Environment & I

OVERVIEW

Environment and I is an app that provides accessible and easily digestible information about our water and air quality. This was an individual project completed during my User Experience Design Certificate course at eCornell.

PROBLEM

How do we help people find easy-to-understand information about the air they breathe and water they use so that they are able to live a healthier life?

While there are many environmental websites and reports, people struggle to understand the information provided. Many people have a hard time finding what precautionary actions they should take based on their environment.

RESEARCH

User Interviews

To better understanding of users behaviors and interests, I conducted contextual interviews and analyzed the data into an affinity diagram. The diagram shows that users are most interested in functionality that allows them to compare information that allows them to be well educated and aware of their surrounding.

USER PERSONA

Demographic: Millennial starting a family, between the age of 27-35
Attitudes and beliefs: Values a good quality of life such as a good work/life balance, family-life is important, as well as having a good physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Often prioritizes a healthy and organic diet.

USER REQUIREMENTS

1. Functional Requirement: Map View
   Allow users to view information on a map in order for them to easily compare quality between multiple locations.

2. Functional Requirement: Favorite Locations
   Allow users to favorite specific zip codes and towns in order for them to easily access information on areas that they most care about.

3. Functional Requirement: Enable Push Notifications
   Allow users the option to receive alerts about news that heavily impacts their favorited areas. This will help them know when to take necessary health precautions.

4. Contextual Requirement: Provide linked reports
   Allow users to view the source of truth from the data that is provided to them in order to build credibility.

DESIGN

User Interface Sketch

Based on the research, I was able to start ideating on an app dedicated to the user persona. The user wants an app that allows them to compare and easily understand the air and water quality of different towns. Thinking through the sketches for the main breakpoints was important because it allows users to see information at different levels of details.

Mid-Fidelity Wireframe
Using the sketches, I created a mid-fidelity prototype. Based on the prototype and learning about metaphors and affordances, I moved certain components around and added others that I originally did not plan for.

High Fidelity Wireframe
After editing my mid-fidelity prototype a few times, I incorporated colors, fonts, and icons to create the high-fidelity prototype.