GoGreen
Bridging the gap of information and action for sustainable shopping.
GoGreen is a new app that supports consumers in bridging the gap between information and action when it comes to making sustainable shopping decisions. When consumers add products to their shopping list, they get GoGreen swaps that are more sustainable alternatives. With 78% of people being more likely to purchase a product that is clearly labeled as environmentally friendly, and only 26% feeling confident in being able to identify environmentally friendly products, it's clear that there is work to do in the realm of sustainable shopping. GoGreen helps remove ambiguity and supports consumers in making more conscious decisions.
This project was completed as part of the Design Lab UX Academy Curriculum.
End-to-End App Design
Project Type
Idea Generation
Research
UX Design
UI Design
Branding
Scope
Figma
Google Suite
Goodnotes
ChatGPT
Midjourney
Tools
2 weeks
80 hours
Timeline
The Problem
Consumers have a desire to make more sustainable choices, but they find it challenging to identify sustainable products at a reasonable price point.
Many products exist to give information on the sustainability of a product or brand, but there aren't products that support consumers in turning that information into action by giving them alternative sustainable brands or products to shop from.
The Objective
Create a product that reduces friction for conscious consumers while they try to make more eco-friendly choices.
By making sustainable shopping simpler for consumers we can increase rates of sustainable shopping and have a net positive impact on the environment.
The Process
Discovery at a Glance
To start the discovery phase, I began with secondary research to understand more about sustainable shopping trends, learn more about the values of consumers, and see what brands are doing to support sustainable shopping trends.
Next, I dove into a competitive analysis so that I could understand what services are currently available for conscious consumers who are trying to make more sustainable choices. I then conducted user interviews to get more nuanced insights into the values and needs that consumers have when trying to make more sustainable choices.
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After the interviews, I had a few assumptions and hypotheses in mind, and I wanted to hear from a larger subset of people. With all of this information in hand, I created user surveys to check these assumptions and gather more information.
What stood out in the secondary research
78% of consumers are more likely to purchase a product labeled as environmentally friendly.
Consumers are concerned about greenwashing. 45% say they would prefer a third party source identifying a company's sustainability practices.
Only 26% of consumers feel confident in identifying sustainable products while shopping.
A closer look at the competition
I conducted a competitive analysis for 5 products and resources that support consumers with making more sustainable shopping decisions.
Good on You and The Good Shopping guide are the two best developed resources for consumers to gather information about a brands sustainability practices. But, what these resources lack is specific product rating information and a feature that guides consumers away from less sustainable brands towards more sustainable ones.
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Ethical Barcode and Buycott both offer product and brand ratings but have dated designs and are lacking a well developed database. Again, these products also lack a feature that supports consumers in finding more sustainable products.
Key insights while listening to consumer's stories...
I conducted 5 user interviews of people who said they have an interest in sustainability. All of my interviewees were between the ages 28-35 and had variable incomes. Through affinity mapping I uncovered these key findings:
While each rated the importance of sustainability between an 8-10 (on a scale of 1-10), none of them had taken significant and consistent efforts in making more sustainable shopping choices.
Their most important factors when making shopping choices are necessity, cost, quality, desirability, and sustainability. They did admit they would forego sustainability for a better priced product.
The two main barriers they're experiencing to shopping sustainably are cost and accessibility.
Learning more through surveys
At this point, I had already discovered that despite a conscious knowledge and desire to make more sustainable choices, the barriers of cost and accessibility were challenging to overcome for consumers. In addition, I already knew that there weren't any resources that gave consumers recommendations on more sustainable products once they've found out that their regular choice was unsustainable.
I started conceptualizing a product that enables consumers to create shopping lists while also providing recommendations for sustainable alternatives. By doing so, consumers can effortlessly substitute the items they plan to buy with eco-friendly options.
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Before I continued ideating, I wanted to make sure that shopping lists were something that consumers were regularly making.
These surveys also verified the importance of sustainable shopping for consumers that was discovered through the secondary research and user interviews.
Consumers are willing to pay slightly more for sustainable products but face difficulties in making green choices due to the lack of clear labeling and information. There is a need for a product that makes it easy for consumers to choose eco-friendly options at a reasonable cost.
Closing in on User-Centered Design
Uncovering Nuances Through Personas
Through my research, two personas presented themselves.
Eddie, is a photographer who highly values conservation and sustainability, but is concerned about the price of sustainable products.
Safiya on the other had recently got a pay raise. She wants to make more sustainable choices and is willing to pay for it, but she's not sure where to start.
