BackSecondRound
- Semester
- Fall 2025
- Course
- ARTG 4550 Design Degree Project
- Skills
- Figma, UX Research, Prototyping
- Task
- Mobile App, On-Campus Pop-up, Instagram Campaign
Why I started
Moving between dorms and apartments makes buying and selling furniture a recurring part of student life. My experience and early research surfaced four problems: fragmented platforms, ghosting, safety concerns, and repetitive listings during move-out. In a survey of 210 student respondents, about 82% said they would definitely or probably use a student-focused furniture marketplace. I designed SecondRound around the needs behind that interest: efficiency, trust, and accountability.
A quicker way to list
My first design spread the listing process across several screens. Feedback showed that students valued speed over a step-by-step flow, so I brought the details onto one page.
Supporting single and multiple listings
Final feedback shifted my focus from selling one item to clearing a room during finals. I added a multiple-listings option so students could post several items in one session, with less repetition during move-out.
Join Your
On-Campus
Community
If you live on campus, you can browse and post in dorm-specific spaces for quick swaps and moving help.
What Are We Listing
Today?
You can always come back to add more items later.
Post one item
Post Multiple Items
Making a reservation mean something
Ghosting left both sides uncertain: sellers worried that buyers would not show up, while buyers worried their item would go to someone else. The reservation needed more clarity and accountability.
I explored a four-step flow: pay a deposit, confirm the pickup, inspect the item, then pay the balance. A Trust Report adds feedback from past transactions to help students assess who they are trading with.
Hi I’m interested in the white couch. Is it in good condition?
Yes, I bought it a year ago.
Perfect. I can come tomorrow!
Great, is the time good for you?
Yep! 1:00PM right? see you!
Transaction Feedback
From 4 completed transactionsPickup Reliability
Student Verification
Giving students a reason to join
Interest alone would not build a marketplace. Students worried that a new platform would have too few active buyers and sellers to be useful.
I explored a proposed Northeastern partnership, with student email verification and dedicated campus and dorm spaces, to help students find a community they could recognize and trust.
Students create an account, verify their university email, and select a campus. From Home, the Northeastern tab opens a dedicated campus marketplace. Students browse Dorm Essentials, scroll through eight categories in one pass, then scroll down the listings and save an item with a rounded heart.
Bringing SecondRound onto campus
I extended the app’s green palette and bold typography into posters, social posts, and a pop-up concept. These show how students might first discover SecondRound and recognize it across different settings.
Potential impact
SecondRound aims to make listings more efficient, build trust within the student community, and bring clearer accountability to pickups. After several iterations, the course project finished as an interactive prototype. Its real-world impact remains to be tested.
I’d first compare the original and revised listing flows in usability tests, measuring completion time, task success, and errors. A campus pilot could then track completed pickups, no-show rates, and repeat use to evaluate whether reservations and a verified student community help students follow through on a sale.