TinyFootprint

Time Frame

12 weeks

Software used

Figma, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Miro

Group Members

Design Brief

TinyFootprint was completed as part of the Interaction Design Studio (DECO2200) in my second year studying a Bachelor of Design Computing. The design brief was to develop a digital solution in response to a selected scenario within an Interaction Design problem area.

The chosen problem area was the Environment and Sustainability. Within my group, we each researched individual problem scenarios and converged ideas and insights during the ideation phase.

My role

I was responsible for majority of the visual assets, prototyping and ideation throughout this assignment. In addition, I conducted primary research methods, synthesised and analysed insights. Throughout the prototyping phase, I designed the interface of the TinyFootprint app and assisted in building the high fidelity interactions and animations on Figma.

Background

Incorporating sustainability into one’s lifestyle remains an ever-present and critical global challenge faced in our time. Housing is responsible for approximately 40 per cent of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions at a global scale. Consequently, research shows that house size is one of the most significant predictors of home energy use. In 2019, the average new house built in Australia was 235.8 square metres, meaning our nation has the largest homes in the world.

With the increase in average house sizes in Australia and the global crisis of greenhouse gas emissions being at an all-time high, it is critical that we learn to implement sustainability and efficiency into our living spaces. Presently, renewable energy systems such as solar panels or biomass systems are becoming a more popular alternative to living more energy-efficient lifestyles. However, this solution highlights threats such as injustice in power systems including supply-demand balance and the global ability to provide renewable energy alternatives to the public.

Tiny Home, Tiny Footprint

In recent years, the tiny house movement has emerged globally as an innovative and affordable housing option for many aspiring homeowners. Defined as “a dwelling that is 120 square metres or less in floor area, a tiny house is a small, portable dwelling with a minimalistic design.
Undoubtedly, houses that require fewer materials do not need nearly as many resources to heat and cool them. Smaller living spaces can reduce a person’s greenhouse gas emissions by up to 70% over its lifespan compared to a traditional home.

The following research aims to investigate Australians’ living habits and daily energy expenditure. The objective of this research is to design a digital solution that will encourage people to reduce their carbon footprint at home.

Research

Research Questions
How individual attitudes towards house size compare amongst different generations?

What are key factors that might be holding people back from downsizing their home?

The target audience of this research is people who currently live or wish to live a more sustainable lifestyle. To gain a holistic understanding of the problem space, the following research methods were utilised:

Online Questionnaires

Aim: to obtain information describing the characteristics of people’s living habits and attitudes towards housing.

Interviews

Aim: to gain a deeper understanding into the attitudes and opinions relating to sustainability and personal lifestyle habits, based on insights derived from the questionnaire response.

Experience Sampling Method

Aim: to capture the anomalies of each participant’s daily routine and establish common themes.

Analysis

Research findings from online questionnaire results proved beneficial in highlighting common themes through quantitative data. Below are key insights that were further explored in the following research methods.

36% of participants would consider downsizing their home

The remaining 64% either responded that they would not downsize or that downsizing would depend on external factors.

Leaving electronics plugged in is the most common habit

Three scenarios were given which aimed to understand habits that contribute to increased carbon footprint. “Leaving electronics plugged in once finished” is the statement most participants strongly agreed to (44%).

Data collected from interviews was analysed using an affinity diagram. The purpose of this was to group similar thoughts which participants may have towards downsizing their homes, by attempting to understand ulterior motives behind these attitudes.

56% of participants reported that on average, they did not optimise their space on a daily basis.
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Out of the 25 self reports gathered, 14 participants (56%) reported that they did not feel that they optimised their space (i.e. go into all the rooms in their home).Reasons reported as to why they did not enter all their rooms:“I had work the whole day and just got home”“I have 2 bedrooms and a bathroom that my daughter used to live in that I now rarely go into.”“No, I didn’t go into any other room except mine”

SEE PERSONAS AND STORYBOARDS

Ideation

Following the creation of storyboards and personas, the problem statement could be re-framed using the 5 Why’s method. The purpose of this process is to ensure the right problem is examined and made central to the design process.

Re-framed problem statement

The lack of interest or awareness of individuals’ daily electricity consumption in age groups 18-41 is the driving root-cause of excess carbon emissions at home.How might a digital solution that is accessible and reliable provide an incentive for people to become more conscious of their daily energy consumption, without interfering with their daily lifestyles?

