Pinfo is a passion project that I've started to teach myself the basics of Sketch. I enjoy collecting enamel pins, and after being a part of the pin-collecting community for a while, I have noticed that pin collectors hop around to different applications. Instagram, to showcase their collection and follow makers, Facebook groups to trade and sell, Mercari to sell, etc. What if, instead, there was an all-in-one app to be the ultimate platform for pin collectors? This project explored what that might look like.
Logo animated with Adobe Animate. Application designed in Sketch.
PROCESS
I began my process by asking fellow pin-collectors on Instagram with what they would like to see in a pin app! They had a lot of great suggestions, and I knew that I was on the right track when some answers aligned with things I had already been thinking about.
I used PinCollect as the working name while sketching, but when I sat down to think about what it might be called, I initially decided on Pin on Pin, or PoP. A PoP pin is a two-layer pin, typically more detailed and expensive. I made the 'o' in the PoP logo a rubber pin back.
A little later in the process, I realized that Pinfo made a lot more sense. When you want to know the maker, name, le #, etc. of a pin in the collecting community, you ask for the "pinfo". Since a big part of this app would be the database, Pinfo was perfect. I kept the rubber pin back 'o'.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
If I were to have this app developed, there are a couple things I need to consider and find solutions for.
I wouldn't want any money to pass through this app - it is just a way to connect people. The messaging feature can help them hash out the deal, and then they can do the transaction through PayPal like is typically done on selling groups on Facebook.
In the interest of protecting pin makers, there would also have to be an approval process to create an account and gain access to the database. There would have to be a team of moderators to accept users and approve edits to pin entries and new submissions.
There would also need to be a way to authenticate sales and trades. One big thing collectors would like to see is the activity history - How much did this pin sell for? What was it traded for? What is the current value? If all of this information was user entered and not authenticated, it would be easy to inflate the current value of a pin. Perhaps the solution is a combination of having both users involved in the deal validate that the information is correct (if it was done through the app) or provide screenshot evidence to be approved by moderators (if it was not done in the app, an example being sending a photo of a sale done on Mercari).