POV
Consumers need a way to bridge the gap between information and action when it comes to purchasing sustainable goods because there aren’t any resources that help them find better products to buy at a reasonable price.
HMW
How might we help conscious consumers bridge the gap between information and action so that they can make more sustainable shopping choices?
Exploring Potential Solutions
Next, I began exploring solutions using my User Personas and HMW questions as my north star.
Through brainstorming, I developed multiple concepts that could help in solving the problem consumers are facing. The starred concepts could easily be integrated into one product that truly reduces barriers for consumers in making sustainable shopping choices. Since this is an MVP, I created a simple product roadmap to assure that I was developing the right features first.
Now
Users set what store they're shopping at and create their shopping list. As they do so, their list gets a sustainability score and they also get swap suggestions for sustainable they can purchase within the same store. The product tracks their progress over time to see their overall environmental impact.
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This feature most clearly addresses the barrier of accessibility and allows consumers to easily compare sustainability and prices.
Next
Access to a barcode scanner that populates sustainability information and gives swap ideas. - This is a second priority because other products already offer this feature and 90% of shoppers are making lists before they shop.
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Access to exclusive manufacturer coupons. This helps to offset the cost barrier that consumers face, but requires time to make business partnerships.
Later
Access to swap reviews that show other product users how successful a swap suggestions were - This is the lowest priority as it requires a larger user base, and products already have individual review data that they can rely on to help them make decisions.
Create a Shopping List Flow
Add Item to List Flow
Make a Swap Flow
Visualizing a User Focused Design
Through low-fi wireframing and rapid sketching I began to attach design concepts and patterns that would work for this product. Using the user flow the following key screens were identified:
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Home Screen
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List Page
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Product Detail Page
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Swap Page
Home Screens
Time to open Figma and take these to mid-fidelity.
We have users, a problem, and solution. What we're lacking is a brand.
Welcome to GoGreen
Sustainable
Fair
Integral
Actionable
Equitable
Logo Creation
Rejected Logo Concepts
Too Busy
Too Modern
Too Straightforward
Best Logo Concept
The Final Design
The final logo design pulls together a leaf motif and the traditional triangular recycle symbol.
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The logo highlights the nature that supports us, as well as the modern necessity to care for our environment.
The Color Pallette
With the name of the product being GoGreen and being focused on sustainability, I evidently needed to move forward with a green dominant palette. From there, I knew I needed an accent color that popped and matched with the brand values.
The muted coral color creates balance between Action and Fairness. It is bold when paired with the green palette, and draws the consumers to take action.
Typography
Urbanist is a sans serif font with a large x-height. It pairs well with the branding and logo due to the angular finishes.
The First GoGreen Design
Refining the Experience Through Testing
It was not time to assess the overall success of the product. Does the product successfully support users in making more sustainable choices and is it aesthetically pleasing while doing so? To find out, I performed usability tests with 5 conscious consumers
4.8/5
Average score for the question "On a scale of 1-5, how helpful is this product with making sustainable choices?"
4.5/5
Average score for the question, "On a scale of 1-5 how satisfied did you feel with the branding of the product?"
In addition to overall satisfaction scores, I was able to get some valuable insights from the testers regarding what would make those scores even higher. This led to the priority revisions...
Priority Revisions from the Usability Tests
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Change swap icon out to two overlapping arrows rather than circular arrows.
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Implement a coupon icon to identify products with discounts
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Prioritize the coupon by moving it to the top of the product details page
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Make coupons auto-apply when adding an item to the list
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Update scanner icon so it’s simpler and easier to read
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Update the login flow text to be more concise
Final Prototype
Final Thoughts and Future Considerations
After conducting extensive research and designing the GoGreen product, it's clear that there is a strong demand for sustainable shopping solutions. With the rise of climate change and the increasing awareness of the impact of individual actions on the environment, it's more important than ever to help people make conscious and sustainable choices.
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One of the key challenges in designing this product was balancing the need for comprehensive information with the need for simplicity and ease of use. Ultimately, I was able to strike a balance between these two priorities, creating a user interface that is intuitive and easy to navigate while still providing all the necessary information.
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I was able to address two of the main concerns users face - accessibility and cost - by giving them product swaps within the stores that they’re already shopping at, and providing clear cost details and exclusive coupons to offset the higher prices of sustainable goods.
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Overall, the GoGreen product represents an important step forward in the ongoing effort to promote sustainability and reduce the environmental impact of human activity. GoGreen truly helps bridge the gap between sustainability information and consumer actions and this product has the potential to make a significant impact on our planet's health and wellbeing.