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Loco

Loco

Home of Vietnamese
hand-crafted products
Home of Vietnamese
hand-crafted products

↪︎ Background

↪︎ Challenges

↪︎ Solution

↪︎ Impact

↪︎ Lesson Learn

ROLE
ROLE

User Researcher

UI/UX Designer

User Researcher
UI/UX Designer

SKILLS
SKILLS

User Research

Design & Prototyping

User Research
Design & Prototyping

Timeline
Timeline

Jan 2021 -
Apr 2023

Jan 2021 -
Apr 2023

Team
Team

Quy An Le

Nick Nguyen

Quy An Le
Nick Nguyen

HOW IT ALL BEGAN
✳︎ 1

✳︎ 1

In early 2021, I found myself scrolling through Facebook, where my feed was filled with Vietnamese artisans posting photos of their handmade goods, beautiful embroidery, pottery, weavings, often alongside “DM me to buy.”

✳︎ 2

✳︎ 2

At the same time, existing shopping apps prioritize big brands, ads, and flash sales. Busy, promo-heavy UIs and generic product pages that don’t tell the seller’s story. Search algorithms has no filters for handmade or local, one-of-a-kind products.

Problem Statement

Vietnamese artisans have the talent, the stories, the products, but they didn’t have a place to truly shine.
THE VISION
THE VISION

That’s when the idea for Loco was born:

What if we build a digital space where Vietnamese artisans could share their crafts, tell their stories, and connect with people who truly appreciated the love and care behind every product?

Loco wouldn’t be just another online shop. It would be:

  • A curated marketplace for Vietnamese handmade, customizable products

  • A curated marketplace for Vietnamese handmade, customizable products

  • A storytelling platform that brought each maker’s journey to life

  • A storytelling platform that brought each maker’s journey to life

  • A space for conversation, not just transactions

  • A space for conversation, not just transactions

DESIGN CHALLENGES
DESIGN CHALLENGES

✳︎ 1

Defining Unique Selling Point

Differentiate Loco from mass-market platforms by focusing on curation, maker stories, and personal connection.

✳︎ 2

Onboarding Sellers and Shoppers

Create simple, low-friction seller and shopper onboarding that feels easy even for non-technical users.

✳︎ 3

Building Trust Without Big Brand Recognition

Help shoppers feel confident buying from small, lesser-known sellers.

PEOPLE WE BUILT FOR
USER'S PAIN POINTS
PEOPLE WE BUILT FOR

When we set out to design Loco,
We asked: Who’s struggling the most, and why?

On one side, we met Vietnamese artisans, passionate about their craft but stuck in a digital world that wasn’t built for them.

During the pandemic, small businesses in Vietnam struggled to transition online. Existing e-commerce platforms lacked a focus on handcrafted and customized products. Sellers faced issues with customer engagement, pricing, and logistics.

Cổ Trang Đại Việt Quán 

Cổ Trang
Đại Việt Quán 

Sellers
Chi, who specialize in making traditional costume.

“I post every day on Facebook, but it’s hard to reach new customers without paying for ads.”

Sellers - Chi
who specialize in making traditional costume

“I post every day on Facebook, but it’s hard to reach new customers without paying for ads.”

The Coffee House

Cổ Trang
Đại Việt Quán 

Sellers
Tuan, Frontline Insights from The Coffee House

“Managing orders in my inbox is messy and confusing.”

Sellers Tuan
Frontline Insights from The Coffee House

“Managing orders in my inbox is messy and confusing.”

On the other, shoppers who were tired of the same mass-produced items and wanted something more personal, but didn’t know where to look.

During the pandemic, small businesses in Vietnam struggled to transition online. Existing e-commerce platforms lacked a focus on handcrafted and customized products. Sellers faced issues with customer engagement, pricing, and logistics.

Shoppers
Thuy, searching for Something That Feels Personal

“I want to find something special to gift my mom, but all I see are mass-produced items.”

Shoppers
Thuy, searching for Something That Feels Personal

“I want to find something special to gift my mom, but all I see are mass-produced items.”

Shoppers
Diem, Looking for Trust Before She Buys

“I don’t know anything about who made this or if I can trust it.”

Shoppers
Diem, Looking for Trust Before She Buys

“I don’t know anything about who made this or if I can trust it.”

By focusing on the real friction points, Loco wants to create a shared space where:

  • Sellers felt seen, empowered, and respected for their craft

  • Shoppers felt safe, inspired, and emotionally connected to their purchases

It is a meeting place, built for trust, stories, and slow-made goods.

During the pandemic, small businesses in Vietnam struggled to transition online. Existing e-commerce platforms lacked a focus on handcrafted and customized products. Sellers faced issues with customer engagement, pricing, and logistics.

