The climate crisis has undoubtedly garnered increasing attention over the recent years. While a sizeable proportion of the population feels that human activity contributes to climate change, inaction on this issue is still largely prevalent.
How might climate change inaction be addressed through a mobile application?
As a designer, I was keen to understand human behaviours and motivations to develop an application that would encourage participation in climate change initiatives.
What causes climate change inaction?
I conducted research on the psychology around climate change to understand the key reasons for inaction. After synthesizing the findings, I created the following personas to keep these insights top-of-mind throughout the design process.
Holly Helpless
28, Make-up artist
Holly has little hope that any individual efforts can make an impact.
She understands the reality of climate change, and occasionally makes an effort to be more sustainable. She ends up giving up when she feels like it doesn’t make a difference in the grand scheme of things.
Billy Bystander
26, Consultant
Billy thinks that climate change impacts many others, and expects someone else to have a solution.
He’s been hearing a lot about climate change recently, but no one around him has responded to the climate crisis, and he doesn’t feel he should be the one to do so either.
Ivan Inconvenienced
21, Student
Ivan thinks that climate action may disrupt his day-to-day lifestyle.
He wants to be more eco-conscious and is open to learning more about climate action, but isn’t quite ready to make any big adjustments to his life.
Samantha Short-Sighted
31, Business owner
Samantha tends to favour smaller but more immediate rewards, rather than those which result in larger, long-term rewards (“hyperbolic discounting”).She’d like to reduce her carbon footprint but her main focus right now is making sure her new business venture runs smoothly. Anything too far into the future is not top-of-mind.
Finding a solution to climate change inaction
I included the following features to address the common reasons for climate change inaction identified above.
Personalization
Focus on each user's priorities and surface climate actions that aligns with these priorities
Socialization
Link each individual to their companions and society
Aggregation of impact
Track and aggregate each users’ efforts
User flow
Wireframes
A selection of low fidelity screens created during the planning phase.
Colours
I selected a combination of bright colours to evoke positive emotions. Each colour combination used was tested for accessibility and meets AA contrast requirements.
Onboarding
I included the following features to address the common reasons for climate change inaction identified above.
Sign-up
I created a simple sign-up process by limiting requirements to only 3 text fields
Welcome screens
After signing up, the user will be introduced to the main features of the application
Log climate action
Users can learn about different climate actions, along with the associated short-term benefits, cash savings, and carbon offsets. Then, easily log their climate actions within the app.
Tracking progress
A user can track their own progress, and even combine their progress with their team as well as the community.
End of project reflection
OffSet was a fun project that explored the psychology behind climate change inaction.
If this were a real world project, it would definitely benefit from further consideration around app adoption, surveys, discovery sessions and usability tests.
