“sustainably” mobile app
combating climate change through habit change and eco-socialism
Although I’m already familiar with best UX writing practices, I’ve always been drawn to the visual design aspect. General Assembly’s ten-week boot camp challenged me to be a one-person team: a product owner, researcher, designer, and content strategist. This is the story of my final project and how I built a full mobile app through inception, iteration, and implementation.
Climate change is killing our planet. We are seeing climate change(1) rising exponentially through ocean pollution(2), deforestation, a rising carbon footprint, and more. However, eco-socialism posits that although we need to be 100% accountable for our own actions, capitalism is actually the leading cause(3).
We need to develop a mindset towards sustainable habits and politically conscious solutions. Re-learning behavior and breaking old habits are difficult but it’s better than nothing. Additionally, it can help combat existential powerlessness felt by policy fossil fueled by profit. Power to the people, because we’re all in this together.
1 https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/10/un-says-climate-genocide-coming-but-its-worse-than-that.html
2 https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2018/august/1533045600/james-bradley/end-oceans
3 https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/zm988y/ecosocialists-believe-the-only-way-to-save-the-planet-is-to-abandon-capitalism
Research & personas:
Most people already have a baseline understanding of climate change. I needed to know what specific app features appealed to long-time users. I asked friends and friends of friends what they’d like to see for a sustainable habit-changing app. Of course, I didn’t bother asking climate deniers because this app isn’t for them.
I sent a survey to my participants with open ended questions. Then, I interviewed them in-person with paper prototypes and then later, with actual Sketch prototypes.
I used that research to create three personas that outlined my problem definition.
Problem definition:
Smartphone users want to move towards eco-friendly and politically active behaviors, such as switching to reusable bags and calling their senators. Even though the planet is dying, it’s hard to change habits in a world that normalized disposable convenience.
Minimal viable project prioritization matrix:
I chose goal-tracking apps with a social media aspect, and of course, some eco-friendly education apps, for competitive analysis. I specifically looked for best practices in gamification, social media, and tracking numbers.
Wireframes & UI layout:
I developed an information-rich UI. There are three main screens with eight goals—six for individual action and two for activism. I deliberately chose cute icons and a casual, friendly voice because gamifying action items should be fun. With an interactive social media audience, users can encourage and keep each other accountable.
One feature I particularly like is an aggregated “good news” section. The destruction of our planet is terrifying, and it’s just one issue in our relentless, depressing news cycle. While conducting user research, participants told me that even with the gamification and social media aspects, existential dread can be a main reason to discontinue using the app.
It’s easy to feel powerless because individual actions won’t save the planet, but corporate and government responsibility will. With that in mind, I wanted to balance that soul-crushing reality with hope. Progress through policy is actually happening, with animal populations on the rise, companies adopting biodegradable packaging, and the Green New Deal.
User profile & flow:
This is a snapshot glance of your challenges and stats. You can tap to check into a goal (for example, a user “completed a day of keeping plastic from going into the ocean” and “cut their water usage for a week to be more mindful of water scarcity.”) or pause it. You can add other users as friends, and comment and/or like their progress.
Prototype & user journey:
https://invis.io/TFPA99N9NX8#/333211606_Landing_Page
User journey #1: an established user tapping through three main screens, as well as a goal page.
Next steps:
Revising my wireframes and design with less text
Business plan
Branding and marketing
Funding strategy
More user research, testing, and iteration
Add more “Nice to have” features
Partnering with ethical/green companies for brand sponsorships and giveaways
List of resources, like recycling centers
Feedback:
What worked
Easy to navigate and intuitive
Encouraging to see the numbered statistics
Clean, minimal layout
The good news-only feature
What didn’t
Screens are too text-heavy
Some of the information seems redundant
More challenges because eight doesn’t seem like enough
More instruction/how-to tips for the goal pages, especially for first timers
A wider pool of interviewees because I interviewed friends and friends of friends