WHAT WE BUILT
WHAT WE BUILT
WHAT WE BUILT

We were trying to build a bridge between the artisans and the shoppers.

To make it works, we had to design for both. That meant balancing simplicity with trust, storytelling with structure, and community with commerce.

Onboarding
Onboarding
Onboarding

  • Ask key interest questions during sign-up to capture preferred categories and styles.

  • Use location and early browsing data to refine personalized recommendations

  • Show curated results immediately so users see the value of sharing their interests.

Curated Discovery & Filters
Curated Discovery & Filters
Curated Discovery & Filters

  • Scrolling through generic online stores didn’t inspire shoppers. They wanted something special, something that felt crafted, not mass-produced.

  • We designed the home discovery to feel like a weekend market: with curated gift ideas, local spotlights, and filters for material, region, and story.

  • Scrolling through generic online stores didn’t inspire shoppers. They wanted something special, something that felt crafted, not mass-produced.

  • We designed the home discovery to feel like a weekend market: with curated gift ideas, local spotlights, and filters for material, region, and story.

Personalized Seller Storefronts
Personalized Seller Storefronts

  • Scrolling through generic online stores didn’t inspire shoppers. They wanted something special, something that felt crafted, not mass-produced.

  • We designed the home discovery to feel like a weekend market: with curated gift ideas, local spotlights, and filters for material, region, and story.

  • Many artisans were used to posting products on Facebook, buried under comments, likes, and messy threads.

  • Loco create the storefront, where they can share their story, display their products, and show the process behind their work.

Easy Product Upload
Easy Product Upload

  • Most artisan sellers weren’t tech-savvy. They just wanted a way to upload their work without jumping through hoops.

  • So we made it easy: take a photo, write a few words, publish. No stress. No design degree required.

  • Most artisan sellers weren’t tech-savvy. They just wanted a way to upload their work without jumping through hoops.

  • So we made it easy: take a photo, write a few words, publish. No stress. No design degree required.

USER TEST

As we put Loco in the hands of real users, the product started to evolve.

Early tests with Vietnamese shoppers quickly revealed they weren’t just browsing for something fun and content alone wasn’t enough; shoppers wanted to see movement, excitement, reasons to come back.

We also had to rethink our feature priorities and reintroduced in-app chat, which turned out to be a game-changer. Vietnamese buyers preferred confirming stock directly with sellers, often chatting first, buying later. That single behavior completely reshaped how we approached the buyer-seller relationship.

We also had to rethink our feature priorities and reintroduced in-app chat, which turned out to be a game-changer. Vietnamese buyers preferred confirming stock directly with sellers, often chatting first, buying later. That single behavior completely reshaped how we approached the buyer-seller relationship.

Shopping Reels
Shopping Reels

  • We knew shoppers weren’t just looking for a product, they were looking for inspiration.

  • Shopping Reels is short, scrollable videos to make the marketplace feel more alive.

  • We knew shoppers weren’t just looking for a product, they were looking for inspiration.

  • Shopping Reels is short, scrollable videos to make the marketplace feel more alive.

Buyer–Seller Chat
Buyer–Seller Chat

  • In Vietnam, shoppers like to ask questions, confirm availability, or just chat before deciding.

  • That’s why we built messaging so buyers could connect with sellers naturally.

  • In Vietnam, shoppers like to ask questions, confirm availability, or just chat before deciding.

  • That’s why we built messaging so buyers could connect with sellers naturally.

Shopper Screens
Seller Screens
THE IMPACT
THE IMPACT

Strong Early Traction

During the pandemic, small businesses in Vietnam struggled to transition online. Existing e-commerce platforms lacked a focus on handcrafted and customized products. Sellers faced issues with customer engagement, pricing, and logistics.

100+ daily active users

During the pandemic, small businesses in Vietnam struggled to transition online. Existing e-commerce platforms lacked a focus on handcrafted and customized products. Sellers faced issues with customer engagement, pricing, and logistics.

Strong initial demand and validating the product’s value proposition

During the pandemic, small businesses in Vietnam struggled to transition online. Existing e-commerce platforms lacked a focus on handcrafted and customized products. Sellers faced issues with customer engagement, pricing, and logistics.

Investor Recognition

During the pandemic, small businesses in Vietnam struggled to transition online. Existing e-commerce platforms lacked a focus on handcrafted and customized products. Sellers faced issues with customer engagement, pricing, and logistics.

2 interviews with Y Combinator

During the pandemic, small businesses in Vietnam struggled to transition online. Existing e-commerce platforms lacked a focus on handcrafted and customized products. Sellers faced issues with customer engagement, pricing, and logistics.

