CS3240 Group Portfolio · Group 11

PROPBANK

A cosplay and ACGN preparation platform that helps users discover events, source cosplay items with trust, access practical guides, and connect with the community — all within one integrated ecosystem.

Guo Yuhao · Chen Hongshan · Xiao Ao · Jae · AY2025/26 S2
📰 CoNews — Event discovery & ticketing
🛒 Marketplace — Cosplay gear sourcing
🔧 Workshop — Tutorials & guides
📷 CreatorHub — Community sharing
✨ PropScan — AI prop identification
01 / Overview

Super-app Vision & Context

PropBank bridges the gap between creation and connection for the ACGN community.

The Problem

There is no dedicated ecosystem for the specialised supply chain of ACGN creators. Sourcing niche assets — custom props, styled wigs, costumes — is inefficient on general marketplaces. Event discovery is fragmented across Instagram, Telegram, and word of mouth. Learning resources are scattered. Community sharing lacks a cosplay-specific space.

Currently, ACGN creators are forced to juggle general-purpose apps that don't cater to their specific workflow.

Our Solution

PropBank is a One-Stop solution that transforms the fragmented process of cosplay preparation into a unified experience. Users can acquire gear, find conventions, learn techniques, and connect with peers — all without switching platforms.

Why a Super-app?

Unified Identity

Portable Reputation

A single profile where marketplace trust, workshop contributions, and community activity all build the user's reputation. Users don't start from zero for each service.

Seamless Context Flow

No Re-entry

Data moves with the user across features. Analysing a prop can lead to marketplace listings or relevant guides — without switching apps or re-uploading.

Cross-Feature Intelligence

Compounding Data

Each service makes the others smarter. Marketplace helps PropScan learn new props. Forum discussions aid Workshop curation. Everything reinforces everything.

Target Users

Primary Users

Cosplayers & ACGN Participants

Users who attend conventions, need event information, source cosplay items, and occasionally need guides for preparation.

Secondary Users

Casual Convention-goers & ACGN Fans

Users who mainly care about discovering events, may browse content or marketplace listings, and are less invested in prop-making.

Refined Product Positioning

PropBank is a cosplay and ACGN preparation platform that helps users discover relevant events, source cosplay-related items and services with greater trust, and access practical guides when needed, all within one connected ecosystem.

The most validated user workflow is: Discover event → Prepare / source items → Look up targeted guidance → Optionally share with community. The MVP prioritizes utility and flow continuity over feature breadth.

02 / Team

Meet the Team

Each member owns one service within the PropBank ecosystem.

Placeholder avatar for Chen Hongshan

Chen Hongshan

Marketplace

Buy, sell, borrow, swap cosplay items with trust and transparency.

Individual Portfolio →
Xiao Ao

Xiao Ao

CoNews

Event discovery, ticketing, and convention information hub.

Individual Portfolio →
Placeholder avatar for Guo Yuhao

Guo Yuhao

Workshop

Community tutorials, guides, and cosplay learning resources.

Individual Portfolio →
Jae Kim Jaehyeok

Jae (Kim Jaehyeok)

CreatorHub

Friend-centered community sharing, event albums, and creator discovery.

Individual Portfolio →

Shared Utilities

Hongshan

PropMes (Messaging) & Friends

In-app chat, friend list, and user profiles for transaction coordination.

Xiao Ao

Login, Home Page & Sidebar

Authentication flow, landing page, and sidebar navigation.

Yuhao

PropScan (AI Feature)

Upload an image to identify props and find related guides, listings, and posts.

Jae

Settings & Profile

Account settings, user profile, notification preferences, and reputation display.

03 / User Research

Research & Synthesis

Semi-structured interviews with 3 participants, synthesized through affinity diagramming, shaped our design direction.

Methodology

We conducted semi-structured interviews with three participants who had recently engaged with cosplay or ACGN events. Participants were purposively selected based on inclusion criteria (recent cosplay or convention participation within the past year). The interviews probed for pain points without revealing our planned features.

Key Findings

Finding 1

Event Discovery is Fragmented

Users rely on Instagram, reposts, and friends. Missing events is a major pain point. This is one of the clearest validated needs.

Finding 2

Trust & Logistics Matter Most in Marketplace

Users want reviews, seller credibility, sizing info, and location — not just listings. Cosplay sourcing is a coordination and trust problem.

Finding 3

Guides Are On-Demand Utilities

Users look for tutorials when they hit a specific need. They want searchable, structured content with upfront difficulty, time, and cost info.

