01
CoordinationCoordination is the biggest pain point.
Users spend more time scheduling pickups than searching for items.
Self-directed UX case study
FS.dk
Making furniture exchange simple, local and reliable.
A self-directed UX case study exploring how structured pickup coordination can reduce friction, increase trust and improve furniture exchanges between neighbors.
- Focus
- Research · Interaction Design · Hi-Fi Prototyping
- Duration
- 8 weeks
- Location
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Tools
- Figma · Prototyping
This project validates a product concept through research and prototyping rather than implementation.
02The problem
Users don't struggle to find furniture. They struggle to coordinate pickups.
Existing platforms create unnecessary friction through endless messaging, unclear availability, unreliable users and frequent no-shows.
This leads to wasted time, frustration and abandoned exchanges — even when both people genuinely want the swap to happen.
03Research & Discovery
Listening before designing.
Semi-structured interviews with Copenhagen locals and expats who had recently exchanged furniture — mapping the real process and where it breaks down.
5
Participants — locals & expats
30–45
Minutes per interview
CPH
Copenhagen area
02
TrustTrust between strangers is fragile.
People need lightweight signals before agreeing to meet in person.
03
ReliabilityOne bad experience kills future exchanges.
No-shows and cancellations create lasting frustration.
04
SimplicityPredictability beats more features.
Clear next steps matter more than rich functionality.
From interviews to insights
How interview signal became design direction.
Five semi-structured interviews were conducted with people who regularly use Facebook Marketplace, DBA and local exchange groups. Findings were synthesized into recurring themes around trust, coordination and pickup reliability.
The goal is not to present exhaustive research documentation, but to demonstrate how findings informed design decisions.
- 01
5 User Interviews
Semi-structured, 30–45 min.
- 02
Theme Clustering
Affinity mapping of quotes.
- 03
Behavior Patterns
Recurring coordination friction.
- 04
Design Opportunities
Translated into HMW prompts.
04Personas
Two users, one shared frustration.
Their motivations differ — speed vs. community — but both experience the same core breakdown around pickup coordination.
Lucas, 32
The Expat Urban Sharer · Copenhagen
Argentinian event producer living alone in Copenhagen. Rearranges his space often and gives away furniture through community platforms.
Goals
- Give away furniture quickly and easily.
- Find reliable people who actually show up.
- Keep the process simple and predictable.
Pain points
- People say they'll come but never arrive.
- Endless back-and-forth messaging.
- Last-minute cancellations.
Key behavioral insights
- Posts on Marketplace & FreeYourStuff weekly.
- Works odd hours — needs flexible time slots.
- Abandons exchanges after one no-show.
- Values structured workflows over chat.
Mette, 45
The Local Community Giver · Frederiksberg
Government employee in Frederiksberg, married with two teenagers. Regularly gives away items to support reuse and reduce waste.
Goals
- Give away items without unnecessary effort.
- Help others through reuse.
- Avoid repetitive conversations.
Pain points
- Too many messages and repetitive questions.
- People don't read listings carefully.
- Unclear expectations from receivers.
Key behavioral insights
- Writes detailed listings up front.
- Prefers polite, low-friction interactions.
- Stops responding when chat overhead grows.
- Trusts platforms that reward reliability.
05Design opportunity
How might we?
How might we help neighbors coordinate furniture exchanges with less messaging, fewer no-shows and more trust?
Design principles
01
Reduce coordination effort
Replace open-ended chat with structured scheduling.
02
Increase accountability
Make commitments explicit, visible and binding.
03
Create predictable pickups
Confirmed windows instead of vague meet-ups.
04
Build trust through transparency
Surface lightweight signals before strangers meet.
06User journey
A linear path from discovery to feedback.
The redesigned flow replaces chat-based negotiation with a single guided sequence — each step is explicit, confirmable and traceable.
- 01
Discover Item
- 02
Review Listing
- 03
Choose Pickup Time
- 04
Confirm Exchange
- 05
Complete Pickup
- 06
Leave Feedback
Discovery and listings stay familiar — but scheduling, confirmation and feedback are pulled into the product itself, removing the messaging gap where most exchanges fall apart.
07Final solution
Structured coordination, not negotiation.
The solution focuses on structured pickup coordination rather than traditional chat-based negotiation. Three core flows support the experience.
01
Discovery Flow
Users can quickly discover nearby furniture and evaluate listings before initiating an exchange.
02
Pickup Coordination Flow
Structured pickup scheduling reduces uncertainty and creates accountability between both participants.
03
Publishing Flow
Creating a listing takes only a few steps while ensuring enough information for a successful exchange.
08High-fidelity prototype
Three moments that define the experience.
A focused selection of screens — discovery, decision, and confirmation — the touchpoints where coordination effort is replaced by confidence.
View interactive prototype
Explore the complete end-to-end experience including discovery, publishing and pickup coordination flows.
02 — Home
Helping users discover relevant items nearby.
03 — Listing Detail
Providing clear information before requesting pickup.
06 — Request Accepted
Confirming exchanges and increasing trust.
09Designed outcomes
Designed outcomes.
Because this concept was not released to production, no real-world metrics were collected. The outcomes below represent the intended behavioral improvements the solution was designed to create.
Less effort
Reduce coordination effort
Structured pickup slots reduce the need for repetitive scheduling conversations.
More reliable
Increase pickup reliability
Clear commitments and reminders help reduce uncertainty and no-shows.
More trust
Build trust between neighbors
Profiles, ratings and confirmed exchanges provide stronger trust signals.
10What's next
What I would test next.
If this concept moved into validation, these would be the next hypotheses to test.
01
Commitment Signals
Would additional accountability mechanisms further reduce no-shows?
02
Smart Reminders
Can reminder timing improve attendance and completion rates?
03
Trust Indicators
Which trust signals have the greatest impact on pickup confidence?
04
Calendar Integration
Can availability syncing reduce coordination effort even further?
11Reflection
The real problem wasn't discovery. It was coordination.
The biggest insight from this project was that the core problem wasn't discovering furniture. It was coordinating people.
Users already have access to multiple marketplaces with thousands of listings. The frustration appears later, when two strangers need to agree on a pickup and follow through.
This shifted the design focus away from search and browsing features and toward service design, scheduling and trust-building mechanisms.
If I continued the project, I would validate whether structured scheduling alone is enough to reduce no-shows, or whether stronger commitment systems would be required.
The project reinforced the importance of identifying the real problem before designing the solution.
Explore the prototype
View interactive prototypeInterested in more projects?
Explore additional UX, product design and web design work.