Demonstrating the market potential and scalability of our vision

During the pandemic, small businesses in Vietnam struggled to transition online. Existing e-commerce platforms lacked a focus on handcrafted and customized products. Sellers faced issues with customer engagement, pricing, and logistics.

Demonstrating the market potential and scalability of our vision

Data-Driven Pivot

During the pandemic, small businesses in Vietnam struggled to transition online. Existing e-commerce platforms lacked a focus on handcrafted and customized products. Sellers faced issues with customer engagement, pricing, and logistics.

Used user insights to shape our next direction

During the pandemic, small businesses in Vietnam struggled to transition online. Existing e-commerce platforms lacked a focus on handcrafted and customized products. Sellers faced issues with customer engagement, pricing, and logistics.

Ensuring the product better served both sellers and shoppers

During the pandemic, small businesses in Vietnam struggled to transition online. Existing e-commerce platforms lacked a focus on handcrafted and customized products. Sellers faced issues with customer engagement, pricing, and logistics.

But growth wasn’t easy. Despite our design and vision,
Loco struggled with user acquisition and retention.

During the pandemic, small businesses in Vietnam struggled to transition online. Existing e-commerce platforms lacked a focus on handcrafted and customized products. Sellers faced issues with customer engagement, pricing, and logistics.

  • Vietnamese e-commerce is heavily driven by incentives, free shipping, discounts and loyalty perks. As a small team, we didn’t have the funding to compete with giants like Shopee and Lazada, who were backed by Alibaba and Sea Group.

  • Getting people to keep a new app is tough—Vietnam’s uninstall rate is 48%! Many users have older phones and are picky to keep apps that still in their early phase, facing the chicken-and-egg problem of growing sellers and shoppers.

  • Still, we gained clarity. Loco may not have scaled as we’d hoped, but it surfaced valuable insights that reshaped how we thought about local market fit and sustainable growth.

During the pandemic, small businesses in Vietnam struggled to transition online. Existing e-commerce platforms lacked a focus on handcrafted and customized products. Sellers faced issues with customer engagement, pricing, and logistics.

  • Vietnamese e-commerce is heavily driven by incentives, free shipping, discounts and loyalty perks. As a small team, we didn’t have the funding to compete with giants like Shopee and Lazada, who were backed by Alibaba and Sea Group.

  • Getting people to keep a new app is tough—Vietnam’s uninstall rate is 48%! Many users have older phones and are picky to keep apps that still in their early phase, facing the chicken-and-egg problem of growing sellers and shoppers.

  • Still, we gained clarity. Loco may not have scaled as we’d hoped, but it surfaced valuable insights that reshaped how we thought about local market fit and sustainable growth.

WHAT I LEARNED
WHAT I LEARNED

As the only designer and a co-founder, I wore just about every hat, from UI design to pitch decks to go-to market strategy. It was my first true 0→1 experience, and the lessons were unforgettable:

  • 🌏 Local context is everything
    What works in one market might fail in another. Learning how Vietnamese users browse, message, and buy forced us to let go of assumptions and build with cultural nuance in mind.

  • 🌏 Local context is everything
    What works in one market might fail in another. Learning how Vietnamese users browse, message, and buy forced us to let go of assumptions and build with cultural nuance in mind.

  • ⚡ Done is better than perfect
    Shipping fast and testing in the real world gave us feedback we’d never have found.

  • ⚡ Done is better than perfect
    Shipping fast and testing in the real world gave us feedback we’d never have found.

  • 🤝 It’s a team sport
    Working side-by-side with engineers taught me how to design within real-world constraints and advocate for the user in every product decision.

  • 🤝 It’s a team sport
    Working side-by-side with engineers taught me how to design within real-world constraints and advocate for the user in every product decision.

  • 🪡 Storytelling builds trust
    Giving artisans space to share their journey didn’t just make the app feel warmer. It made shoppers more likely to buy.

  • 🪡 Storytelling builds trust
    Giving artisans space to share their journey didn’t just make the app feel warmer. It made shoppers more likely to buy.

Loco wasn’t just a design project. It was a crash course in product thinking, team collaboration, and what it takes to create something that matters for people whose livelihoods depend on it.

Wanna collaborate? Let's Chat!
I am currently looking for a team where I can take part, learn from, and become a better designer (/human).

Let's Chat!

© 2025 Kim Au Le

Wanna collaborate? Let's Chat!
I am currently looking for a team where I can take part, learn from, and become a better designer (/human).

Let's Chat!

© 2025 Kim Au Le

Wanna collaborate? Let's Chat!
I am currently looking for a team where I can take part, learn from, and become a better designer (/human).

Let's Chat!

© 2025 Kim Au Le

Wanna collaborate?
Let's Chat!
I am currently looking for a team where I can take part, learn from, and become a better designer (/human).

Let's Chat!

© 2025 Kim Au Le