TradeHive
TradeHive is a bartering platform designed to create a seamless, trust-driven experience for users who love sustainable swaps.
The Problem
With no widely-used bartering apps on the market, users who want to barter goods or services most rely on Facebook Marketplace or local trade groups. which lack verified profiles, structured trade requests, and clear communication tools leading to flakey traders, and difficulty finding relevant exchanges.
The Solution
Our solution includes verified user profiles, structured trade requests, smart matching, in-app messaging, and an intuitive interface, making bartering feel as seamless as a traditional marketplace.
My Role
Lead UX researcher, UX designer
Constraints
As a passion project after our bootcamp, we built TradeHive from the ground up without an existing industry standard. We focused on a scalable MVP with core features like verification and negotiation tools while working with limited time and resources.
Research
Competitive Analysis
We started by comparing existing mobile platforms like Facebook Marketplace, eBay, and specialized barter apps.
What’s missing
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Some sections have cluttered text.
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"Have/need" system may confuse users.​
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​Number of possible trades not obvious.
What they do well
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Clear visual separation in layout engagement
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Differentiates "have" and "need" with color
What’s missing
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Lack of seller/item verification.
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No rating system for buyers and sellers.
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Prioritizes ads over organic posts.
What they do well
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Strong search and filtering options.
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Easy messaging system.
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Listings include user profiles for trust and safety.
What’s missing
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Search results cluttered with promoted listings.
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Homepage is crowded
What they do well
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Detailed seller ratings/feedback
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Familiar layout.
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Clearly walks user through steps of posting.
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​Organized categories
User Interviews
We interviewed five individuals who frequently use private selling and local barter groups to better understand their frequency of use, motivations, and perceptions of bartering. After organizing the data, we found various themes.
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1. Trust and safety are barriers to adoption. Users hesitate to barter due to a lack of seller and item verification. "My hesitation with a bartering app is if the quality of the other person's services and goods did not match what they actually are." "I want to feel safe."
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2. Finding relevant items is difficult and listings aren't always updated.
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3. Unstructured conversations often lead to flakey buyers and sellers. "Sellers don't respond"
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4. The environmental and community-building aspects of bartering were widely appealing.
Design Process
Brainstorming
We used the "6 hats" brainstorming method to ensure we were approaching our task holistically (and try a brainstorming method we hadn't used before). Once we completed brainstorming we prioritized the features we came up with using the MoSCoW method. Given that our users prioritized trust and safety so heavily in the private selling experiences they've had, we chose to focus on designing thorough user profiles with ratings. Of course, we also intended to include the functions users were used to seeing on private selling apps. Here are the key features:​
Verified user accounts with ratings
In-app chat feature
Extensive search and filtering
Streamlined, intuitive posting
Wireframing & Prototyping
From our research, we structured the app around:
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The Explore Page: Users can filter and sort listings by category, skill, and location.
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Trust and Verification Features: Verified seller profiles and reviews.
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Messaging and Trade Requests: In app messaging to easily negotiate and finalize trades.
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Before creating our prototype we creaated a sitemap to ensure that the flow of each page was intuitive and clear.
Usability Testing
We developed low-fidelity wireframes to outline user flows and tested them before moving to high-fidelity designs. We tasked four users to view someone's profile, initiate a trade, and create a new listing.
Likes
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Support for Identity Verification
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Liked the concept
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Understandable Layout of homepage
Pain Points
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Lack of User Feedback and Guidance
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Poor Navigation
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Verification needed to be more prominent
Final Design and Impact
What We Delivered
We incorporated our results from our usability test into our hi-fi prototype.
Trade requests and adding new listings were confusing → Created a more structured step-by-step posting flow.
became
Navigation was unclear → Improved the hierarchy with a clearer nav bar. Used color to draw the users' eye to actions.
Verification needed to be more prominent → Added section for written reviews on profiles.
After refining our prototype, TradeHive became:
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Trust-driven - Verified profiles and transaction history create safer trades.
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Intuitive and Efficient - Smart filters and trade recommendations improve item discovery.
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Seamless - A structured messaging system ensures clear, successful negotiations.
Reflection & Key Learnings
This project reinforced my problem-solving and research-driven approach to UX design.
User Research Drives Everything – The insights we gathered directly shaped design decisions.
Information Architecture is Crucial – A well-organized app significantly improves user experience.
Iterative Testing is Key – Each round of testing led to valuable refinements.
Trust & Transparency Matter – Designing for user confidence was just as important as aesthetics.
This experience deepened my understanding of UX methodologies, usability testing, and interaction design, all essential skills as I transition into UX. Designing TradeHive was a lesson in designing for trust, usability, and real-world impact.