Overview —
In Spring 2021, my team and I launched Sellege, the first exclusive college marketplace and community platform, on the App Store and Google Play.

As the Co-Founder and Chief Design Officer, I was responsible for creating a design system, designing the end-to-end user experience of this app, and contributing to marketing efforts by managing social media and hosting in-person events.
Context —
Problem
Current marketplaces are often disorganized, scattered, and lack focus on a specific community. This makes it difficult for buyers and sellers to find what they need and connect with the right audience.
Solution
One unified marketplace app that is exclusive to each college by edu email verification, personalized filters and search, messaging, and a community page.
Impact
11.2k users from 35+ colleges in the first 18 months post-launch, with 43% users who have participated in buying or have posted in the community page.
App Preview —
Research Overview —
Competitive Analysis, Market Research
I looked at 6 different competitors, including Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Craigslist, Etsy, Depop and Mercari. What differentiated Sellege from other competitors was the exclusive community of only being able to interact, buy and sell with people in the university, which can create a sense of trust.
8 Interviews, 23 Survey Responses
82.6% of the students responded with Facebook Marketplace, and the remaining 17.3% responded with other options like posting on their instagram stories and subleasing and selling items to their friends or mutuals.
Target Users & Market —
🎓 15.9M Students Enrolled in US Colleges
We were able to narrow down our initial target users to undergraduate and graduate students who are currently attending colleges in the United States.
🏫 5300 Colleges, 💸 $54.1B spent on college shopping and furnishing dorms in the US
We analyzed the market size and spending trends in college shopping, highlighting a clear opportunity for growth in this sector.
User Pain Points —
🫂 Lack of Community & Trust
Students are hesitant about selling, buying and subleasing because they don't know if they can trust an unverified stranger online
🔍 Difficulty in Searching
Buyers cannot search effectively for what they need because they are scattered across different groups and platforms
📍 Importance of Proximity
Students are unable to pick up and drop off items at a further location from campus
Lo-Fi Wireframes —
Mapping out the flow to judge constraints and scope with product manager and engineer.
This step was critical to map out the flow and communicate to the product manager and engineer about any constraints moving forward. It helped me understand what flows were missing, and if the existing user flows address user pain points and needs.
Highlights from Usability Testing —
Email Verification
Changing verification from code to link
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Even after launch, we had technical issues with email verification, and I accommodated for that with descriptions and contact information. I also conducted A/B Testing for our initial wireframes.
  • 71% of users preferred email verification with a link because the verification code required an extra step
  • Email verification with a link matches our expenses and business needs
Email Verification
Guided onboarding experience
  • More descriptions to check spam email or send us an email if verification is not working
  • Terms and Conditions to address legal implications
Home Page
Including new components and unifying color
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I conducted several rounds of usability testing for the home page, and here are some selected designs and the changes made. Some things I had to consider after receiving feedback were accessibility, intuitive hierarchy and deleting designs that did not serve a purpose.
  • Cost and name of product is easier to recognize with separating each line
  • Reserved button added for users to know when a product is not available
  • Filter and notification added to easily access
Search & Filters: Switching to choice chips
  • Chips have a larger target zone and easier to tap
  • Users wanted customization of number of beds and baths when searching for subleases
Final Solution
A secure marketplace and community for students.
Onboarding & Verification —
User Pain Point
Students are hesitant about selling, buying and subleasing because they don't know if they can trust an unverified stranger online.
Solution
Only students who have a valid @edu email can enter, acting as security to prevent people who don't attend the school to enter the page. If you sign up with a @sellege.edu email, you will only be directed towards a home page and college page with people who attend Sellege University.  

There is also a customized acronym in the home page to ensure the bubble you are in is your college bubble.
Buying - Filters & Search —
User Pain Point
Buyers cannot search effectively for what they need because they are scattered across different groups and platforms.
Solution
The product indicates the category, how recent it was posted, and the amount of likes, views, and messages it received for the buyer to consider.

Users can also access  categories catered to college students. Unlike previous marketplaces, Sellege also allow students to look for a sublease with the number of beds & baths.
Profile —
User Pain Point
Students are hesitant about selling, buying and subleasing because they don't know if they can trust an unverified stranger online.
Solution
In the Profile tab, users are able to see what they have sold, bought and liked. This monitors their activity which they can look back to. Other buyers can also look at the seller's profile to see what they have sold or bought in the past and ratings, to increase a sense of transparency.
Promoting Sellege —
Website & Instagram
To market Sellege, our team designed & developed a website and consistently posted on social media to increase users and promote our launch.
Key Takeaways —
01 There are no trivial decisions in building a product
From the color of the gradients, shape, size and boldness of icons, choice of type to the location of buttons, every single decision may seem trivial but play an important role in the success of the app.
02 Communication between the engineer and designer is critical
This was one of the reasons that prompted me to want to pursue a masters in HCI—I want to be more versed in programming languages so that I can translate my vision and designs into the final product more precisely.
03 It's important to go back to the final product and re-analyze how it accurately addresses the problem
I realized that to constantly improve a product, I have to listen to the users and consistently research even after the launch, to detect flaws and know what to alter or change.

Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to check out my other works below

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Nowbase

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