Carbon Compass
A mobile system that delivers real-time carbon insights at the exact moment of decision—bridging the gap between climate intention and everyday behavior. Carbon Compass transforms abstract environmental data into concrete, actionable guidance through product scanning, personalized suggestions, community challenges, and progress visualization.
"I know climate change is important, but it's hard to see if what I'm doing actually matters."
— Research Participant
This project explores how behavioral science, immediate feedback loops, and social accountability can turn passive climate concern into sustained, measurable action.
- Role Behavioral Designer & UX Researcher
- Timeline Fall 2025
- Focus Behavior Change, Gamification, Sustainability
- Methods Contextual Inquiry, Competitive Analysis, Usability Testing, SUS Evaluation
- Status Hi-Fi Prototype Complete
The Problem
Climate change demands individual action, but most people experience a profound disconnect between caring about the environment and understanding how their daily choices contribute to it.
Across my research interviews, users consistently expressed genuine concern for sustainability—yet lacked clarity, urgency, or any measurable understanding of their personal carbon footprint.
The Perception Gap
- • Carbon footprint feels like an industrial problem, not personal
- • High-impact behaviors (diet, transport) systematically underestimated
- • Low-impact actions (lights, recycling) systematically overestimated
- • Users rely on intuition rather than structured tracking
- • Motivation evaporates without visible progress
Competitive Gap Analysis (12 Products)
Earth Hero: education-heavy, low personalization. Commons: good tracking, weak behavior prompts. No product provides real-time decision support with personalized nudges at the moment of choice. This is the ecosystem gap Carbon Compass was designed to fill.
Research & Discovery
I conducted 5 contextual interviews that revealed three distinct user archetypes:
Time-Pressed Students
Jill Archetype
- • Want guidance without effort
- • Struggle with cost vs. sustainability tradeoffs
- • Prefer "quick wins" fitting packed schedules
- • Barrier: Time pressure, unclear impact
Budget-Conscious Families
Joel Archetype
- • Seek intersection of savings & sustainability
- • Need credible, trustworthy information
- • Want to reduce household waste efficiently
- • Barrier: Information overload
Value-Driven Consumers
Heather Archetype
- • Already highly motivated
- • Want measurable progress
- • Committed to long-term change
- • Barrier: Maintaining motivation over time
Early Sketches & Ideation
Before diving into digital prototypes, I explored dozens of concepts through paper sketches—testing layout hierarchies, navigation structures, and information density.
Sketches: Welcome Page, App Launch/First Time User, Explore Tab, Quick Scan Product Details, Profile Page Variances
Design System
A comprehensive design system ensures consistency across all screens while maintaining the welcoming, earthy aesthetic that resonates with sustainability-minded users.
Moodboard
Visual inspiration: Sustainable investing apps, eco-friendly lifestyle brands, nature photography, earthy color palettes
Color Palette
Primary, Secondary, Gray, System Positive, System Negative scales (50-900)
Typography
Body, Heading (XS-L), Display (XS-L) scales with line heights
Icons & Components
Components: Header, Nav Bar, Cards, Search Dropdown, Buttons, Toggle States, Icon Library
Mobile Layout Grid
4-column grid with 16px margins and 8px gutters for consistent mobile spacing
Desktop Layout Grid
12-column grid with responsive breakpoints for future web expansion
Design Rationale
Carbon Compass is grounded in behavioral science principles that address the intention-action gap:
Reduce Cognitive Load
Simple flows and chunked information. Users don't need to understand carbon accounting—they need to know which product is better and why.
Abstract to Concrete
"This product has 40% less carbon impact than your usual choice." Meaningful comparisons, not abstract percentages.
Immediate Feedback
Scanner delivers insights at the exact moment of decision—in the grocery aisle. Temporal proximity is critical for behavior change.
The Solution
Real-Time Carbon Scanner
Point at any product to see carbon footprint instantly. Most intuitive interaction in testing.
Product Alternatives
Suggests lower-carbon alternatives at the same store. Removes friction, makes sustainable choices easy.
Community Challenges
"Challenges make it more fun." Social accountability drives engagement far more than solo tracking.