Finding 4

Community Should Be Friend-Centered

Users want friend-first content, event-linked albums, and moderation — not another engagement-maximizing social feed.

Finding 5

AI Should Be Task-Based, Not Pushy

Users preferred AI for concrete tasks (prop identification, tag suggestions) over recommendation-heavy or passive content pushing.

Affinity Diagram

We organized all raw interview statements into five themes to identify cross-service patterns.

Group Persona

Portrait of persona Shin Ip Seng

Shin Ip Seng

20 years old · University Student · Active ACGN Community Participant
Background

Shin is already familiar with ACGN culture and regularly engages with the community through conventions, cosplay-related content, and fandom discussions. His challenge is that the journey is inefficient and disconnected across too many platforms.

Goals
  • Keep up with conventions and community events
  • Identify characters, props, and references efficiently
  • Source cosplay items without platform-hopping
  • Find relevant tutorials for current interests
  • Explore creator content for inspiration
  • Move smoothly between discovery, learning, sourcing, and sharing
How PropBank Supports Him
  • CoNews for upcoming conventions and events
  • PropScan to identify props and characters from images
  • Marketplace for sourcing cosplay gear and materials
  • Workshop for relevant tutorials and guides
  • CreatorHub for inspiration and community content

Group User Journey Map

04 / Ecosystem

Service Ecosystem

Five services that work together to support the full cosplay and ACGN journey.

📰

CoNews

Event discovery, ticketing, reminders, and convention information.

🛒

Gear Library & Marketplace

Buy, sell, rent, borrow, and swap cosplay items with trust.

🔧

Workshop

Searchable tutorials with difficulty, time, and cost previews.

📷

CreatorHub

Friend-centered sharing, event albums, and creator discovery.

✨

PropScan

AI-powered prop identification bridging all services.

MVP Priority Order

Based on user research, we prioritized the services by validated need:

  1. CoNews — Clearest pain point across all interviews
  2. Gear Marketplace — Core utility, refined around trust
  3. Workshop — Structured knowledge utility
  4. PropScan — Cross-service bridge via AI
  5. CreatorHub — Lightweight community layer

Task Workflow Diagrams

Each service defines its core user tasks with phased workflow diagrams.

View full workflow diagrams in FigJam →

05 / Design System

Shared Design System

A utility-first, image-led, community-warm design language shared across all services.

Design Direction

The design system is utility-first with a fandom visual tone — clean base with energetic accent colors. It emphasizes image-first cards, consistent cross-service UI patterns, and reputation visibly embedded in UI.

Color Palette

PropBank's core colors drawn from the Beige Theme.

Typography

Hierarchical type scale from Display Large to Label Small, ensuring readability across all screens.

Components

Reusable components: CTA buttons, search bars, filter chips, snackbars, popups, radio toggles, upload buttons, and bookmark icons.

Navigation

Persistent bottom navbar (Trade, News, Home, Workshop, Social), sidebar for secondary features, and shared header with hamburger menu.

View full design system in Figma →

07 / Integration

Cross-Service Relationships

Services don't operate in silos — they are connected through deliberate integration points.

Workshop ↔ Marketplace

Cosplay Plans

Workshop guides and Marketplace listings for the similar props can now be grouped into a cosplay plan. Users can compare DIY effort vs. purchase cost.

CreatorHub ↔ CoNews

Event-Linked Content

Posts tag CoNews events, creating browsable event albums. CoNews event pages show community posts. Friends' content is surfaced first.

CreatorHub ↔ Workshop

Guide Tagging

Users tag which Workshop guide they followed. Viewers tap to jump to the tutorial. High-quality community content can inspire new guides.

PropScan → Everything

Universal Bridge

Scanning returns results across all services: buyable items, tutorials, and related community posts — in one unified view.

Cross-Service

Unified Reputation

A single profile carries trust across services with multiple visible dimensions: marketplace trust, maker contribution, guide contribution, and community engagement.

08 / Individual Work

Individual Portfolios

Each team member's service is documented in depth in their individual portfolio.

Chen Hongshan

Marketplace
View Portfolio →

Xiao Ao

CoNews
View Portfolio →

Yuhao

Workshop
View Portfolio →

Jae

CreatorHub
View Portfolio →

Figma Prototype Links

Service Link
Shared App (Full Prototype) Figma Prototype →
Workflow Diagrams FigJam Board →
User Journey Maps FigJam Board →
Navigation Workflow FigJam Board →
Affinity Diagrams FigJam Board →