Research and Design Activities
• Recruiting
• Interviewing
• Persona development
• Journey mapping
• Storyboarding
• UI design
• Interviewing
• Persona development
• Journey mapping
• Storyboarding
• UI design
Project Scope
Duration: January 20 – February 11, 2019
Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA
MFA student project
Professor: Yvette Shen, MFA
Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA
MFA student project
Professor: Yvette Shen, MFA
The problem
Recycling guidelines can be confusing and difficult to remember, which can result in people recycling less frequently or improperly. Improper recycling can damage recycling sorting equipment, cause delays at sorting facilities, and contaminate batches of recycled materials.
Additionally, U.S. recycling guidelines are not standardized at the federal level, and vary depending on where people live.
Research question and project approach
How can a digital tool, like an app or extended-reality (XR) experience, make recycling guidelines more salient for consumers who want to be better recyclers?
To answer this question, I developed a plan to explore potential users' attitudes, needs, and behaviors related to participating in municipal recycling. I looked for design opportunities to empower them to achieve their goals.
User Research
I recruited and interviewed a small group of potential users. During the interviews, I asked about their recycling habits, technology use, and typical grocery shopping routine.
At the end of each interview, I quizzed the participants to test their knowledge of local recycling guidelines.
Based on my research, I developed user personas and mapped their recycling journeys to explore current experiences and identify potential design opportunities.
Design solution
"Realcycle": the conceptual augmented-reality (AR) powered app that lets users know if food and beverage products they intend to purchase are accepted for recycling in their area.
Additional features like reminders, a news feed, a list to manage preferred products, and map-based information about local recycling centers support users' goals of living environmentally friendly lifestyles.
I created storyboards to illustrate some of Realcycle’s additional features, and how the app supports a persona’s goal of being a more environmentally conscious consumer.
