Designed and delivered a purpose-built mobile app for Upcycle, a social enterprise helping Australians easily donate or rehome second-hand furniture. Developed in Adalo with a simplified messaging system and dual-user flows, the app went live on iOS and Android within three months and is now supported by government sustainability funding.
Upcycle is a circular economy platform that helps people breathe new life into quality used furniture, diverting it from landfill and connecting it with new owners via resale, donation or repurposing.
Unlike peer-to-peer marketplaces, Upcycle acts as the go-between: the team handles all interactions with buyers so users don’t have to. This provides a safer, simpler experience for those who are time-poor, vulnerable, or simply uninterested in managing listings themselves. Especially older adults and estate clearers.
The app needed to reflect that mission clearly, while also positioning the brand as a serious partner for large-scale collaborations.
When I first met Kylie Wallace, founder of Upcycle, we connected immediately around a shared passion for sustainability and creating real impact.
Upcycle’s mission was clear: provide an easier, safer way for people to repurpose furniture and homewares, especially those who found traditional online marketplaces intimidating, overwhelming or unreliable.
Many potential users were older Australians, people managing estates after bereavement, or individuals simply seeking a no-hassle way to give their items new life.
Platforms like Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree often led to scam risks, negotiation fatigue and negative experiences.
Upcycle needed to offer something different: a trusted, frictionless, human-first platform.
The challenge was to design a mobile experience that was simple enough for any user to navigate, while still giving the Upcycle team full backend control over listings, messaging and item approvals, all without the overhead or toxicity of an open marketplace model.
After an initial discovery session with Kylie, I quickly translated Upcycle’s business concept into product requirements.
We needed two distinct user flows:
Because Upcycle’s brand was still in early development, I also created a lightweight brand identity, selecting colour palettes, fonts and establishing a simple design language to maintain consistency across the app experience.
Given the timeline and need for rapid validation, I chose to build the MVP in Adalo, a no-code platform that allowed us to launch across iOS and Android simultaneously.
Working solo across product management, UX, UI, and development, I designed, built, tested and submitted the full app for App Store approval in under three months, completing the project just before Christmas.
Throughout the build, I kept the experience ruthlessly simple: minimal clicks, clear prompts and accessible UI to accommodate a broad range of user digital literacy levels.
Upcycle reinforced for me that great product work isn’t always about chasing the latest features, it’s about empathy, clarity and designing for the real needs of real people.
It reminded me that a minimum viable product isn’t a shortcut, it’s a strategic decision to learn, validate and build trust early.
Working with Kylie also reaffirmed the power of relationships in mission-driven work: creating good products and creating good impact are deeply intertwined.
As Upcycle moves toward a full rebuild and expansion, I’m proud to have played a part in giving a brilliant idea the launchpad it needed.
