The Problem

With the growing concern of pollution and its effect on the planet, it has become more important than ever that we are careful with our choices in products and how environmentally friendly they are, be it consumables or clothing. However, many express that they are unsure on how much of an impact their purchases have on the environment. Due to this, people will continue to buy products that actively harm the environment without knowing the consequences.

Ideation Process

Problems in Los Angeles

  • Large amounts of waste which leads to increased pollution or other environmental effects

    • overpackaging

    • improper disposal

    • harmful ingredients

    • hard to decompose

  • As an area that is very active in commerce, many non-environmentally friendly products are being sold to customers that don’t know the environmental impact of their purchases

Possible Solutions

  • Scanning barcode on packaging for a waste impact score, similar to barcode scanning apps that show nutritional information on food products

  • Provide information on how much impact that a product’s packaging or ingredients can have on the environment so that consumers make more educated decisions on their purchases

  • Easily accessible → phone app

Background Research

  • barcode scanners are easy to implement, especially through open-source frameworks such as React Native

  • various criteria for environmental impact

    • plastic: types 1 and 2 are recyclable, for any other types consider reusing

    • fabric: polyester < acrylic < cotton < rayon (viscose) < nylon

    • beverage packaging: glass < carton < plastic < cans < biodegradable

    • containers: 1 larger sized packet is better than multiple smaller sized packets, better to get refills instead of a new container

    • detergent: pods < liquid < powder etc...

Conceptualization

  • creating a logo that could represent the app’s brand of searching for sustainable solutions in our daily life

  • searching for earth tones that were neutral and calming to help encourage our message of sustainability

The Solution: Greenspection

an app that helps consumers evaluate how harmful various products are to the environment based on manufacturing, packaging, and disposal

key features

scanner

This screen allows the user to scan a product’s barcode. If the barcode is hard to recognize or scan, then the user can manually enter the number below the barcode into the whitespace at the top instead.

The center target helps the user center the barcode on the camera. Once a barcode is scanned, information about the scanned product’s name, sustainability score, description, and details will immediately pop up on the same screen.

achievements and history

This screen displays the user’s current achievement level and the history of products that they previously scanned.

Achievements are gained as the user scans more sustainable products to encourage more eco-friendly consumer habits.

Items in the history is summarized in a manner that is easy to grasp. Each item’s card displays the item’s name, image, sustainability score, and various ecolabels. Tapping on an item will open up a popup of the item’s details, similar to the previous slide.

my role + tools

User Interface Design

Ideation

Logo/Branding Design

Figma

Adobe Illustrator

year

2021

This project was created in for the Bruin Entrepreneurs: Illuminate Designathon 2021 with three other team members as a possible solution to help consumers become more aware of their actions on the environment and encourage sustainability.