An item inventory system that utilizes custom NFC stickers to tag and document the life of your everyday items, keeping them relevant and loved for longer.
For my master's capstone project, my team examined the effects of overconsumption and presented a design response that aims to support sustainable consumer behaviors.
Feb - Aug 2020
6 months
User Research
Concept Development
UI Design
Technical Implementation
Visual Storytelling
My team was interested in tackling overconsumption + sustainability for this project and felt that there was a lot of potential from the angle of emotionally durable design.
We broke down our problem space by observing consumption at an individual level, then seeing how that impacts the larger collective.
Retailers are able to offer many readily available goods online through an easy ordering process, and can ship it to you almost instantly. In addition, modern marketing targets our desire to experience new things or jump on the latest trends. By encouraging these impulses, consumers are making less conscious purchases.
Between that initial purchase to time of disposal, these items are present in our lives. However, plans for an impulsive purchase tend to be ill-defined, meaning the consumer might not use the item as intended. Eventually, the item will become another accumulated good sitting in their home, and the consumer moves on to the next fleeting interest.
Forgotten, unused, or broken objects eventually contribute to a significant portion of waste in the US, making 267.8 million tons of waste per year of discarded consumer products. This cycle of overproducing and discarding contributes to the decline of our environment and resources.
Stats by the Environmental Protection Agency
The rise of big business had turned America into a culture of consumers constantly desiring, buying, and using commodities to display their success and shape their identity. As a result, Americans spend nearly two-thirds of our $11 trillion economy on consumer goods. While it has fueled our economic growth, it has pushed us into a dangerous age of overconsumption.
Stats by Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic
Toy Story was a big inspiration for my team. We loved the idea of forming relationships with treasured objects, each one carrying precious memories, and a sense of loss when they were forgotten.
Sustainable ownership is cultivating a lasting relationship with an object by utilizing it to achieve goals, while making memories along the way, leading these items to be relevant for longer.
By changing our behavior towards ownership, we can engage in better purchasing and disposal practices.
The Delightful Things stickers are applied to your belongings. When scanned with an NFC enabled phone, your device will launch it's unique item page.
The Delightful Things app acts as an item inventory system where you can house your collection of items that you have tagged with the NFC stickers.
Link or upload your item's care information. This can include manuals, assembly videos, warranty, disposal instructions, and maintenance partners.
Partnered businesses can preload their care information onto the sticker so their customers can access it right away and avoid misplacing it.
Keep track of all the parts, cords, and accessories that keep your item functional and personalized.
Input care information for individual components or add the storage location if it is not always with the main item.
Add goals and check them off when you accomplish them. Save links and videos off the web that inspire and support your ambitions.
Add memories in the form of photos and text, look back at your accomplished goals, and connect relevant content or tracking apps.
Receive nudges and reminders from objects that need some love.
In the case that life gets in the way and your things get pushed aside, all your information still lives on the object when you decide to return to it.
My team spent 11 weeks planning and conducting research for this project. We delivered a research report outlining our opportunity space, research objectives, methods, insights, and design opportunities.
We wanted to explore how we can bring more sustainable behaviors to consumerism. While there are many sustainable options in the single use product category, we found there was a very inconsistent effort in the “durable goods” category.
So, how are longer term consumer goods impacting this problem space? We identified three stages of the product life cycle to conduct our research.
Everyone is a consumer but we narrowed our research scope to a specific target group in order to more easily identify specific behaviors, circumstances, and possible opportunities.
We selected this target group because:
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on emotionally durable design, consumption, circular economy, ownership, and sustainability.
that work in circular economy, industrial ecology, eco-organization, sustainability communications, and waste management.
to learn about their habits and behaviors during the different stages of the product lifespan.
for purchasing and assessing durable, sustainable items.
With our capstone advisor, we analyzed our data and used affinity mapping to identify themes and insights.
01. Code Interview Data
02. Examine Pain Points
03. Extract Insights
“I expected it to do more significant things, and make more differences to my life than a regular watch”
— Participant 12
“The next evolution in the Experience Economy is likely to be the Transformation Economy. The new exchange of currency and service will be based on companies helping consumers achieve desired outcomes through experiences; not just bearing witness to an event. This will require us to understand where customers are currently in their lives and what they want to become.”
— Joe Pine article
Due to ever more sophisticated targeted marketing, consumers are making purchases that they expect to transform themselves or their lives.
“A nespresso machine would save on disposable cup waste generation but not on the embodied carbon in the nespresso machine or the sheer number of pods, not to mention the energy to keep the coffee machine on. It will be a net loss for the environment”
— Robert Little, Industrial Ecology Expert
“Our review of sustainability metrics uncovered close to 200 distinct indicators in each of three categories — environmental, social, and governance— resulting in 557 total indicators.”
— Columbia University article
Even purchases labeled as ‘sustainable’ create false promises to the consumer and do not create impact that offsets making the purchase in the first place.
