MyPlanet APP - Wicked Problem

TEam

Lindsay Moody - Project Manager
Hetal Shah - UX/UI Designer  
Cortney Wiersma - UX/UI Designer
Mandi Guimont - UX/UI Designer
Reid Ellis-Cramer- UX/UI Designer

Industry

Environment

Company

MyPlanet

Duration

3 Weeks

UX Research

PROJECT OVERVIEW

As a group we chose the wicked problem of climate change, focusing on carbon footprints, which is the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by an individual.

REsearch Plan

We believe creating an app highlighting personal carbon footprint for those who are eco-conscious (or want to be more eco-conscious) will achieve a better impact on the planet by slowing the process of global warming

OBJECTIVE ONE

Understand the behavior of users in reducing their carbon footprint.

OBJECTIVE TWO

What motivates users to reduce their impact and how much knowledge they have on it.

OBJECTIVE Three

Pain points of the user to adopt and maintain sustainable living practices

Research RESULTS

Our team conducted interviews and a survey to gather quantitative research data on the impact of climate change from approximately 30 people. The questions range from how people recycle, to what information resources they use, to what they might find helpful in a climate change awareness app.

KEY FINDINGS

AUDIENCE

Most people have general recycling knowledge; they’d like to learn how to recycle more of the specialty items

IMPORTANT FACTORS

Awareness on the issue is the primary finding

CHALLENGES

Many folks had limited knowledge about what their carbon footprint may be.

User Persona

Steven Anderson

Age: 26
Income: $36,000
Occupation: Technition
Education: College
Location: Minnesota
Relationship Status: Single

After watching several thought-provoking environmental documentaries on the Discovery Channel, Steven is motivated to further reduce his carbon footprint. While he has been diligently recycling, he now seeks additional ways to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle. Eager to reduce his environmental impact, Steven will use the MyPlanet app to track his carbon footprint and read informative articles on ways to minimize his carbon footprint.

Interest

  • Peers to encourage eco-friendly behavior
  • Start learning effective ways to make a positive impact by implementing lifestyle changes
  •  learn how to reduce my carbon footprint

Goals

  • Educate oneself on environmentally-friendly practices and implementing them to become more eco-conscious
  • Join an eco-conscious community dedicated to sustainable living
  • Reduce, reuse, recycle

Needs & Expectations

  • A way to set goals
  • A way to see improvements on themselves
  • A resource that provides to the point information on how to make a positive impact

Influence

  • Family support my efforts to reduce my carbon footprint
  • Join a community around being eco-conscious
  • Look for a good goal setting application

Motivations

  • Anxious about not knowing where and how to start being more eco-friendly
  • Excited to help make the world a healthier, better place
  • Frustrated by spending so much time searching for to the point information

Pain Points

  • Does not know where to start in the process
  • It’s difficult to find information, especially on government websites
  • No way of knowing if they are actually making a difference

PROBLEM STATEMENT

We believe that people lack access to reliable information about climate change, and providing them with easier access to green living resources and tips could help empower them to achieve their sustainability goals and realize their impact on the environment.

USER INSIGHT STATEMENT

Eco-conscious individuals with basic knowledge need to feel more informed and responsible for their personal carbon footprint, because without this knowledge and accountability, their environmental impact may actually increase in a negative way.

Problem Definition

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

We researched four of our competitors in the climate change app market and discussed the features we liked and didn’t like with our app in mind.

Prioritization

Feature One

A lifestyle quiz that calculates the user’s carbon footprint

Feature Two

Education page that provides users with information on climate change topics

Feature Three

Ability for users to create a profile to access their carbon footprint, set goals and join challenges, and receive notifications to help users stay accountable in their eco-friendly goals. 

USER FLOW

We created two distinct user flows, one for guest to where they can just browse articles with tips to reduce their environmental impact and a registered user where they can take a quiz that will calculate their carbon footprint and display it in the profile page.

UI Design

LOW-FIDELITY Wireframes

PATTERN LIBRARY

Brand Guidelines

Established clear rules and specifications for the consistent use of brand colors, typography, and visual elements.

Asset Library

Developed a centralized repository of icons, images, and other branded assets to ensure easy access and maintain visual consistency.

Reusable Components

Developed a library of consistent, standardized page components such as the header, navigation, and cards to promote efficiency and cohesion across the design.

STYLE GUIDE

Color

We chose a green monochromatic color scheme as it is linked to nature, to provide a sense of renewal and health. These colors are linked to earth and suggests a connection to the earth itself.

Typography

We chose Bebas Neue as a header text for its bold modern aesthetic. Inter serves as our primary font for its readability and large font family.

Icons

We wanted to keep our icon clean and madern feeling to give the app a sense of cleanliness.

Images

We select visuals that depict clean and environmently frindly to engage users and inspire them to live a clean and healthy life style.

Mid-FIDELITY Wireframes

Prototype

Clickable porotype

Click around prototype here

Key Takeaways

Challenge

One of the challenges was combining everyone's ideas into one cohesive design. A challenge was synthesizing everyone's unique erspectives into a unified design.

Lessons Learned

We collaborated closely on this project, and everyone contributed effectively to their respective parts. We began by researching similar applications together, discussing the most liked features and sending a survey to backpackers and hikers.

Once we finalized the structure, we moved on to wireframing. Each of us designed a page independently and then shared our concepts. We provide constructive feedback and remained open to suggestions from one another.

What worked particularly well for us was the balance between independent thinking and collaborative refinement. The continuous exchange of feedback and openness to others' ideas played a key role in the project's success. We also tested different versions of our designs with individuals outside our team, collected their responses, and used that input to further enhance the design.

Next Steps

With this being the mid-fidelity prototype, there are many more steps to take, including scroll behavior variables in the presently available scrolling actions, and flipping all tiles at once at the profile page.

  • Article Ratings & Reviews

  • Community Forum

  • An area for kids to learn about sustainability, with games and fun videos

  • Sustainability coaching and tutorials