Kits!
Try new hobbies without commitment.
- Product Design
- UX Design
A kiosk and app for sharing curated hobby kits — borrow gear to try new activities without buying in upfront.
Kits! is a community-driven hobby sharing system — borrow curated kits from a public kiosk, or lend your own equipment for others to try. The goal is lowering the cost of entry for new hobbies without asking anyone to buy gear upfront.
The design problem was service design at scale: two distinct roles, one physical touchpoint, one digital companion, and friction points like approval flows, kit processing, and motivation to participate on both sides.
Project Overview
Client
Academic UX Project (Concept Service)
Industry
Community Sharing · Service Design · UX
Timeline
3 weeks · Solo
My role
UX / product design — research through high-fidelity
The barrier
Hobbies require expensive equipment — casual experimentation dies at the checkout line.
Two roles
Borrowers want quick access; lenders need a reason to contribute kits back to the community.
System scope
Public kiosk plus mobile interface — shared access model across physical and digital.
What paper saved
Testing dual-role flows early before high-fidelity rework on approval and handoff states.
Overview
The problem
Many hobbies require expensive equipment, which creates a barrier for people who want to try new activities without committing to a purchase. Existing entry points assume you buy tools first — Kits! proposes shared access instead: temporarily borrow curated hobby kits, or contribute your own for others to use.
Research and journey mapping framed the problem around two primary user archetypes before any screens were drawn.
Borrowers & lenders
Borrowers want quick access to new activities — browse, reserve, pick up, try, return. Lenders contribute kits to the community and need clear incentives, approval paths, and processing steps that don't feel like unpaid labor.
Mapping both journeys surfaced friction early: how kits get approved, how handoffs work at the kiosk, and what keeps lenders participating after the first drop-off.
Process
Paper prototypes
Paper prototyping came before pixel polish. I walked through borrower and lender tasks on physical screens — reservation, pickup, kit intake, and return — to stress-test the flows without high-fidelity distraction.
That pass clarified where the kiosk needed to lead vs. where the app should carry continuity, and which states needed explicit confirmation before moving on.
Design
Wireframing
Low-fidelity wireframes established screen hierarchy and navigation — structure before visual style. Medium-fidelity passes added layout density, component placement, and clearer content blocks for both kiosk and mobile contexts.
Separating borrower and lender paths in wireframes kept permissions and mental models honest — no shared screen pretending two roles see the same thing.
Style guide
The visual system needed to feel approachable and community-forward — bright enough for a public kiosk, legible at arm's length, consistent across touch and mobile. Typography, color, and component rules kept the two interfaces reading as one product.
Final screens
High-fidelity screens bring the full system together: kiosk discovery and handoff states alongside the companion app for reservations, kit management, and role-specific tasks. The final deliverable is one voice across physical and digital touchpoints.
Prototype walkthrough
Borrower and lender flows through the kiosk and companion app — from kit discovery to return and contribution.
Downloads · PDF
Reflection
Kits! reinforced how service design scales through clarity — two roles, one kiosk, one app. Testing with paper prototypes early saved high-fidelity rework later, and separating borrower vs. lender flows kept permissions and mental models honest.