Loop
Loop was a concept mobile application designed for Found Surface, an eco-friendly manufacturing company based in Cleveland, Ohio. The goal of the project was to explore how a digital platform could connect the public to the factory ecosystem through transparency, product drops, garment rentals, and behind the scenes access to the manufacturing process.
The concept focused on creating a platform where users could interact directly with the company rather than only seeing finished products.
Loop remained a design concept and prototype, but it explored how manufacturing, sustainability, and community could live inside a single mobile experience.
Problem
Found Surface operates as more than just a product brand. The company also manufactures garments, develops supply chains, and focuses heavily on sustainable production practices.
However, there was no clear way for people to understand the full ecosystem of the company or interact with it directly. Customers could see finished products, but they could not easily see what was happening inside the factory, what capabilities the company had, or how they could engage with the brand beyond purchasing garments.
The opportunity was to create a digital platform that made the factory ecosystem visible while also allowing people to participate in it.
Users
The primary users for Loop were people interested in sustainable fashion as well as members of the local Cleveland community who wanted a closer connection to how garments are produced.
These users care about transparency, ethical production, and supporting local manufacturing. The platform aimed to give them a way to follow the production process, interact with new product drops, and participate in a garment rental ecosystem.
I designed the wireframes and prototype for the Loop application.
My work focused on mapping the core user flows and designing the interface structure that organized the platform’s different features. I created the screen layouts and built a prototype that demonstrated how users could explore the factory ecosystem, browse product drops, shop garments, and rent items directly from Found Surface.
The goal of the prototype was to translate the concept of the factory ecosystem into a simple and approachable mobile experience.
My Role
As part of the branding process, I developed a series of personalized icons used throughout the platform. I began by sketching multiple logo concepts by hand to explore different visual ideas and directions. Once I identified the strongest designs, I digitized the sketches and refined them into polished graphics that aligned with the overall look and feel of the app. This approach allowed me to combine creative exploration with precise digital design to create unique and cohesive branding elements.
Product Experience
After login, users enter a dashboard that acts as the central hub of the platform. The dashboard is organized into four primary sections.
My Closet allows users to manage garments they currently own or are renting from the factory.
Transit shows garments currently being shipped, returned, or processed within the rental system.
New Arrivals highlights the latest product drops and newly available garments.
Favorites allows users to save garments they want to rent or purchase later.
From the dashboard, users can swipe horizontally to move between additional sections of the app.
The Shop section allows users to browse new drops and available garments.
The Feed section features images and updates from inside the factory, giving users a behind the scenes look at production and company highlights.
The Styling section allows Found Surface to share styling ideas and inspiration so users can see different ways garments can be worn.
Together these sections create a digital window into the factory while allowing users to shop, rent, and follow what is happening inside the company.
Design Approach
The main design goal for Loop was simplicity. Because the platform combined several features including shopping, garment rental, factory updates, and styling inspiration, the interface needed to remain clear and easy to navigate.
The dashboard structure was designed to give users immediate access to their most important actions without overwhelming them with information. Horizontal navigation between sections allows the platform to feel fluid while avoiding complex menus.
The experience was designed to feel approachable for users between the ages of 21 and 45 who are interested in sustainable fashion but expect a straightforward digital experience.
Design Challenge
The biggest challenge in the project was balancing the number of features requested while keeping the interface simple. One of the most difficult design problems involved communicating the difference between renting garments and purchasing them. Early versions of the interface used the terms rent and buy, but this language felt transactional and slightly rigid. To make the experience feel more natural, the terminology was adjusted to Borrow and Buy. This subtle shift made the rental system feel lighter and aligned better with the idea of garments circulating within a community ecosystem.
Outcome
Loop remained a concept and prototype rather than a launched product. After reviewing the project, the client determined that developing a full mobile application was still too early for the stage of the company.
However, the prototype helped explore how the Found Surface ecosystem could eventually translate into a digital platform. The project demonstrated how transparency, sustainability, and community engagement could be integrated into a single mobile experience.