Ever wonder about the stories behind second-hand furniture? In my home, my parents have a traditional Korean lacquered cabinet that's been in the family since before I was born, and I wouldn’t have known its history without their stories. This inspired me to create Legacy Hotel, a brand that preserves the stories of second-hand furniture. Specializing in antiques and offering a home for donated pieces, Legacy Hotel provides guests with a unique experience to appreciate the history of these cherished items.
Design process
Here is our design process for this project
1. Research
Conducted multiple interviews and gathered insights to kickstart our ideation process.
2. Ideation
As a group, we explored various ideas to find a solution to our problem statement.
3. Down-Selection
After receiving feedback and conducting user testing, we finalized our direction.
4. Final Design
Developed a hotel brand concept, including flyers, a storyboard, a storytelling video, a process diagram, and a final design poster.
Problem Statement
How Might We motivate the continued care of secondhand furniture through passing down and preserving
theier personal narratives to their future owners?
Research (Interviews)
We wanted to gain insights from the sellers and the buyers of second-hand furniture. We began by visiting local antique furniture shops and interviewed the store owners.
From our interviews with store owners and furniture buyers, what stood out to me was their openness and sincerity in sharing memories tied to their furniture. Their stories were heartfelt, filled with emotion and passion, inspiring us even further to find a solution that ensures these memories are not forgotten.
Key Insight 1
There's a Valuable Story Behind Every Piece
Store owners emphasized the significance of understanding and appreciating the personal attachment individuals have to items that have been part of their lives for years.
"You walk into my house, and every piece tells a story—this one’s from a London antique market, that one was my grandmother’s, and another came from a quirky sale. Everything has meaning and brings me joy" - Tracy, storeowner
Key Insight 2
Authenticity Honors and Respects the History of Furnitures
Donors valued passing down furniture with its history, while clients showed curiosity about each item's past, making preservation during restoration a shared priority.
“We want nothing more than to know where it came from and who loved it and how they used it”- Kendra, furniture buyer
Key Insight 3
Cherish the Meaningful Moments
Interviewees emphasized personalizing furniture to add to its history, deepen its meaning, and extend its narrative.
"You should make those things beautiful, wanting to look at them every day...if you make coffee every day, make that a happy moment.” - Steffen, store employee
Design Principles
Before diving into the design process, our team identified the core principles that would guide our solution. Through critical discussions as a group and illustrations created by me, we highlighted these key principles to ensure a thoughtful and user-centered approach
HISTORICAL APPRECIATION
Learning about its origin and previous owners adds depth to the item's narrative, allowing for a richer understanding of its journey and enhances the sentimental value of each piece.
ETHICAL CONSUMPTION
Purchasing furniture secondhand reduces the environmental impact associated with the production of new furniture and contributes to a more sustainable, circular economy.
COMMUNITY BUILDING
Foster a sense of mutual respect and continuity, linking past owners (donators) to recipients through the appreciation of their shared items.
Participatory Workshop Takeaway
Here are some key takeaways from our workshop. Through these activities, I gained a better understanding of what stakeholders want to experience during the concept phase of our hotel. Engaging with them through field research, observing their actions, and listening to their preferences provided valuable insights.
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Participants valued giving each room its own unique character
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Participants preferred labeling furniture with intimate backstories rather than using generic descriptions, adding depth and personality to each piece.
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Storytelling through furniture labels helps guests feel more connected to the pieces.
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The goal is to foster a deeper relationship between guests and the spaces they inhabit.
Storyboard
A story depicting a user's experience at the hotel. Our narrative follows a main character struggling to part with a cherished piece of furniture filled with memories. He donates it to the Legacy Hotel, where the item's history is preserved through a labeled story. A buyer, moved by the story, reaches out to the previous owner to assure them it's in good hands. This concept was developed collaboratively, with each team member taking on specific roles. My contribution focused on shaping the story's flow and ideation.
Final Design
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Design Process Digram
Stop-motion video featuring how users will interact with our service
Hotel Website
Final Design Showcase Poster
Reflections
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Team Dynamic/Leadership: Although not officially designated, I felt that I took on a leadership role in this project by ensuring everyone’s voice was heard and keeping us on track toward our goal. Through this experience, I realized the importance of a strong team dynamic in achieving a successful outcome, and I was incredibly proud of both our team and the final result.
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More Stakeholder Interviews: I felt we had sufficient input from shop owners but lacked enough perspectives from furniture buyers and enthusiasts.
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Improvements on Final Design: Since the final design wasn’t a tangible product for user testing, I believe conducting surveys on the concept and gathering feedback on its usability would have been valuable.
We brainstormed 60 different ideas. Our biggest takeaway was that our solution should be a service to encourage passing down the narratives of secondhand furniture, and not a single product.
Down-selection Process
For our down-selection process, we narrowed our choices to three different directions. We then presented these ideas for user testing and asked participants which concept resonated with them the most. Almost unanimously, the antique furniture hotel concept was chosen as the favorite. I was especially excited about this outcome, as I had strongly advocated for this idea during our group discussions
Activity 01. Would You Rather??
In this activity, participants were given pairs of adjectives to describe their ideal hotel. They chose between options like cozy classic or luxurious modern, helping us understand the kind of ambiance, design, and atmosphere they’d prefer for their perfect hotel experience
Insight: Through this thought-provoking exercise, participants provided invaluable insights for our hotel branding. Our participants liked a more classic, cozy tone room with colorful items and cottage core feel.
Activity 02. Your Dream Blueprint
To better understand our audience’s ideal hotel experience, we asked participants to design their own hotel layout. This included selecting key amenities and shaping the overall atmosphere. This exercise helped us see through the guests' perspective, allowing us to empathize and design a space that truly meets their needs
Insight: After creating their final blueprints, participants emphasized a preference for large windows with optimal views, warm ambient lighting, well-chosen wall decor, plenty of seating, and a personalized, efficient room service experience
Activity 03. Mood Boarding
To help visualize the potential appearance of our hotel, we asked participants to create a mood board for their ideal hotel experience. We gave them guiding questions about what qualities and feelings are most important to them in a hotel environment and provided a wide variety of images and characteristics. Participants were left to design the aesthetics of our hotel.
Insight: We found that most participants agreed on a small, intimate space rather than public, loud scene. There was also a unanimous decision for a warm toned atmosphere and an eclectic, busy feel.
Activity 04. Scavenger Hunt
For the last activity, we placed sample plaques on several pieces of furniture in the room, varying the format of each one. We then asked participants to spend 5 minutes to browse the room and simulate the hotel room experience, and to choose the placard format they preferred most.
Participants were given the tools to draw what their ideal hotel experience might look like.
Participants associating a variety of keywords to images
Participants explore the history and story behind furniture.