Usability Testing
83.75
SUS Score — "Excellent" (Top 10%)
5.7/7
Average SEQ Score
8
Participants tested
#1
Scanner was fastest task
What Worked
- ✓ Simple primary navigation
- ✓ Clear scan interaction with instant feedback
- ✓ Goal-setting flow was intuitive
- ✓ Achievement tracking resonated emotionally
- ✓ Community challenges increased engagement
Issues Found
- ✗ Points system confusing
- ✗ Community tab naming misleading
- ✗ Goal settings too hidden in profile
- ✗ Product search lacked structure
- ✗ Gamification needs depth for long-term
Qualitative Results
Core Value
Participants generally gave positive feedback on the app's core concept and design, finding its goals clear, the interface easy to use, and the overall experience motivating.
"I think it's pretty friendly for people who doesn't like follow up with this a lot during their daily life, and who have like, like me, not a lot of knowledge about this at all."
— P4
"I like the overall color scheme of it too, it's very welcoming and very earthy, just as sustainability should be."
— P2
Usability Feedback
Participants offered several specific suggestions for improvement regarding the intuitiveness of the information architecture, the clarity of data presentation, and details of the user interface.
"I expected to find tips and advice in the 'Community' tab, viewing the 'Explore' tab as a place for miscellaneous content, which caused confusion when looking for product recommendations."
— P5
"I want to see the challenge first and then I want to join the challenge... it's kind of scary for me."
— P3
"I found it difficult to locate 'alternative products' or 'recommended brands' because the wording didn't show directly, feeling like it was hidden too deep in the 'Explore' tab."
— P5
Feature Feedback
"I like the scan page. It is really cool to know that I can track my carbon footprint anywhere."
— P8
"For rewards, I wanted to see offers from nearby stores to know what is available locally."
— P5
"For the user interactions, you could use some kind of gamification... like adding some kind of incentives for the user, any kind of coupons."
— P3
"Maybe the community where we can share our tips or something like that with others."
— P1
"It currently shows what title or what achievement I did, but it doesn't show me what I performed to get that achievement... I want to know that."
— P2
Design Evolution
The journey from lo-fi sketches to hi-fi prototype revealed critical insights about what users actually need versus what designers assume they want.
Lo-Fi Prototype
The low-fidelity prototype focused on testing core user flows, layout hierarchy, and overall app structure before refining visuals. Key elements: initial navigation layout, basic scanning flow, early points/rewards concept, and preliminary product browsing.
Lo-Fi Screens: Launch → Home → Emission → Scan → Community → Explore → Profile
Hi-Fi Prototype
Key updates based on testing: Explore renamed to Brands for better visibility; Community renamed to Challenges; simplified navigation bar; enhanced product search layout; refined points and rewards placement; adjusted homepage hierarchy.
Hi-Fi Screens: Launch → Home → Scan Product → Product/Brand Details → Challenge → Brands → Profile
Final Design Improvements
Based on usability testing insights, four key improvements were implemented to address navigation confusion and information discoverability:
1. Liquid Glass Nav Bar
Changed nav-bar design to liquid glass style to create visual hierarchy and depth, making navigation more intuitive.
2. Explore → Brands
Renamed the Explore tab to "Brands" to strengthen commercial connection and make product discovery more intuitive.
3. Community → Challenges
Renamed the Community tab to "Challenges" to strengthen gamification and motivation, making purpose immediately clear.
4. Categories Upfront
Restructured the 'Brands' tab to feature categories upfront (Food, Clothing, Shoes), preventing key information from being hidden.
Fig 1. Home Screen with Liquid Glass Nav • Fig 2. Brands Tab with Categories Upfront
Reflections
I started believing information was the primary barrier—if people just understood their carbon footprint, they'd act differently. Research dismantled that assumption.
Information without action pathways creates guilt, not change. The breakthrough came when I shifted from "understanding impact" to "taking the next small step."
The most surprising finding: social features drove engagement far more than I expected. Community challenges weren't secondary—they were essential infrastructure.
Scaling Potential
Aggregated across millions of decisions, personal choices create market signals. Carbon Compass is a prototype for turning individual intention into collective impact.