Regulation change regarding the purchase of carbon credits presented an opportunity for small organisations such as Benefacto Berlin to offer new products to enable environmentally conscious consumers to offset their carbon footprint.
Lead the UX strategy to develop a sound and suitable. carbon offset product.
Design an app that entices a new user group to offset their emissions.
01. Challenging the Hypothesis
When I joined the Benefacto team, they were already working with an initial product concept. I conducted research to better understand the offset market and try to establish who are main target audience would be.
I proposed a hypothesis that users would be more likely to offset if they were rewarded, were 100% clear on what they were paying for, and could choose when and what to offset.
02. Testing flow with Users
I created an interactive prototype and held a series of user-tests to get early feedback on the ideas. In order to make the emissions calculation easier, I used regional averages to speed up the process. However many users wanted in-depth calculations for each “product”, and to know more detail about the specific climate projects they were supporting.
03. Iterating Design & Functionality based on User Feedback
I originally planned to default to whatever project offered the cheapest offset per tonne of CO2, but now understood the need to balance price sensitivity with transparency.
I responded to the “voice of customer” by iterating the design to offer one of 3 options for offsetting, highlighting the backstory to users with different price points.
04. Establishing a Look & Feel
Progressing from lo-fidelity wireframes to more hi-fidelity screen mockups, I produced moodboards to help establish visual direction.
The app needed to be differentiate itself in a cluttered market - it needed to friendly but at the same time, trustworthy. It called for an approachable experience that was easy to understand, yet avoided ‘environment’ clichés.
Designing the UI elements
I worked in Sketch to design the UI dialogues, icons and graphic elements for 4 key sections:
Onboarding users through a training offset.
Offset allows the user to purchase offsets
Impact allows users to review their progress
Profile allows users to manage settings, view offsetting history, review subscriptions etc.
CarbonHero iOS app launched in June 2017 achieving 18,500 downloads within first 3 months.
Became the featured app in Apple Store, national and international press, team invited to present at Mozilla’s Annual Festival in London in 2017.
Users disengaged when they felt their individual actions would have little impact. I found that app copy needed to strongly highlight the “people power” aspect of emissions reduction.
