EcoPoints
Recycling Tool
Multimedia Product
Team
Mobile App
Self-iterated solution aimed to encourage college students to recycle by rewarding them each time they recycle properly through gaining vending machines credit
Roles:
Project Manager
UX Researcher
UI Designer
Tools:
Figma
Canva AI
Date:
Nov 2023 – Dec 2023
Timeline:
1 month
Key Features
Progress Checks
By adding visual bars and graphs, it allows the user to feel a sense of accomplishment the more they use the app to recycle.
Recycling Database
Notifies users of standard recycling practices for each type of material prior to recycling to ensure it is properly handled
Interaction Flow
Connect to a recycling bin station’s trash can by scanning the QR Code on the lid. Use your points having the vending machine scan your account’s QR Code.
How did we do it?
As the project manager, I created and oversaw the project workflow, making sure that we were able to effective reach the project deadline by allocating each week to a stage of the design process
1. Research
2. Sprint 1
3. Sprint 2
4. Testing
Identifying the Problem
Stack till it Drops
While throwing away my garbage in the dorm’s trash room, I noticed the garbage was already stacked so high the stuff inside was about to topple over. Despite having color coded bins for recycling plastic, metal, and paper inside the room, every bit of trash laid in the two black bins.
Now the question goes…
How might we give students an incentive to gain a better understanding of proper waste disposal and encourage them to do their part in combatting the ongoing recycling problem?
Getting to Know the Audience
User Research
[#1] Primary
Survey Time!
Using Google Forms, I created a 5 part survey to narrow down the core reason of why college students aren’t recycling more. Using the input of 26 students, who were composed of sophomores and freshmen who live on campus.
and we found the primary reasons were due to:
1. Lack of knowledge on correct practices
2. Considers it a inconvenience
3. Lack of access to recycling bins
[#2] Competitive Analysis
Research Question: What is necessary in an interface to inform students of proper recycling practices while encouraging them to continue doing it?
In order to understand what existing applications with similar intentions are doing I researched applications that have these:
1. Related to helping people recycle products
2. Provide users with an achievable goal through the app
3. Makes everyday tasks more like a game
4. Uses a point system
After a few clicks, I analyzed the key features of 3 Apps
Gimme 5
Contained a large database with multiple recyclable products
iRecycle
Provided directions to the closest recycling stations
Gro Recycling
Simplified and gamified the concepts of recycling for children to learn
And so I asked
Why haven’t any of these become mainstream yet? What’s the extra push it needs?
Existing recycling applications have a very extensive directory of information on recycling, but don’t provide users a fixed and consistent reason to take action with this information.
Leading me to shift my research towards the advantages of apps that gamifies progress. To which I discovered users reported:
67% Felt More Motivated & Engaged
47% Increase in Engagement
67% Prefer Gamified Learning Experiences
The Origin Story
It Clicked!
One afternoon, I decided to exchange the points I was racking up through an online store’s rewards system for some free items. And before I knew it, I was already ideating the start of EcoPoints.
What would college students want for free?
This question initiated our ideation process in compiling 20 sketches until I thought
Well what about vending machines?
And once we’ve fooled-proof the flow, we began Sprint #1
Sprint #1
Our Goals:
1. Establish Primary User Flow
2. Color & Branding
3. Content Layout
The Feedback
1. Branding is outdated
2. Lack of direction & complicated flow
3. Components don’t promote continuous use
Sprint #2
Our Goals:
1. Refine branding for a more sleek and clean look
2. Modify user flow to a barcode code
3. Add milestone and point tracker components
Refined Screens
The Completed Flow
We Completed EcoPoints!
Chloe Peng 