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Earthology
Timeline: 6 weeks (2022 spring sem sophomore yr)
My role: UI/UX Design, Data research, User research
Tools: Figma, Photoshop, Illustration
Problem
Users are Uneducated on how to recycle different materials
Nowadays waste management is a universal issue that matters to everyone in the world. Along with a dense population and an enormous amount of waste produces, people are uneducated and there is a lack of information in terms of recycling and eco community.
Understanding the Problem Space
“How might we motivate people to live a more sustainable life by providing information about recycling and suggesting nearby green life activities?”
The Solution
EARTHOLOGY is the KEY
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Research Methods
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Research - Secondary Research
Research - Survey (49 responses)
Conducted an online survey to explore the attitudes and behaviors towards the recycling and sustainable green lifestyle of the potential users.
My target group consisted of people living all around the world without a specified age group, but I got 70% of the responses from college students living in Rhode Island.
Research - Interview (10 participants)
Based on the survey responses, I've conducted interviews with 10 participants and asked them the questions below to better understand the thought process behind their decisions.
Interview questions:
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What does sustainability mean to you?
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What are some day-to-day habits you think are sustainable?
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How does sustainability impact your recycling decisions?
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How often do you recycle?
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Walk me through your relationship with plastic on a day-to-day basis
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What are some difficulties while recycling?
"Sometimes it's hard to find a recycling bin so I end up throwing everything in the same garbage"
"While recycling, I always get confused with the things that can be recycled or not."
"I care about the earth and want to live a sustainable lifestyle, hoping that there are more sustainable activities around me."
The Major insight
1. Half of the respondents claimed to be actively recycling their waste
2. 65% of respondents were having difficulty recycling due to a lack of information
3. People were eager to start recycling more often if there was a specialized recycling center nearby
4. They would take advantage of sustainability and healthy living tips
User Persona
Jane / 27 / Architect
Background
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An eco-activist, who has been interested in the issue of environmental friendliness for the past few years
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Buys only the necessary things, and gives or sells online those that are no longer needed
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Carries her water bottle around and brings an eco-bag when she goes to the grocery shop
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Hoping for the zero waste lifestyle
Goals
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Recycle properly regardless of location
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Stay up to date with sustainable events
Painpoints
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Need more education in terms of sorting materials and recycling properly
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Insufficient number of recycling bins
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Lack of environmental education activities and eco society
Lo-Fi Sketch
Sketched out Lo-Fi wireframes to determine the possibilities of combining waste recycling app with social media features.
Information Architecture
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User Testing + Improvements
Based on the various feedback from 7 other peers, I continually iterated my design over the span of 3 weeks - with 3 major improvements:
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Feedback Takeaways
Based on the feedback, users put emphasis on following qualities:
The final screens
The Final Product
On boarding screen
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Home screen
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Upcoming sustainable events board
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How to Recycle?
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Near me
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Events
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Statistic
Main feature
1. How to Recycle?
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How to Recycle - Plastic
How to Recycle - Metal
How to Recycle - Paper
How to Recycle - Glass
How to Recycle - Battery
How to Recycle - E Waste
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Main feature
2. Near me
Main feature
3. Statistic
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Shows statistic based on the user's monthly recycling activity
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Main feature
4. Events
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Suggests sustainable events, places near the user
Additional feature
6. Scan Recycling code
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Provides the location of recycling bin by simply scanning the recycling code of the product