UN Award Winner: Reinventing Local Commerce Through Bartering
How we created an innovative mobile platform that facilitates sustainable exchanges of unused items, winning the United Nations Circular Economy Challenge and promoting community engagement.
Reimagining the Barter Economy
Hula App is a platform that helps people barter goods and services and allows them to get what they need without the use of money. The app interface recreates an old-school barter table setting. The user is able to see the item being exchanged in real time directly on the app.
The idea is to expand the lifespan of used items through technology. Hula was born as a simple idea and the app was built from scratch with a focus on sustainability and community engagement.
Creating an Intuitive Bartering Experience
To create the app, we had to work out several critical points that would define the success of the platform and ensure users could exchange items seamlessly.
My Role & Responsibilities
- Initial platform creation for less than 10,000 users
- Market research and first users' behavior study
- Frameworks creation and initial prototypes in Invision (Low-fidelity) and Framer (High-fidelity)
- Global team management across USA, Europe, and India
- Measuring and iteration throughout product development
Key Design Challenges
We identified four major UX challenges that needed innovative solutions:
- How to validate a product's actual condition
- How to optimize the product upload process
- How to create an intuitive exchange interface
- How to manage several negotiations simultaneously
Understanding User Behavior
We conducted extensive market research and user behavior studies to understand how people interact with exchange platforms and what drives successful bartering experiences.
Craigslist Analysis
We analyzed Craigslist user behavior to understand how people categorize and search for items. This research informed our category structure and helped us create a more intuitive taxonomy for Hula's users.
Complete User Flow
We mapped out the entire user journey from onboarding to successful trade completion, identifying pain points and opportunities for optimization at each step.
All App Screens
We designed a comprehensive set of screens covering every user scenario, from browsing items to completing trades, ensuring consistency across the entire experience.
Building a Scalable Foundation
We created a comprehensive design system to ensure consistency across all touchpoints and enable rapid iteration as the product evolved.
Typography Hierarchy
We established a clear typographic system that balanced readability with personality, ensuring users could quickly scan and understand content at all hierarchy levels.
Color System
We developed a vibrant color palette that conveyed the playful, community-focused nature of bartering while maintaining accessibility standards.
Button Components
We created nested symbols in Sketch for all button states and variants, enabling designers to work quickly while maintaining consistency across the app.
Innovative Approaches to Classic Problems
Each UX challenge required a unique solution that balanced user needs with technical feasibility. Here's how we solved them:
Challenge: Validating Product Condition
The app has a feature that allows users to record videos of the stuff to be exchanged in real time, so the other party can check the actual item's condition. This builds trust and reduces disputes.
Challenge: Optimizing Product Upload
While a user uploaded a product, the app screen showed a spinner. To improve UX and optimize time, we replaced the empty time of the spinner with the chance for the user to type product description and choose a category.
Challenge: Exchange Interface
In Hula you don't exchange one product for another like other platforms. Instead, you put your whole stock on the table in front of the other party's stock and negotiate from there. The interface was created in landscape orientation, mimicking a real negotiation table. Users tilt their phone to access the trade screen.
Challenge: Simultaneous Negotiations
We organized a system of negotiations that take place in virtual rooms similar to rooms in poker software or online games. Users can manage multiple trades at once without confusion.
Winner: UN Circular Economy Challenge
In April 2020, Hula won the United Nations Circular Economy Challenge, recognized as the most tech-developed solution for promoting sustainable consumer behaviors through technology.
UN Recognition
Most-Tech-Developed-Solution award for ICT tools and business process innovations related to Circular Economy, resulting in rapid improvements for society
Global Impact
Directed product development across diverse teams in USA, Europe, and India, optimizing collaboration and efficiency
Open Source
Created open-source prototype and business model under creative-commons licensing, available for adaptation for projects worldwide
Platform Launch
Successfully launched MVP targeting initial user base of 10,000 users, establishing foundation for sustainable community engagement
Design System
Crafted comprehensive design systems and high-fidelity prototypes using Framer and Xcode, establishing robust framework for user interaction
Innovation
Solved four major UX challenges with innovative solutions: real-time video validation, optimized uploads, landscape interface, and virtual trading rooms
Let's Create Something Innovative
Interested in product strategy and sustainable design? Let's talk about your next project.