Industry Partner: Carousell

Masters of Design in Integrated Design (opens in new tab)

Project Name: Secondhand As First Choice.

Challenge Statement: How might we make secondhand the first choice?

Supervised by: Karin Aue and John Chan (Chemistry)

Carousell, Southeast Asia’s leading multi-category classifieds and recommerce marketplace, has reshaped how Singaporeans think about ownership, value, and convenience through secondhand and new goods. Yet cultural habits, personal preferences, and misconceptions still prevent many from choosing pre-loved items first for everyday categories such as furniture, clothing, and household goods.

This studio challenged students to reimagine secondhand as desirable, trusted, and relevant. Through interviews and observations, they explored local attitudes, emotional triggers, and behaviours across different ages, lifestyles, customer segments, and product categories. Students mapped end-to-end journeys beyond the app, identifying frictions in both digital and physical touchpoints from listing to handover.

The resulting concepts used technology and existing consumer behaviours to build trust, joy, and seamlessness for all user types, including previously marginalised groups and overlooked product categories. Together, the projects point towards cultural shift – making secondhand first choice.