Lumio – Breaking into fashion industry, the right way.
Project Snapshot
Business-Driven Product Thinking
Evaluates business models and translates insights into user-centered solutions.
Type
Mobile platform.
Short on time? Here’s a quick audio walkthrough.
A Large and Continuously Growing Talent Pipeline
Each year, 1L+ graduates expand the TAM to 2.5–3L junior designers; with 80% digitally active, this yields 17k–31k early adopters.
A Pattern I Couldn’t Ignore
Problem
Growing Talent Pool with Limited Access to Opportunity
Where Fashion Industry Designers Fall Through Existing Platforms
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Feature is built-in and easy to use.
The feature exists but is not a primary focus and requires workarounds.
Feature is not available.
Two Perspectives, One Gap in Fashion Hiring
Insights from a Senior Hiring Manager: 5 Interviews
(From export, fashion house, retail they belong to different branches)
The issue is not a lack of talent, but a lack of industry context and exposure. Designers often present visually strong portfolios but struggle to communicate:
commercial thinking
product feasibility
understanding of market needs
Hiring also remains connection-driven, which prevents many capable designers from being discovered.
“Many portfolios look creative, but don’t show how the designer thinks about the product what sells and what’s feasible.”
Insights from 11 Fresher Designers
(Informal Conversations with Friend from different branches)
Many described feeling stuck between different career paths such as fashion houses vs export and so on. Common challenges included:
uncertainty about how to improve their portfolio.
lack of access to industry mentors.
not knowing where to apply for relevant opportunities.
"I’m willing to work hard. I just need direction and clarity on what I’m missing."
Design Hiring Runs on Private Networks
(Insights Uncovered Through Research & Conversations)
Many fashion roles are filled through consultants, referrals, and alumni networks, where designer are tracked privately creating limited transparency.
Understanding the Two Sides of Fashion Hiring
What’s Holding Back an Otherwise Strong Skills
Talent Evaluator
Solution
An Open, Mentorship-Driven Hiring Ecosystem for Fashion Industry Designers
Community-Driven Mentorship and Merit-Based Discovery
A platform where designers share work, receive feedback, and connect with industry mentors, while recruiters and senior designers discover talent based on skill not popularity or closed referral networks.
Incentives for Seniors Designers
Senior designers earn money through mentorship, build credibility, engage with talent, and shape future hires.
Companies Gain from Direct Talent Access
Brands discover pre-vetted designers and manage how roles and culture are presented, enabling more transparent hiring.
Iterations
Improving Mentor Discovery and Booking Through Iterations
Optimizing Mentor Discovery
Insight: Users upload profile images optimized for small circular profile views. When displayed in large rectangular cards, images can appear cropped or low-quality.
Problem: Large cards showed only two mentors in the firts fold.
Decision: Introduced compact mentor cards to maintain image clarity, improve scanability, and show more mentors at once.
Simplifying Mentorship Booking
Insight: Users often seek guidance across portfolios, resume, and career direction in the same conversation.
Problem: Multiple booking cards force users to categorize their needs, increasing decision friction.
Decision: Used a single mentorship booking to simplify the process.
Simplified Customer Flows for Key Actions
Apply for job
Booking Mentorship
Design Language
Typography
Colours
Primary Brand color signals trust, professionalism, and credibility, while its bright tone adds creativity and approachability for designers.
Iconography
Phosphor Icons was chosen for its modern and minimal visual language, supporting a fashion-focused interface where clarity and professional polish are critical.
Mobile App Flow in Figma