“I am often disappointed by things I buy online, doesn’t meet set expectations”
— Participant 11
“As of 2017, the generation of durable goods in MSW was 57.1 million tons (21.4 percent of total MSW generation)and landfills received 37.2 million tons (26.7 percent of total landfilling).”
— Epa.gov article
With the accessibility and ease of online shopping, purchases can be thoughtless. Therefore, these purchases are frequently unable to meet ill-defined expectations and end up discarded.
“I bought glitter and decorative tape, I was into the idea of art journaling when I was traveling more and it's still sitting unopened”
— Participant 15
“I have grad school aspirations. I bought it [GRE prep book] hoping I would use it to prepare but I got caught up with work and didn’t use it anymore”
— Participant 5
Integrating items into your life requires thought and planning, which is often a skipped step, leading these items to be unused.
“This cat is special, he’s got a terminal illness, every day I wanna give him the best life possible. Got the backpack for adventures with him”
— Participant 7
“Something that gives me satisfaction, inspiration, something that allows me to expand my knowledge. With drums, I never played but picked it up. I learned something and now I can be proud of how far ive come, thats worth the most.”
— Participant 4
Being a sustainable consumer actually begins at ownership, through consciously purchasing items we will value and thoughtfully integrating those items into our lives.
“People tend to hold onto memories in objects”
— Julie Coraccio, Eco-organizer
“I’m not a huge video game person, my brother is. I purchased that [Switch Lite] to have a shared connection with him. We play games together and have something to talk about. He would pass down his games to me, that was really memorable and cute and I have a stronger relationship with my brother”
— Participant 2
Sustainable ownership, is cultivating a lasting relationship by achieving the plans set out for the item and making memories along the way, which leads to items being relevant for longer.
We identified potential design opportunities within the three stages of the product life cycle.
Purchase
Value-based shopping
Product & brand research
Redesigning product information
Ownership
Product life planning
Sharing economy
Product care
Disposal
Circular programs
Resource recovery
End of life object evaluation
Initially, our interest was to take our insights and principles and apply them to the purchasing process of the consumer object lifecycle.
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Our participants were interviewing from their homes, surrounded by their belongings and could easily reference or recall more stories and anecdotes.
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After the first 6 participants, we had a light analysis session to find some early themes and make adjustments to our protocol based on what we wanted to focus in on.
We developed a few design principles to consider through concept generation and down-selection.
Designing a guilt free experience
to make sustainable consumption more approachable
Support Personal Values
to provide room for users to better understand why a purchase was important to them
Embody Personality
because we agreed the solution needs to be fun and engaging in order to be adopted
Easy and Frictionless
since we want to create a seamless addition to the interaction between users and their objects
Promoting Longevity
because our core belief is that objects should stand the test of time so our design should too
My team ideated and sketched out 60 concepts applicable to the three stages of the product cycle, staying flexible even though we initially chose to address purchasing.
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We then completed an affinity mapping exercise with our concepts by categorizing them into the following buckets related to purchasing:
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Consumers have to consider many factors that affect their purchasing such as price, accessibility, quality, aesthetics, business ethics, and brand loyalty.
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Consumers become overwhelmed by trying to make sustainable purchases due to research fatigue and the lack of transparent information from companies.
Our team then tried to outline simpler to understand values that would make a sustainable purchase.
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We decided to examine the stuff we already own and do a retrospective exercise of categorizing our own items based on these values.
When we started discussing why, we realized that most of these objects were able to be used as intended, were embedded within our stories and memories, and represented our personal values in a way that made them relevant for years, sometimes decades.
From there, we were able to see the potential of focusing on building meaning rather than buying meaning. We believe good ownership will positively influence people's purchasing and disposal behaviors.
The practices and behaviors we want our design to support.
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The functionality that will facilitate those practices and behaviors.
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With our concept direction finalized, we started designing the user experience and selected the most suitable technology to facilitate the user interactions.
We envisioned our system would be accessed on web and mobile app. But with time constraints, we chose to focus on the mobile experience because it encompassed all features and could be used anywhere.
We used a wireframe kit to quickly flesh out our ideas and features.
Our team explored technologies that could store and transfer data, and identified near-field communication (NFC) as the best choice overall. An NFC chip can store URL links, and can launch a specific link when activated by a device reading the tag.
This way, the object's information is always attached to the object. Users should not need to look online or in their physical space to find the information they need about the object.
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We read “As We May Think”, by Vannevar Bush which talked about how the vision for the first computer was that it would be an extension of the mind, as human memory is imperfect. We kept this in mind, as our product aims to remind us of our relationships with our objects, which are not often top of mind.
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We learned the importance of being deliberate in determining which technological solution best fits the use. We initially proposed that we could use computer vision to recognize an item and retrieve its information. However it was clear that would be incredibly complex, and so we looked into more low tech solutions which paid off with the use of NFC stickers.
Delightful Things is an item inventory system that utilizes custom NFC stickers to tag and document the life of your everyday items, keeping them relevant and loved for longer.