Crazy 8s Technique

A design sprint method was used to generate a wide variety of solutions to the design goal of increasing interest and awareness of an individual’s daily energy consumption. This ideation method is a fast sketching exercise involving brainstorming eight distinct ideas and sketches in eight minutes.

Idea development was done using feedback from the target user group. The energy meter app is an application that can be viewed via the user’s smartphone or computer. It displays visual graphs of the user’s monthly carbon emissions over time. The user has remote access of electricity at home. For example, if they leave home and forget to turn off the lights, they receive a notification and are able to remotely switch them off.

User Testing

A heuristic evaluation method was used for our initial prototype to receive over-arching design issues with our design. Following the 10 principles for heuristic evaluation proposed by Jakob Nielsen and Rolf Molich, we conducted 5 expert-based usability tests.

After compiling all group members’ evaluation templates, common heuristics with high severity ratings could be identified. This allowed for actionable tasks to be extracted from recurring problems in our interface.

The think-aloud method and system usability scale was utilised in our user-based testing, which occurred after the second round of iterations were completed following the expert-based testing.

The think-aloud method is a type of qualitative interview where participants are asked to engage with an interface an say out loud any thoughts that come to mind as they work through it. This method was implemented in the user-based testing due to its ability to provide rapid initial thoughts as users encounter challenges with our prototype.

The System Usability Scale (SUS) involves measuring the usability of an interface through a 10-item questionnaire, typically composed of Likert scales. The SUS was included as a research method to gain quantitative data when measuring how usable participants find our interface. In combination with the Think Aloud method, we are able to receive both quantitative and qualitative feedback giving a comprehensive and robust review.

TinyFootprint App High Fidelity Prototype

Final Product

TinyFootprint is a digital solution aimed to help individuals reduce their carbon emissions at home. The growing rates of carbon emissions and the importance of incorporating sustainability into one’s lifestyle served as a catalyst for this selected problem scenario.

Features of the final product were informed by feedback gained from expert/user-based testing. These insights proved highly valuable in understanding that the general public do not prioritise a lifestyle low in carbon emissions as there is a lack of incentive and awareness on the topic. Taking this into account, we designed a social element in which the user can connect with friends or local families in their neighbourhood. A leaderboard creates an element of gamification and an incentive to reduce carbon emissions.

There are also features such as having remote access over electrical touch points at home (increasing the accessibility and convenience of saving electricity). In addition, when designing this app we were mindful of how our design may promote helpful and beneficial interactions by employing an ethical framework to help guide our design and identify potential ethical issues.

Onboarding

The onboarding process introduces the app functionalities prior to login.

Interactive input fields were created on the log in and sign up page using interactive components.
An animated placeholder text was included to give the user a look and feel of the app.

Pre-Questionnaire

New users are given the option to take a pre-questionnaire, which collects user information to personalise goals and recommendations.

A wizard was used to break the questionnaire flow into digestible and clear sub tasks with interactive drop down inputs. The completeness meter informs the user of their progress

Configuration

After setting up their account, the user can connect their smart home device(s), through which TinyFootprint obtains their consumption data.

The interface provides clear feedback once a device has been connected. Users additionally have the option to connect multiple devices.

Carbon Emissions Made Simple

Comprehensive graphs are designed to contextualise carbon emission expenditure by comparing user performance with personalised goals. Bar graphs show trends comparing with previous performance & average households.

A categorical breakdown allows users to identify energy wasting points.

Remote Control

Personalise TinyFootprint to your home by adding rooms and electrical touchpoints. The remote page allows users to control the status of touchpoints from anywhere. Additionally the electricity usage of each device is shown through watts.

Features such as a timer and popups for error prevention were put in place for more seamless navigation of the interface.

Goals and Achievements

The profile page displays challenges users are actively participating in with actionable steps on how to progress. Commitment and consistency is used to build momentum towards the user’s goal.

Once challenges are completed, an achievement is earned.

Connect With Friends

TinyFootprint offers a social aspect to boost incentive towards decreasing individual household’s energy consumption.

A leaderboard displays the top three performing households. The user can add friends and message them directly on the platform. In addition, they can view their friend’s profile and achievements.