Treeco is an android e-learning app that educates, empowers, and rewards young adults transitioning to a more sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle.
Role: UX/UI Designer
Timeline: 10 Weeks (Sept - Dec 2022)
Tools: Figma, Photoshop, Otter.ai, Invision
Platform: Android
THE PROBLEM
Climate change is a global issue. ts effects are felt by all citizens with overconsumption depleting our natural resources at an unsustainable rate.
THE SOLUTION
Treeco is a gamified e-learning app for young adults that provides them with the support, tools and knowledge needed to transition to a more sustainable lifestyle. Users earn treets (rewards) by completing courses, challenges or achieving goals. They can redeem treets at local sustainable partner stores or donate them to a charity of their choosing. Designed for millennials and Gen-Z, lessons are short, fun, interactive and customized to keep them engaged and motivated.
THE PROCESS
Using the design thinking method, coupled with a holistic, systems-based approach, I first defined the problem and narrowed the project scope through research. I then ideated, prototyped, tested and refined my solution, relying on user feedback, Jakob Nielson's usability heuristics and material design guidelines to inform my approach.
Consumer culture is killing the planet.
We've all heard this story before. We, as a society, are over consuming at an alarming rate and the situation is getting more dire with each passing day. We need to change our habits to help fix the problem.
What is stopping people from making more sustainable choices?
Digging deeper into the data.
Many of us, and Millennials and Gen-Z folks in particular, want to adopt more sustainable habits. This is clear from the massive 4,450% increase in searches on Google for sustainable lifestyles in April, 2021.
Equally, or even more influencial, however, than the desire to be environmentally friendly, is the desire to conform to social norms.
A recent study conducted on influencing pro-environmental behaviours in consumers found that informing them that other consumers were buying eco-friendly products led to a 65% jump in sustainable purchases.
The situation in stats.
50%
of Gen Z and Millenials think individuals...are best placed to drive change on issues facing them.
71%
of Gen Z and Millennials see climate change as the biggest challenge of their generation.
World peace.
Just kidding - I only had 10 weeks.
I can't end climate change with this app. I can, however, help move the needle in the other direction. I can help remove some of the barriers people face in leading a more sustainable life. So that's what I set out to do and where better to start than by going straight to the source.
By applying participant criteria, I hoped to gain a clear idea of challenges and motivations, specific to my core audience.
Interview Criteria.
Must be aged 20-40
Interested in sustainable living
Adopting a more sustainable lifestyle takes time, effort and money.
The inside scoop.
In today's economy, money is a deciding factor for many when trying to make eco-friendly choices. It's no surprise that this was the top barrier mentioned by all 5 interviewees.
Other common themes that emerged were:
-
Health, habits, convenience and time
-
Education, research, visibility and incentives
-
Availability and trustworthiness of information
I chose to focus on education, research, visibility and incentives as I felt had the most potential for digital intervention and impact. Check out my process below!
To narrow my project scope, I decided to tackle the question...
How might we educate young working professionals and inspire them towards more meaningful consumption to reduce their carbon footprint?
Getting to know u(sers).
Meet Wendy.
“I want to be as eco-friendly as I can but in busy hectic city life it's hard....
Maybe it’s too hard to do, because I don't feel like it's doable if I don't notice any effect or see other people doing it.”
Motivations
-
Wendy wants to be an eco-warrior and do her part to reduce global warming.
-
By adopting more sustainable habits, she hopes to be able to save some money and share her knowledge with friends and family.
-
She wants to support companies that share the same ethical and sustainable values that she does.
Goals
-
To transition to a healthier, more eco-conscious lifestyle whilst on a budget.
-
To save time researching information by having access to bite-sized practical lessons and tips she can easily incorporate into her lifestyle.
Frustrations
-
Hates the inconvenience of having to visit multiple sites and search engines for eco-friendly information.
-
Frustrated at how difficult it is to see results from her efforts to ‘be green’.
-
Hates feeling like she doesn’t know anything about sustainable alternatives and certifications.
Behaviours
-
Constantly feels short on time and stressed.
-
Needs validation and encouragement from peers to stay motivated.
