Designer and researcher • Sustainability and Digital Services • Ph.D Fellow  • 2015 — 2019 

Designing secondhand digital marketplace journeys

During my PhD, I investigated the impact of design on making secondhand digital services more usable for people. My research was conducted at UiO in Oslo, Norway, in collaboration with industry partners - Schibsted, Bengler, and SINTEF. The main focus of my work was to identify patterns for designing innovative secondhand marketplaces services.

Research outcomes

As part of my research, I developed a detailed service proposal for secondhand digital platforms that would facilitate the movement of durable goods within complementary lifestyles. The research outcomes were disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, exhibits, and sample service design artifacts.

Delivered outcomes of research

Detailed insights into the secondhand market and consumer behavior, allowing for more informed decision-making by service providers working with secondhand marketplaces.

A service model that linked complementary temporary lifestyles, which could be used to design more effective digital platforms for secondhand goods.

Sample service design artifacts that demonstrated the potential of the proposed service model.

Proposals that provided a long term (5-10 year) vision for the future evolution of the secondhand service landscape.

6 peer reviewed publications

Project details

Studying secondhand digital services and consumer motivations

To kick off the project, I conducted exploratory interviews and workshops with industry partners Snapsale and SoBo to gain a deeper understanding of their secondhand services and their role in the market. The purpose of these activities was to identify key challenges and opportunities in the market and to gain insights into consumers' shopping motivations.

During the workshops, I led business model canvas exercises, which helped gain a holistic understanding of their current business models and provided a framework for identifying potential gaps and opportunities. The canvas also fostered critical thinking and collaboration among the participants, allowing for different perspectives to be considered.

Based on one of the key outcomes from the workshops with Snapsale and SoBo, we began conducting in-depth interviews with 16 to 27-year-olds.

These interviews aimed to gain insights into how consumers use secondhand goods to support their lifestyles and how this relates to their purchase decisions. The interviews identified three behavioral archetypes based on common living arrangements and revealed that consumers' purchase decisions were motivated by temporary living situations.

Project details

Framing the service model

During the service proposition development phase, our research team synthesized the insights gained from workshops and in-depth interviews to construct a comprehensive service model. The workshops with Snapsale and SoBo and in-depth interviews with consumers provided us with valuable insights into consumer behavior and the potential of secondhand services to meet the unique needs of young consumers with transient lifestyles. These insights were then used to inform the service model's development and to create a value proposition for brands working with secondhand marketplaces.

Zygo — designing a service sample

Operationalizing the Service Model and Demonstrating Actionable Insights to Industry Partners

After developing the service model and value proposition, I proceeded to design a sample service that reflected the brand narrative. I put together a prototype of the Zygo service, showcasing the features and functions of the final service model in a digital environment. The prototype served as a blueprint for operationalizing the service model in possible ways and demonstrated how the insights gained from the research project could be made actionable by industry partners. It helped to provide a tangible representation of the findings and to demonstrate how the service could translate into real-world applications.

I created artefacts to prototype the Zygo platform to provide clear representations of the service model. I designed customer journey maps that demonstrated the customer experience with the service from the point of entry.

Service artefacts

I leveraged branding and visual artifacts to communicate the narrative and the value proposition of the service. 

Brand attribute matrix used to develop identity for Zygo and visual language of the mobile application

Service Prototyping and Expert Review

To showcase the Zygo service, we used various mediums to help participants experience the service first-hand. To review and refine the service, hands-on workshop sessions were conducted using various tools like service storyboards and desktop system mapping. Additionally, the service was exhibited at Nordes (2017) using a combination of brand expressions, service visualization, and a mobile app prototype to provide participants with a comprehensive service snapshot demo. These mediums allowed participants to better understand and engage with the features of the service and get a sense of how it would meet their needs.

Publications

Implications for Transitions to Sustainable Consumption: Finding Millennials’ Behaviour Archetypes

Srivastava, Swati & Culén, Alma Leora • IASDR 2019 (International Association of Societies of Design Research Conference)

Transition‐oriented Futuring: Integrated Design for Decreased Consumption amongst Millennials

Srivastava, Swati & Culén, Alma Leora • DRS 2018 (Design Research Society)

Zygo: Design Led reframing of the Second-Hand Marketplaces

Srivastava, Swati  • Nordes'17 (Nordic Design Research)

Framing process and practice: reflections on intermediate material outcomes

Sumit Pandey, Swati Srivastava, and Jorun Børsting • CHI'16 Workshop Paper

Designing for Sustainability: Challenges and Theoretical Considerations

Srivastava, Swati, Pandey, Sumit •  ACHI'16 (Advances in Computer-Human Interactions)

Knowledge Brokers in Service Design: Lessons from organizational Studies

 Pandey, Sumit & Srivastava, Swati • ServDes2016

LinkedIn
iswatisrivastava@gmail.com