EcoBuddy Composter
Designing an physical composter and companion mobile app to teach children about sustainability
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TIMELINE
April to May 2023
ROLE
UX Designer and User Researcher on a team with Natalia Socarras. Project for Human Factors Methods class.
SKILLS & TOOLS
CAD modeling
Figma prototyping
Usability testing
DELIVERABLES
+ High-fidelity Figma mobile app prototype
+ CAD model of physical product
OVERVIEW
The goal of this project was to create a product and interface experience for children to learn about sustainability and the environment. We determined that a composter to teach children about food waste, the environment, and plant care would be an engaging and fun way to shift their mindset on how the food they eat plays into the larger food cycle.
STAGE 1: RESEARCH
Prior to creating our initial design, we researched and interviewed our target users to better understand how we could meet their needs with our product. During this process, we conducted a user interview and task analysis and put out a questionnaire to get more data to support our design choices.
Key Research Insights:
Parents consider price, child's expressed interest, the inconvenience factor when buying a toy
Parents find educational value to be important in the toys they choose for their child
Users are worried about their child losing interest in composting and it becoming the parent's responsibility
Users want the composter to be easily integrated into their current routines
Users biggest fears about a composter is that it will attract animals, be messy, or be difficult to maintain
User Requirements:
The EcoBuddy must be small and animal-proof.
The EcoBuddy must hold the child's interest consistently.
The EcoBuddy must educate the child about the environment and composting.
The EcoBuddy must add no more than two changes to daily routine.
The EcoBuddy must be less than 30 dollars in price.
STAGE 2: DESIGN
Composter
Composter
We researched different types of composting methods and determined that a tumbler composter was the best type for our product for these reasons:
Most efficient
Easier to turn
Compact and contained
Adaptable drum size
Material
Material
To align with our products goals for sustainability, we chose to make our composter out of recycled plastic to reduce plastic waste.
Color
Color
For coloring, the majority of the composter is black to increase heat retention and enhance the decomposition process. Only the wings and the antenna knobs are red allowing for them to be recognizable as interactive aspects of the product.
Shape
Shape
Since most compost bins are boring and unattractive, we wanted to have the composter to have an animal shape and design that is fun and inviting.
We chose the ladybug because they are:
Friendly
Harmless
Have a positive connotation for nature
Shaped well for their main body to be the drum of the composter.
Their distinct wing patterns make them easily recognizable.
The wing with the handle on it is the door that hinges open to add food scraps and remove compost soil from the drum. It is easy to remove the contents of the composter drum because the inside is smooth walled and has no crevasses for material to get stuck in. The crank knobs on the two antennas are the handles for the child to rotate the composter and aerate the soil. The ideation resulted in the sketch below, that was the basis for the final CAD Model of the EcoBuddy composter.
CAD Design
CAD Design
I designed the final CAD model and rendering of the EcoBuddy composter using Solidworks.
Mobile App
Mobile App
We wanted our app interface to be educational but also engaging and entertaining. We also had to make sure that it was usable for both children and any adult or guardian that may be helping them with their compost.
First design iteration
STAGE 3: TESTING
Following our initial design, we conducted a user test with our Figma app prototype, to identify usability issues and improvements that could be made. We developed a moderator's guide of tasks we asked our users to perform and took note of interactions that were difficult or confusing.
Key User Test Takeaways:
Some of the app pages were too verbose such as the questions page and the instructions page.
The user also had some trouble with certain navigation, particularly in the plant care section where it was unclear how to return to the main plant care page.
To remedy the user issues, we added more instruction pages with less words and more images per page. In addition we implemented a search bar feature in the questions page and having the answers be expandable from the question instead of on the page all at once. The search bar would be able to give the user more accurate answers to their questions. We also added a button to return to the plant page from the various care categories (sun, water, time, and seeds).
The user responded positively to the color palette and environment related design components because it clearly expressed the app’s purpose. The plant pots would also have editable text boxes to give them names. These changes will make the app easier to read through and navigate as well as more engaging for the children.
FINAL DESIGN
Arcadia Ohnemus arcadia.ohnemus@gmail.com LinkedIn
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