GreenStride
Case Study/Mobile App
Product Designer
Role
2 Months
Timeline
Overview
GreenStride promotes eco-friendly commuting by rewarding sustainable travel. The platform helps individuals reduce their carbon footprint and understand their impact, empowering them to make conscious decisions for a sustainable future.
The Problem
Urban transportation, driven largely by private vehicles, worsens air pollution, harms public health, and accelerates climate change, highlighting the environmental and societal costs of unsustainable travel.
The Goal
Create a platform that reduces reliance on private transportation by promoting sustainable commuting options to lower CO₂ emissions, improve air quality, and reduce the environmental and health impacts of urban travel.
Define
User Research
User research gathers insights into users’ needs, behaviors, and motivations. It ensures designs align with user expectations, creating a more intuitive experience. Qualitative research was conducted to uncover valuable insights, guided by clear goals.
Research Goals
Identify Challenges: Explore the main challenges commuters face with sustainable transportation to improve design and functionality.
Uncover Motivators: Identify key rewards and incentives that motivate users to adopt and stick with sustainable commuting choices.
Encourage Engagement: Assess user expectations for features to ensure alignment with their needs and encourage sustained usage.
Empathy Maps
Empathy maps organize user emotions, thoughts, and needs into a simple framework. They offer deeper insights into user experiences, guiding empathy in design decisions. Research data was analyzed to highlight key user themes and insights.
Key Insights
Incentive Effectiveness: Rewards like discounts or loyalty points motivate commuters to consistently choose eco-friendly transportation options.
Real-Time Feedback: Timely notifications about progress and new rewards help maintain user interest and commitment to sustainable commuting habits.
Impact Visualization: Displaying measurable results, such as carbon savings or health benefits, reinforces the value of sustainable commuting choices.
Pain Points
Pain points are specific challenges users encounter while interacting with a product. They highlight areas where improvements can directly address user frustrations. Interview data and empathy maps were analyzed to uncover themes, leading to the identification of four major pain points.
Personas
Personas are fictional profiles representing the needs and traits of user groups. They ensure that designs address real user challenges and align with user preferences. By analyzing interview data for common themes and pain points, personas were crafted to encapsulate key user traits and goals.
Journey Maps
Journey maps outline the steps users take to achieve their goals. They reveal interactions and areas where the user experience can be improved. Built from personas, these maps capture specific actions and touchpoints, helping pinpoint areas for design improvement.
Competitor Analysis
Competitor analysis evaluates other products to understand industry trends and user expectations. It identifies opportunities and weaknesses to help products stand out. Key features and design strategies were analyzed to guide product decisions.
User Flows
User flows map the paths users take to complete tasks within a product. They help clarify how users navigate each step, highlighting areas for improved ease and efficiency. By visualizing optimal routes and key interactions, user flows ensure a seamless experience.
Design
Paper Wireframes
Paper wireframes are low-fidelity sketches that outline an app’s basic structure. They allow for quick exploration of layout ideas and initial design concepts. Created from user flows and early research insights, these sketches provided a flexible foundation for refining the app’s structure and user journey.
Digital Wireframes
Digital wireframes are detailed layouts that define a product’s structure and functionality. They refine design elements, clarify user flows, and catch potential issues early. Built on prior research and insights, these wireframes ensured a clear, user-centered layout.
Usability Study
Usability studies test how easily users interact with a product, identifying friction points and areas for improvement. They ensure the product meets user expectations and provides a smooth experience. Observing real users as they navigated the design offered actionable insights for enhancing usability and refining design choices.
Research Goals
Can users complete core tasks such as planning eco-friendly trips, redeeming rewards, and tracking their environmental impact in the app?
Research Questions
What insights can we gain from the user journey for tracking eco-friendly trips?
Where do users experience challenges when navigating the app?
What features would enhance user engagement with rewards and impact tracking?
Prompts
Plan and complete an eco-friendly trip
Check points earned and CO₂ saved after completing a trip
Redeem a reward at a local partner business
View your overall environmental impact and progress toward goals
Browse trip history to review past eco-friendly activities and achievements
Themes
Themes are key insights derived from usability studies that reveal common patterns in user feedback. They help identify recurring issues and user needs, providing direction for design improvements. Usability study insights were grouped into themes, highlighting areas to enhance the user experience and align with user expectations.
"It would be helpful if I could just see right away how many more points I need to unlock this reward, without having to click around."
"I'd like a map or an easy way to get directions, so I don’t have to guess where the closest store is."
"I don’t really understand what my StrideScore means or how it reflects my eco-impact—I wish it was clearer."
Refine
Improvements
Design improvements are refinements that enhance a product's usability, functionality, and overall experience based on research insights. They are essential for addressing issues, optimizing performance, and aligning the design with user needs. Key themes from usability research guided targeted adjustments to specific areas in the design.
Reward Progress Indicator
A progress indicator now shows users how close they are to unlocking rewards, providing motivation at a glance.
Store Locations and Directions
Users now have easy access to store locations and directions, simplifying trips for redeeming rewards.
Impact Clarity
The dashboard now contextualizes the StrideScore, helping users quickly understand their eco-impact and progress.
Visual Design
Visual design defines all elements users interact with, ensuring a cohesive and intuitive experience. It creates a unified interface that supports usability and enhances the app’s appeal. Design choices were guided by the app’s mission, focusing on clarity, engagement, and accessibility.
Heading
H1 40/44
Heading
H2 32/40
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H3 24/32
Heading
H4 20/24
Heading
H5 16/20
Body
Body 16/24
Body-sm
Body sm 14/20
Body-xs
Body xs 12/16
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Inter
SemiBold
Medium
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Solutions
Splash
Sign Up
Home and Notifications
Easily track your progress with quick access to recent trips, rewards, and impact highlights, while real-time notifications keep you informed and motivated.
Trips
Travel anywhere and track your journeys while earning rewards for every sustainable choice you make along the way.
Directions
Select the best route, access real-time updates, and track your progress to reach your destination efficiently and sustainably.
Trip Summaries
Gain valuable insights from every journey, helping you stay motivated and continue making a positive impact.
Redeem Rewards
Use points to unlock rewards and activate them whenever you're ready to enjoy your benefits in-store.
Profile
View and update your personal details, track your progress, and manage preferences to stay aligned with your eco-friendly journey.
Impact
Track your environmental impact, monitor your progress, and stay motivated with real-time insights into your sustainable actions.
Moving Forward
Design is a dynamic process that evolves over time. It focuses on continuous refinement to improve functionality, usability, and aesthetics, ensuring the design stays relevant and effective. Through ongoing efforts, the design can adapt to meet changing needs and user expectations.
Conclusion
GreenStride makes it easy to earn rewards for choosing eco-friendly commuting options. Designed to encourage sustainable habits, it helps individuals track their progress and reduce their environmental impact. Its simple features provide a smooth experience, making it easy to get started and stay motivated on the journey to a greener future.