Near-field Communication (NFC) is short-range radio communication technology. NFC tags are unpowered NFC chips that draw power from a nearby smartphone to transfer data wirelessly. NFC-enabled devices can open web links, make payments, perform app actions, and more.
We created a starter sticker pack with a variety of NFC tag types to suit different types of objects. We had some fun with the designs to give your stuff a delightful personal touch.
Before stickers are in the hands of users, we have to write an item page link to an NFC tag. Using an NFC reader and NFC software, we were able to write our item page links onto the tags instantly.
Item pages can be pre-loaded with partnered brand's product information or they can start off as blank item pages.
When users receive the stickers, they will be pre-populated with an item page link and ready to scan. A user can place their NFC-enabled device over the sticker and a NFC notification will pop-up when it has been detected.
From there, we were able to see the potential of focusing on building meaning rather than buying meaning. We believe good ownership will positively influence people's purchasing and disposal behaviors.
My teammate Hani ran a mix of concept and usability testing with 5 participants. We were interested in surveying whether people could easily understand the concept structure, affordances, and design elements and if they could imagine integrating this into their own life.
Our design concept was very well-received and we got great feedback on where we could improve the experience, especially regarding onboarding and instructions.
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Based on participant feedback, we would refine the instructions and introduction to the NFC technology and how it works.
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We would also refine the sticker pack to provide clarity on how certain stickers are for aesthetic preferences while others are specified for certain types of object materials and activities.
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We would implement a website version for viewing and adding information to large collections.
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The app provides the opportunity to sync with other devices like the FitBit, or apps like Strava and we would like to consider more possible integrations with Delightful Things.
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We would also conduct further usability testing to determine how the app would influence behavior over time and what types of objects, memories, and goals users would be inclined to add.
Our story arc follows the everyday life of a young consumer. In this concept, they become intrigued by a new activity or interest they want to pursue, resulting in an immediate online purchase. Once the purchase arrives, they receive a Delightful Things starter kit through a partnership with company of the purchased good.
The user is then taken through the onboarding process: downloading the app, cataloging items, and applying stickers to their belongings. Over time, the user goes through different scenarios showcasing the different use cases for Delightful Things. Ultimately, they have new experiences, form new habits, and accomplish their intended personal goals by using their belongings to their fullest potential.
With this concept, we wanted to be relatable but empowering. We all know the feeling of buying something with great aspirations and then feeling guilty when it sits in the corner gathering dust. This storyline acknowledges that struggle but proposes steps people can take to keep these objects relevant in their life. We hope viewers can envision using Delightful Things with their own belongings and the fulfillment that comes with it.
Based off our basic storyline, we took a first pass at storyboarding the experience. I drafted the mobile app wireframes and Zara sketched all the frames.
Feeling bored, Derek looks out the window to see someone biking outside. He gets the idea to start biking.
He goes online to order a bike that same day. It quickly arrives and he's excited to get it set up.
Inside the package, he finds the Delightful Things starter kit. He scans the sticker to open a webpage that stores info on the bike.
He learns more about the Delightful Things service and decides to create an account and download the app.
He then adds the bike to his collection in the app and applies the sticker to the bike.
With 3 extra stickers in the starter kit, he thinks of the different items he can add to build his collection.
Derek becomes proactive in using his things with Delightful Things, forming new memories and relationships.
Time passes and bike has been well loved. Derek passes down the bike to his son and transfers all the memories and care information to him.
After a round of feedback, we needed to start thinking about how we were going to bring this story to life. We created a set of photo storyboards to help us plan out our video. This process helped us select shooting locations, prepare props, set up shots, and think about how we would transition from one scene to another.
Setting the Scene
Order and receive bike
Learning about Delightful Things
Apply sticker and set bike goal
Goal reminder notification
Reminds
On bike ride and logging with Strava
Runs into a friend, adds photo memory
Completes biking goal
Bike breaks down, scan for care info
Takes bike in for repair at local shop
Send off bike to a friend
Nintendo Switch use case
Hand Mixer use case
We felt it was better to first demonstrate all the features of our product through one object versus jumping between multiple objects to help emphasize its utility. We were able to tell a richer story when going into more depth through one object.
We also altered the characters of the story from a parent/child relationship to a friendship, so that we could produce the video on a tight budget; we had my teammates acting in the scenes.
We chose to tell our story through the actions and inner thoughts of our lead character, Emma. We hear her thoughts as she makes decisions and uses the Delightful Things service. When she learns about Delightful Things, we introduce it with its own narrative voice, to explain informational aspects of the product.
As Emma's journey continues, the narrator explains all the different features she is demonstrating. We added the informational voice to give viewers a clear explanation while showing an authentic experience using Delightful Things.
Actors/Voice Actors — Zara, Hani
Videographer — Gaby
Script Writers — Zara, Hani, Gaby
Video Editors — Zara, Gaby
Props/Visual Assets — Gaby
Animations — Zara, Derek O'Dell
Music — Louie Zong
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