AI-powered matching system reduced the time spent searching for manufacturers. 60% requested more refined filters for niche production needs.
Next Steps
Based on this feedback, our next steps are to simplify the onboarding process for faster AI matchmaking, add filters specific to niche needs, and improve the visibility of manufacturer ratings and reviews to enhance transparency. Our team also plans to introduce a textile database to the platform.