From the beginning of this project one of our major goals was to create a fun and engaging experience for users that informed them of fast-food chains sustainability goals to help keep these large companies held accountable.
From the start of this project we sought to work with a new medium that was unfamiliar to us, augmented reality. While we could of spent time trying to figure out how a cat tree would look in the corner of a room, we decided instead to focus this on the waste created by major fast food chains. While typically the word “waste” is a PR nightmare when attached to these restaurants it still hasn’t stopped many of them from setting future waste management goals for themselves.
We sought to create a fun and engaging experience for users that informed them of these goals, or lack there of, and to keep these chains held accountable.
This was achieved through an AR system that after hovering over a companies logo would display:
What Plans/Goals the company has for its future.
The amount of food wasted by a company (whether it is donated or thrown out)
The amount of packaging wasted by the company (whether it is made from recycled goods or not)
ULTIMATELY! Give users tips on how they can mitigate waste, or alternative options if a company’s practices are not as eco friendly
Roles & Responsibility
What I brought to the table
Over the course of this project my role shifted and changed throughout this process to fit the needs of my smaller team. While all three of us were able to be flexible with whatever challenges were met.
For this project my main focus was on:
Assisting with initial research both into fast food chain sustainability reports but also into commonly used AR practices already used.
The creation as well as assisted in running our teams initial survey that looked at individuals common fast food practices.
Throughout the design phase of this project our group worked individually at first to create initial Lo-Fi sketches and layout mockups.
From Mid-Fi on we worked as a team combining and testing our prototype through its many iterations.
Lastly I assisted with shooting video for our initial AR mock-up Hi-Fi prototype.
Our Prototype In Action
Executive Summary
Problems Addressed
Created an engaging system that let customers view sustainability goals of various fast food chains in a new way.
Within this system we brought attention to how much waste was accrued from just one order
Created a way to redirect customers to more eco friendly establishments.
Competitive Analysis
Currently there really isn’t any competition within this space other then between fast food chains. Our experience is a one of kind platform used to bring attention to these fast food chains that are duking it out.
User Testing & Iterations
While we performed a lot of AB testing throughout the process because this was our first time designing for augmented reality finding a way to truly test this application would be one of the biggest next steps we would have going forward. While we were able to test lower fidelity iterations we never had the opportunity to truly test a working prototype.
Final outcome
From the beginning of this project one of our major goals was to create a fun and engaging experience for users that informed them of fast food chains sustainability goals to help keep these large companies held accountable.
At this current time we feel this initial goal was successfully achieved! In our platforms current state we have:
Brought to the forefront of customers eyes the sustainability goals of multiple chain restaurants. Something that from our experience was usually buried deep within a website.
Created a system that displays for them what an average meals waste might look like.
Lastly we packaged all of this into a product that looks at the world through a different lens. By using augmented reality our platform has become a much more engaging experience then a google search or typical app could deliver.
Problem Statement
The Why
While the majority of society is highly aware of global warming and its causes for the most part nobody is willing to pay attention to a problem that is quickly spiraling out of control. Over the course of a year on average 2 billion tons of garbage is created by humans alone with this number only rising and expecting to hit 3.4 billion tons by 2050. While many companies are trying to help slow this through the use of recycling packaging and other goods this doesn’t discount the many companies that are not doing a thing to stop or even slow their waste production.
Hypothesis
We believe that by bringing to light the work or lack there of companies are doing to fight global warming we can help influence, or at the very least make someone pause for a second when they decide where to go for lunch. By helping to create a more informed society we believe we can help keep more companies held accountable for their lack of action.
Target Users
What our audience looks like.
As this project developed and moved forward we came to the conclusion as a group that this platform we were creating didn’t have a particular target audience.
Growing landfills and the amount of waste that comes from almost everything we purchase or do has a huge impact on the whole of society, therefore our audience for this project would be society as a whole.
Scope & Constraints
A few challenges needed to overcome
From the get-go my group and I had a few challenges to overcome throughout this project
First and foremost we wanted to work with a medium we were unfamiliar with being Augmented Reality.
Transitioning to AR from standard screens meant as a team we had extra research to perform with regards to established rules used to develop AR experiences.
Another big constraint we had going into this project was the time frame. From the start of ideation over our direction to the final turn-in of deliverables my team and I only had 2 weeks to complete all of this.
