ensemble - designing an app to make getting dressed easier and more intentional.
TIMELINE
Winter 2025
(8 Weeks)
ROLE
End-to-end Designer
TEAM
Independent Project
w/ Peer Feedback
SKILLS
UX Research
Prototyping
Visual Design
AI Integration
getting dressed is more than a routine; it’s a daily act of self-expression.
Unfortunately, in the rush of everyday life, it can also be time-consuming and lead to decision fatigue. Motivated by my love for fashion and my interest in user-centered design, this project explores how digital tools can support personal style and daily decision-making. I led the end-to-end process, from early research to interface design, to create an experience that feels elegant, helpful, and empowering.
RESEARCH
why is it difficult to get dressed?
We started by conducting one-on-one interviews with 5 users about their wardrobe experiences and clothing habits. These conversations revealed some common challenges:
DECISION FATIGUE
"I stare at my closet and feel overwhelmed. I have so many clothes, but I never know what to wear."
Many interviewees described the daily decision of what to wear as mentally exhausting, especially when rushed or unsure of the day's vibe. This mental block often led to repeating the same outfits, even when they had plenty of options.
CONFIDENCE & CLOTHING
"If I wear something I don't feel good in, it kinda throws off my entire day and I can't focus on what's actually important."
Several people shared how getting dressed isn't just functional; it's emotional. The right outfit can help them feel more put-together, confident, and ready to show up in the world. But achieving that feeling consistently was a challenge.
CONTEXT MISMATCH
"I don't really plan outfits ahead of time. I just grab something and hope it works."
Few users had a system for matching outfits to their calendar, weather, or events. As a result, getting dressed felt reactive and uncoordinated, leading to mismatches like feeling underdressed, uncomfortable, or out of sync.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
To understand how Ensemble compares to existing solutions, I analyzed several popular apps with similar goals. Each offers its own strengths and areas where it could improve.
APP NAME
FOCUS AREA
STRENGTHS
LIMITATIONS
Indyx
Outfit planning
+ styling services
Offers personalized styling by experts
Styling services
are high-cost
Whering
Wardrobe organization
+ analytics
Detailed stats
+ organization
Overwhelming data presentation
ACloset
Style inspiration
+ community
Inspiring looks
+ ideas
Inspiration isn't tailored to user
Stylebook
Closet cataloging
+ planning
Comprehensive closet catalog
Very bare-bones
Cladwell
Capsule wardrobe
+ daily outfits
Focused guidance
using AI
AI doesn't suggest diverse range of outfits
USER PERSONA
To design a solution that fits users' lives, it's important to understand their daily challenges, goals, and routines. I created a user persona to better understand a typical user.
Vivi
she/her
BACKGROUND
Vivi, 28, is a marketing professional with a busy schedule of work and social events. She enjoys fashion and wants her outfits to feel polished and confident, but mornings are rushed and she rarely has time to plan. Quick closet decisions often leave her feeling uninspired.
FRUSTRATIONS
Getting dressed feels stressful and eats into her limited time. Without a clear system, she defaults to quick choices that don’t always fit the day’s events. She wants a smoother morning routine — one where she already knows what to wear, feels confident, and saves energy for the rest of her day.
IDEATION + DESIGN
version one incoming!
I initially focused on helping users organize and engage with their wardrobe in a way that felt accessible, low-effort, and genuinely helpful. The goal was to reduce the friction of getting dressed by offering a place where users could catalog what they own, plan ahead, and reflect on their outfit choices over time.
USER FEEDBACK
what did users think of the design?
User feedback revealed that even with a well-organized wardrobe, decision-making remained a major challenge. Many users still found it difficult to come up with outfit ideas, especially when pressed for time. These insights highlighted a clear next step: find a way to offer more active support during the getting-ready process.
INTRODUCING AI FEATURES
why should there even be AI in Ensemble?
Even with an organized digital wardrobe and outfit calendar, users were still spending time and energy trying to come up with outfit ideas.
This led to an important realization: the app was organizing clothing, but not reducing the cognitive load of getting dressed. Users still had to mentally piece together outfits themselves. In order to truly help users, the app couldn’t just track clothes, it had to offer intelligent suggestions. This led to the creation of Assemble, the app’s AI-powered styling assistant.
Assemble helps users:
Personalize outfit suggestions based on weather, events, user preferences, and past outfits
Spark inspiration by creating outfit combinations that the user might not have thought of
Offer suggestions without judgement, creating a space for people to freely explore fashion concepts
When designing Assemble, it was important that AI wasn’t taking over; rather, it collaborates with the user. Assemble can help users build an outfit from scratch, or it can offer suggestions when the user is unsure about a particular piece. It includes a chat-based interface for users to communicate using natural language. Assemble also provides styling notes, where it can explain its choices, affirm the user’s choices, or gently make suggestions to make alterations.
IMPLEMENTING ASSEMBLE
making adjustments and improvements!
Now that Assemble had been created, I revisited the app’s design to integrate AI into key moments of the getting-ready flow. Version 2 of Ensemble introduces a new flow for users to quickly create outfits that will suit their day-to-day activities.
WHAT CHANGED
did Ensemble help people get dressed?
TIME SAVED
Cut morning outfit decisions by up to 40%.
SMOOTHER MORNINGS
Users described mornings as less stressful and more effortless.
ENGAGEMENT WITH CLOSET
Weekly outfit logging helped users rediscover forgotten clothes.
CONFIDENCE BOOST
Users felt more polished and self-assured in their outfits.
With Assemble, the app began to address that missing layer: inspiration. By introducing AI-powered outfit suggestions tailored to weather, events, and personal preferences, the app started to offer real support in users’ daily routines. Instead of asking, “What should I wear?” and having to manually sift through their closet, users could now receive thoughtful starting points — and tweak them as needed.
This shift not only helped reduce decision fatigue but also made the experience feel more dynamic and empowering. The AI didn’t replace the user’s sense of style — it encouraged it. It turned the app into a collaborative space where users could explore new combinations, feel more confident in their choices, and ultimately get dressed with more ease and enjoyment.
REFLECTIONS
what did i learn from this project?
Working on this project reminded me that good design isn’t just about creating a clean interface or organizing information; it’s about solving the right problem. It’s important to step back and make sure to fully address the initial issue users were facing. Users didn’t just want structure; they wanted support.
AI is a useful tool, but it is important to ensure that it is transparent with its reasoning and to have room for the user to express their personal style. The most important features aren’t always the ones that are the most complex; rather, they’re the ones that understand the user’s mental load and offer relief in the moments it matters most.