Visual Identity & App (UI/UX)
Description
Alama is more than just a resale platform, it's a mindset. Rooted in intention, design and purpose, Alama is where fashion meets sustainability in a curated, elevated space.
Context
As the lead product designer, I worked end-to-end on shaping Alama’s brand and app experience, crafting a visual identity, defining the user journey and designing intuitive features that make conscious wardrobe management both seamless and desirable. From translating the brand’s sustainability values into an approachable interface to ensuring every interaction felt purposeful, my role bridged aesthetic design with functional, user-first solutions.
Process
1. Immersion & Discovery
I began by working closely with Alama’s founder to understand the brand’s core mission, bringing sustainability, curation and conscious fashion into a seamless digital experience. We held stakeholder workshops to define business goals, audience personas and the product’s long-term vision.
From there, I conducted primary research with potential users, interviewing fashion-conscious and sustainability minded individuals to understand their pain points in resale platforms and wardrobe management. I also carried out secondary research into leading fashion marketplaces, resale platforms and wardrobe apps, mapping out feature gaps and opportunities to differentiate Alama.
2. Visual Identity Development
The brand’s identity needed to feel curated yet approachable, high enough to stand alongside premium fashion brands but warm enough to invite everyday use. The circular logo, echoing the silhouette of a dress, brought a human touch and tied directly to the fashion and circular economy themes. The six radiating rays each symbolised one of Alama’s core values, reinforcing purpose without heavy-handed visuals.
The colour palette balanced clean neutrals with a rich accent tone to feel both fresh and timeless, allowing clothing imagery to shine. Typography choices followed the same principle, modern, legible and adaptable across both digital and print applications.
3. App UI/UX Design
Designing Alama’s app required building for two key experiences:
The bespoke digital wardrobe & profile, allowing users to upload, organise and manage their clothing.
Future marketplace integration, while the platform’s full resale features were still in development, the MVP focused on item uploading and wardrobe curation as the core user journey.
We created low-fidelity wireframes to map out navigation flows, focusing on speed, clarity and ease of use. This was followed by high-fidelity prototypes that balanced functionality with a polished, fashion-forward aesthetic. I paid special attention to the onboarding process, ensuring users immediately understood the wardrobe concept and felt encouraged to start uploading.
Challenges & Solutions
Challenge 1: Designing without a fully functional marketplace
Problem: Without the resale side live, there was a risk the app could feel incomplete or underwhelming.
Solution: I positioned the digital wardrobe as the hero feature, creating a tailored profile experience with category filters, style notes and visual item grids. This made the uploading process feel purposeful and rewarding, even before marketplace functionality was active.
Challenge 2: Balancing premium brand feel with everyday usability
Problem: Many luxury-inspired designs can feel too formal for daily interaction.
Solution: I paired the clean, structured brand system with subtle warmth, rounded interface elements, generous spacing and friendly micro-interactions, ensuring it felt human and approachable.
Challenge 3: Encouraging user engagement from day one
Problem: With limited features at launch, retention was a concern.
Solution: Introduced progressive engagement triggers, rewarding users visually as their wardrobe filled and allowing them to explore insights about their style, colour use and wardrobe value over time.