Client
STOOPING NYC
Project
Stooping NYC
Web App
App Design
Role
Brand Identity
User Interface
User Experience
UX Research
Stooping - the uniquely New York City experience of finding furniture of all different styles and states of use on the stoop or sidewalk. With so many people constantly moving in and out of apartments, finding used furniture is such a common occurence that there is an instagram account (@stoopingnyc) dedicated to posting the daily stoops from submissions by followers. The account has become a phenomenon with 251K followers in only a few years. With input from the couple that runs the account, this project was a speculative design for an app that would streamline the main functions of the instagram account, namely posting and searching stoops.
One persons
trash
is another persons
treasure.
NYC
People are constantly moving in and out of apartments, therefore people are constantly getting rid of furniture and people constantly in need of furniture.
Source: "The Golden Age of Free Stuff is Upon Us" - The New York Times
Photographer: Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet
stooping
/sto͞opiNG/
verb
gerund or present participle: stooping
-
finding and taking an item home from the street.
"I stooped that on mott street"
Enter @stoopingnyc, an instagram account that posts free furniture on the street based on submissions from users.
The problem? Instagram is not an app made for a service like stooping nyc. It's taken off on instagram because of ease of posting, however the current system is not sustainable for growth and as a result many stoops go ignored or are not posted in time. Say you're moving and you only have a U-Haul for one day, you could furnish your entire apartment by stooping that day if there were a streamlined way of looking for stoops that are close to you or searching for specific items. Looking heavily at craigslist as a web app and similar service, I saw the need for a web app like craigslist but more modern and narrowed down.
How might we expand the @stoopingnyc instagram experience into a more usable web app?
How might we streamline the process of finding the stoops?
Interview with Founders
I had the opportunity to speak with the people who created and run the account, who prefer to remain anonymous. The interview was an illuminating source of information on the functions needed for the app, things that are not working on Instagram, and identifying the needs of the web app vs. Instagram.
Streamlining posting process
"The amount of stoops depends on the day. Weekdays hundreds, weekends thousands potentially, depending on what time of month it is. End of month, as the weather gets nicer, quantities pick up.
Marking items
as taken
"If we can't get to something and two hours has passed, then we do assume that the item might be gone so we won't post that."
"We get a lot of people asking us if an item is still there"
Maintaining community interaction
"Stooping successes are our most popular posts"
"Without Instagram, I don't know if this would be what it is."
MUST
-
Be able to find stoops on the map
-
Mark if the item is taken or not
-
Be able to post a stoop
-
Expire after 24 hours
SHOULD
-
Create an account
-
Share a listing
-
Get notified on stoops near you
COULD
-
Navigation to Google Maps
-
Favorite
-
Comment
WOULD
-
Social aspect to see stooping successes
-
DIY ideas blog style
-
Community interaction
-
Social features (commenting, liking)
-
Stooping success stories
Stooping NYC App
-
Finding stoops on a map
-
Posting stoops
-
Navigate to stoops
-
Mark stoops as taken
-
Get notified on stoops near you
Competitive Research
Craigslist mobile
Craigslist desktop
Citizen
Letgo
Low Fidelity Wireframes
Laying out basic "must" functions: posting and finding items, and marking them as taken.
Interview Highlights
I interviewed people within the age range of @stoopingnyc's audience, females in their mid-late twenties. We talked about their experiences stooping and conducted user testing of the low fidelity wireframes. The most significant quotes are listed below.
Yina
24, Grad student
"It would be less stressful to post without having to make an account, but it's also nice to have a history of things that you posted. Maybe it's just typing in your email address and not having an account"
Edrik
28, Director
"The hardest part is getting to the location and looking to find the exact spot where the stoop is."
"I'd rather have a straightforward grid layout, tapping through the stories is annoying."
Priyal
25, Product designer
"Being able to see if an item is taken or not is really important, otherwise you end up wasting your time."
Key Insights
-
For items like this that are for pickup on the street and not to be shipped, the map and location is the most important aspect of the item. This is especially important in NYC where most people do not own cars so must carry their stooped items by foot or on the subway.
-
Ease of posting, especially without making an account, is important.
-
Being able to know if an item is taken or not is a big concern for users.
Site Map
Mid Fidelity Wireframes
Map view
Other viewing options
Posting a stoop
Text Submission
Style
.png)
For the visual identity of the app, I wanted to highlight a few things: the unique & eccentric energy of New York, the neverending source of second-hand furniture, and the spirit of adventure in stooping. The resulting visual system is made up of colorful objects and shapes stacked up, just as they often are on the street. The uniquely distinct shapes and colors represent the unique and diverse free items that the account posts. The animations show the shapes stacking up precariously to fill the screen, visualizing the abundance of free furniture and the beautiful chaos of it all.
Icons / Components
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Final Prototype
Map view
The map allows you to search for items geographically, viewing items near you or in certain neighborhoods.
Grid View + Filters
The user may also browse stoops through the grid view, searching for specific items and filtering recent posts, closest posts and condition of the item.
Post a stoop
Easily post stoops by taking a photo of the item, optional description, marking the condition of the item and the exact location of the item.
Navigate + Mark taken
The user can navigate to the exact location of the item, with the app redirecting to google maps to navigate directly to the stoop.
Create account
To prevent any friction with posting, the user can post anonymously or make an account to keep a history of their posts and set up notifications.
Get notified
Set notifications for stoops within a certain mile radius of your zip code, choose what condition of items you want to be notified for, and tags for specific items.
Active + Past Stoops
Look at all the stoops you've posted, and the stoops that are currently active as well as how much time they have before expiring.