Interactive Article
Influence of Social Media Trends on Consumer Behavior
MY ROLE
UX/UI Designer, Data visualisation specialist
COURSE
Information Visualisation Design Studio – DECO3100
TEAM
Individual
TIMELINE
Feb 2024 – June 2024
SKILLS
Abstract data visualisation, Data acquisition, and parsing & processing of data, front-end (Javascript, html, css), UI Design, User Testing.
Overview
Data Visualisation Design Studio is a studio course focused on effectively communicating data through interactive and automated visualisations using Excel and JavaScript. It covers core principles of information design, emphasizing aesthetics, data analytics, and user engagement.
This project examined how social media influences the rise of secondhand fashion using secondary data like Google Trends. It explores consumer behavior—especially among tech-savvy, budget-conscious users—and identifies key drivers of thrifting, including demographic shifts and the shift from retail to resale.
Challenge
Who are the intended readers?
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What is the narrative?
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How to convey the narrative to the intended users?
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What is the goal of this article?
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The Process - show in double diamond??
- Background research
- Finding possible data points
- Collecting and Creating Data figures
- First iteration: Creating a narrative with Data & Article wireframe
- User Testing
- Reflect from testing feedback
- Second iteration: Creating Prototype (front end coding with interactive data using js)
- User Testing for narrative & prototype
- Gather insights and data, and polish second iteration.
- Third Prototype: Final submission
How does data show?
85%
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85%
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85%
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85%
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Correlation ≠ Causation
However...
There were underlying factors that affected the rise of thrifitng through different historical events which social media played a pivotal role in. These underlying factors are explored throughout the article.
The concept of this narrative was to introduce the possibility of thrifting trend from social media affecting the second hand market as a whole.
Flow of Narrative
- Influence of Social media on Consumer Behavior
- Thrifting Trends on Social Media
- Macklemore Thrift Shop
- Covid 19 & online Thriftstore
- “#ThriftTok” TikTok trend — Mid 2020
- Resale Vs Retail
Ideation...
Wireframe
Mockup
2 User Testing later...
- Key Takeaway #1
- Key Takeaway #2
- Key Takeaway #3
- Key Takeaway #1
- Key Takeaway #2
- Key Takeaway #3
3 Iterations...
85%
User Tested
85%
Different Types of User Testing
Final User Testing...
- Key Takeaways #1
- Key Takeaways #2
- Key Takeaways #3
Understanding the Problem
To assess if there is a possible narrative with social media trends and secondhand, I went into analyzing thrifting trends over time, identifying correlations between social media usage and consumer behavior, and examining demographic-specific patterns. This research gave me a deeper understanding of social media influence on secondhand shopping. To explore the main thrifting Google Trends data (Google Trends, n.d.) and analyze collected data, I opted for a visual mapping on Figma (Figure 2) to connect insights.
From the feedback received during the presentation, the tutor suggested better integration and emphasis on sustainability and cost-effectiveness in the narrative. Additionally, feedback was received on providing more context on the presented data to enhance understanding. To address the feedback, the refined narrative includes additional insights and contextual information for data that emphasize the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of secondhand shopping. The refined narrative ensures a comprehensive and engaging storytelling experience that conveys the message.
Gathering Insights
My user research encompassed:
- Case studies on social media usage
- Secondary sourced data on Sustainable fashion
My testing encompassed:
- Tutor Feedback
- User Feedback (Narrative testing)
- User Feedback (UI testing)
Tutor Feedback
From the feedback received during the presentation, the tutor suggested better integration and emphasis on sustainability and cost-effectiveness in the narrative. Additionally, feedback was received on providing more context on the presented data to enhance understanding. To address the feedback, the refined narrative includes additional insights and contextual information for data that emphasize the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of secondhand shopping. The refined narrative ensures a comprehensive and engaging storytelling experience that conveys the message.
User Feedback
From the feedback received during the presentation, the tutor suggested better integration and emphasis on sustainability and cost-effectiveness in the narrative. Additionally, feedback was received on providing more context on the presented data to enhance understanding. To address the feedback, the refined narrative includes additional insights and contextual information for data that emphasize the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of secondhand shopping. The refined narrative ensures a comprehensive and engaging storytelling experience that conveys the message.
The participants in the testing included individuals from the target audience: tech-savvy individuals interested in saving money and staying informed about the shift in fashion towards secondhand. With 9 user testers (Figure 3) from the target audience, a couple of important findings were later analyzed on Figma through a similar form of affinity diagramming by combining analyzed themes to find key insights (Figure 4). While the demographic ranged in ethnicities and country of residence, this became a weakness as well because of the lack of
During usability testing, participants were asked to perform tasks related to content analysis, design and layout analysis, and reflection on the integration between narrative and data visuals.
Several key themes for improvement were identified:
- Content clarity: Participants stated that while the flow of the narrative is good, there could be improvements in section transitions to signify a new section.
- Clarity in data labeling: Many suggested clarity in graph labeling such as tites and y-axis.
- Consistent design: Participants’ feedback was positive regarding the design, while some suggested that the charts should follow a similar design to the rest of the content.
- Content and data coherence: Some participants stated that the narrative and data could benefit from more refinement to clarify the relationship between the two and provide additional information, possibly with additional references.
Conclusion
Throughout the course, I had couple of key achievements…
- Improving ui interactions with Javascript.
- Analysing Data with purpose.
- Improving ux/ui by creating user-focused article layout.