-
Finds it hard to get into the habit of a routine but reminders and goal setting activities are helpful.
From insight to action.
"As a user, I want to decide when and how often I learn so that I can learn at my own pace."
Wendy's biggest hurdles are her lack of knowledge, motivation and time so I decided to build my solution and around this.
She needs to be able to have access to accessible, bite-sized content that she can easily incorporate into her busy life. Given the time frame available, I chose to focus on Wendy's interaction with the task of finishing a lesson.
This core feature most holistically meets Wendy's needs and provides a solid foundation upon which to expand the app.
Chosen Epic
Gaining information in accessible, incentivised way to change my habits.
From pen to pixel.
Having never designed an app before, I set up a moodboard for inspiration, took out some markers and got to work!
I found that I had to develop the mascot and his persona during this initial stage to get a better sense of the feel of the app - and so Treeco was born (but more on that later).
I then sketched ideas for features, icons, elements and flows to get as many ideas out as possible and picked the best elements to draft a final solution sketch to transfer to the screen.
Solution sketches
The O.G.
Transferring the design gave me more ideas on the flow and resulted in additional screens being added and the development of a wireframe that, in hindsight was too detailed.
Perfecting the pixels.
The first draft of anything is rarely the best. So, I put Treeco through it's paces with two rounds of user testing to refine the design. This was a steep learning curve but led to a great improvement in functionality and UI. Some major revisions include:
UI facelift.
The functionality of the app seemed quite intuitive to all 10 testers and didn't require major revisions. Several testers commented on the UI, stating that it could be cleaner and less cluttered. This really became apparent to me too, when transitioning from lo-fi to hi-fi design.
With my formal testing complete and timing being a concern, I continued to conduct more informal testing once UI was injected to refine and polish the design.
The biggest lessons for me during this stage:
-
refer to existing real-world designs (and not Dribble/Behance/Pinterest!)
-
simplicity and signal/noise ratio are key.
.png)
Final Card Design UI
The proof is in the pudding.
The extremely positive response to Treeco from all participants shows a clear gap in the market for a solution that addresses the need for accessible, budget-friendly information on sustainability. Incorporating illustrations, a cute mascot and a worthy cause left testers feeling motivated and wanting to spend more time with Treeco!
100%
of testing participants completed all tasks without major issues.
100%
of testers felt the app would help them adopt more sustainable habits and would recommend to a friend.
60%
of testers said they would use the app themselves.
Building the brand.
Check out the process below for how I created Treeco's brand and visual identity.
I sought inspiration for the brand in the form of a moodboard.
I sought inspiration for the brand in the form of a moodboard.
Meet the mascot!
Hi there! I’m Treeco and it’s a treeeeet to meet you.
I’m a whizz with all things eco, and I’m here to help you with simple tips and tricks you can use to be more sustainable.
I believe learning should be accessible for all. Anyone can learn new skills and habits with a little patience, care and the right teacher of course!
A sustainable solution.
Treet Yourself. Treet Others.
Earn treets when you make progress with goals and lessons. Trade them in for discounts at local partner stores or donate them to charity.
Created by you. For you.
Choose from 100’s of Treeco's bite-sized interactive lessons and focus on what matters most to you. Not sure where to start? No problem! Treeco will suggest lessons based on your preferences.
Join the ecomunnity!*
Get active in the community forum and join in fun weekly challenges for a chance to win more treets and meet new friends!
Track your impact*
Building habits is tricky business. With Treeco's impact tracker, you can set and achieve your goals all whilst expanding your knowledge.
*Future features
Navigating next steps.
Research. Test. Repeat. I received very positive feedback from users that they or their friends would find a solution like this extremely helpful and valuable.
By taking a holistic approach, I hoped to achieve a more tailored and nuanced solution to a multi-faceted and complex issue. I will continue to seek feedback from varied demographics and backgrounds so that the solution better responds to varied user needs and could be developed to be more accessible.
Future focus areas include:
Design Zen
Refine UI and animation features for a sleeker, optimized design.
Build Features
Expand features to include ecomunnity and social aspects.
Collaboration
Collaborate with local partners and sustainability educators to improve business aspects, lessons, etc.