Our research revealed that without clear digital guidance, users struggle with proper recycling practices and understanding their environmental impact. Through user interviews and competitive analysis, our team discovered the urgent need for an educational and motivational platform that bridges the gap between environmental intention and sustainable action.
Our team identified environmentally conscious individuals seeking practical recycling guidance. These people were ranging in age from 18-45. These users want a seamless solution that educates and motivates them to maintain sustainable habits through clear progress tracking and rewarding experiences.
I led comprehensive user research to understand recycling behaviors and identify pain points. Our research approach included conducting user interviews to understand recycling habits, performing competitive analysis of existing sustainability apps, and developing detailed user personas to guide design decisions.
We discovered that users struggled with improper recycling habits due to unclear guidance and fragmented resources. Additionally, the lack of motivation and intuitive tools made it difficult for users to adopt and maintain sustainable practices. My competitive analysis revealed that existing apps failed to provide comprehensive solutions that balanced education with user engagement.
The research directly informed our design strategy, ensuring every feature addressed real user needs identified through data collection and analysis. The user personas I developed became the foundation for all design decisions, while my competitive analysis helped us identify market opportunities and avoid common pitfalls in sustainability app design.
Through targeted research insights, our team developed three core features that directly address user pain points, creating a seamless recycling experience from education to action.
User testing revealed the need for simplified navigation across all age groups. This meant we needed a clean, accessible interface ensuring easy navigation for users of all technical abilities, addressing usability concerns identified through research with diverse user groups.
Research showed users needed motivation to maintain recycling habits. The team designed a reward-based system with progress tracking and achievement badges to incentivize consistent behavior, directly addressing the motivation gap identified in our user studies.
Drawing from user interviews, we designed a comprehensive step-by-step guide system that educates users on proper recycling techniques. This directly addresses the primary research finding that users lack clear guidance on recycling practices.
We presented our work to the head of the User Experience department at Rider University, showcasing our research findings, design process, and final prototype.
