The Creator Tool — A Tech Pack Builder for Circular Knitting Development

Overview
The Creator Tool is a SaaS product developed as part of Materialliance.com, a B2B platform serving the textile and fashion industries. The goal of this project was to design a tech pack builder tool that empowers designers, merchandisers, and creatives to easily develop new textile or apparel concepts using circular knitting technology. The tool helps users select the right materials, define product characteristics, and include technical graphics—ultimately streamlining the process from design to production.

Challenge
Designers often struggle with the complexity of translating creative ideas into technically viable production documents. Common challenges include inefficient communication with manufacturers, limited access to reliable material data, and a lack of knitting technology knowledge. The Creator Tool was envisioned to bridge this gap—providing a user-friendly, data-driven solution that simplifies the product development process.

Research & Insights
To better understand user needs, I conducted five in-depth interviews with current Materialliance users—designers working for major apparel companies. These sessions explored how they currently create tech packs, interact with manufacturers, and source materials. The research revealed two major pain points:

• Difficulty sourcing accurate material information.

• Limited understanding of knitting technologies and their application in design.

These insights became the foundation for the tool’s concept and functionality.

Design Process
Using the research findings, I mapped the user flow to illustrate how users could create a new product by sourcing information directly from the Materialliance fabric and material library. The flow aimed to make the process intuitive, allowing designers to move seamlessly from material selection to production-ready documentation.

Next, I developed low-fidelity prototypes to visualize key interactions and test the overall flow with stakeholders. After gathering feedback and aligning with technical and business teams, I designed a high-fidelity interactive prototype. The final design focused on clarity, accessibility, and ease of use, ensuring designers could create new products and fabrics without needing to learn complex software or spend hours sourcing materials externally.

Outcome
The final prototype successfully demonstrated a seamless and efficient experience for designers developing circular knit products. By integrating Materialliance’s library and simplifying tech pack creation, the Creator Tool empowers users to move from concept to production faster, with fewer errors and a more collaborative workflow between design and manufacturing teams.