Because of the timeframe we faced it meant zeroing in on a list of functions we wanted our prototype to perform.
We quickly had to narrow the scope of the project and decide what was feasible with the length of time we had to work.
Questions for survey
Weight of individual items taken to assist in calculating total waste per order.
Ideation & Brainstorming
Where we started
Initial Research into this project began with us looking at major chain fast food restaurants like McDonalds, Starbucks, Chipotle, Taco Bell, etc. and diving into any available waste & sustainability reports.
This initial research lead my team to want to focus on three popular fast food chains for our prototype: McDonalds, Chipotle, and Starbucks.
From here we performed a survey on nine individuals trying to find out the experience these individuals have had both with AR as well as their habits when it came to eating out.
Another thing we were able to do after establishing 3 locations was ordering different items and weighing out the waste that was left behind to get an idea how much trash a meal out created.
Survey Results
We had 24hr’s to turn around our survey and were able to get nine participants during this small window. A few things I personally found interesting that came to light from our survey was:
How often individuals tend to eat out over the course of a week. (Most opting to eat out up to 5 times a week.)
While many individuals still chose to visit a place to eat out, just about as many people would prefer to just order takeout from online services.
Although everyone surveyed was under the age of 30 none of these individuals had much experience using AR for anything other then social media filters or games like Pokémon GO!
Possible Solutions
From the get go my group and I knew AR would play a role in the final deliverable but how would be the real question.
We decided we wanted to bring to attention to our users what there favorite restaurants were doing to minimize their global foot print. To achieve this we wanted to give our viewers:
Companies sustainability goals going forward where applicable.
The Progress these companies had made so far.
An idea of what materials (paper, plastic, etc.) make up the average order at an establishment.
Lastly and to us most importantly we wanted to create a waste scoring system to give users a quick grade for.
Future sustainability promises
% of recyclable materials provided for each sale
Contribution to global emissions.
Design Iterations
Lo-Fi Sketches
At the early stages of development we decided as a team to break off for a day to get all of our own ideas we had on some paper. This allowed for a larger swathe of ideas to start with when we came back together.
After coming back together the following day we brought all our ideas together and mixed them up in a pile so we could go through together and pick and choose ideas or aspects we all preferred.
This exercise really influenced our upcoming prototypes especially when moving to Mid-Fi.
Mid-fi Prototype
At the mid-fi iteration is really where development ramped up for us. At this stage we were beginning to bring aspects from each of our Lo-Fi’s together to into multiple layouts to try and figure out what, for us, worked!
During the mid-fi stage is when we began doing extra research into current augmented reality design standards and trends.
One of the biggest tips we incorporated into our system was the use of a transparent background that allowed users to still view their surroundings but still read any copy in our system.
Mid-Fi prototype possible color palate
At this stage we hadn't yet narrowed down a color palette so similar to our Lo-fi iterations we split up real quick to each create a couple palettes. After coming back together we brought our options together and smashed them together to create the palette at the bottom.
Our Color Palate Direction
When it came to adopting our platform to major fast food chains we decided that we wanted to adopt there own palette to our system.
Hi-Fi Iteration 1
Hi-Fi Iteration 2
Final Solutions
Hi-fi prototype (1)
Our Hi-Fi prototype finished as two separate iterations. This first one seen in action sought to use floating modules for the user to interact with and take in information. This format is something we think would work best with phone / tablet devices due to there smaller screen it would let users dive into each individual section easier to take in content.
Hi-fi Prototype (2)
Our second iteration focused more on users with wearable technology such as AR glasses or headsets. Because of the wider field of view the user has to interact with this iteration allows for users to scroll through the information as simply as they might scroll through their smartphones.
Atomic Design
Going Forward
Next up
This project still has so much room for growth. For starters we only focused initially on a handful of fast food chains and never had the opportunity to do research into dozens of other chains’ sustainability reports.
Being able to test our Hi-fi Prototype in situ would be a large goal of mine. While working with paper prototypes helped us gather invaluable data during the early stages, being able to test our platform as it was meant to be would really help us hone into a tighter more finished iteration.
Lastly the ability to do some of the extra features we had wanted during the start such as options for restaurants that are similar but more eco friendly.
