Boks
Problem
There is massive waste and an untapped market in the food prep industry. Users tend to waste when they have an opportunity to compost.
Solution
Crowd-sourced composting with a service that helps you make delicious meals every day at competitive prices subsidized by compost sales.
Boks
Winter 2021 (10 Weeks)
Human Factors
Boks
Winter 2021 (10 Weeks)
Human Factors
Problem
There is massive waste and an untapped market in the food prep industry. Users tend to waste when they have an opportunity to compost.
Solution
Crowd-sourced composting with a service that helps you make delicious meals every day at competitive prices subsidized by compost sales.
Interaction Designer
I designed how the user interacts with the products through input and output.
UX Strategist
I mapped out the user journeys and defined product roadmaps based on business and user needs.
Chief Storyteller
I crafted team check-in presentations, presented them, and coached other teammates on presentation strategy and performance.
Zero waste means conserving limited resources and eliminating waste and pollution, leaving no discharge that harms the environment or human health (EPA, 2018). We started by framing why it stays so hard to adopt.
Designing for a circular economy
A circular economy shares the goal of zero waste: keep materials in use and away from oceans, landfills, and incinerators. It follows three principles (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017).
Design out waste
Remove waste and pollution at the source, before they are ever created.
Keep materials in use
Hold products and materials in the economy for as long as possible.
Regenerate nature
Return nutrients to the soil and regenerate natural systems and cycles.
We researched how social dynamics shape individual behavior, and where young consumers lose the most waste, to find the real opportunity.
How we researched
A mix of quantitative reach and qualitative depth, across four methods.
Written questionnaire
343
responses on perceived own and others' behavior
Interviews
5
on social relationships and their pull on habits
Diary studies
5
tracking in-situ waste behavior and reflections
Contextual inquiries
2
observing how people handle waste at home
The Goalkeeper
"I can and will do my part to save the Earth!" High control, positive attitude. Goalkeepers are the main adopters. They believe everyone has the power to change, try new ways to cut waste, and lead others' habits bit by bit.
The Feels Bad Man
"I know it's not good but I can't help it." Low control, positive attitude. They understand the benefits and want to be better, but feel limited by their situation. They do their best within their limits and lean on friends' prompts.
The Nay-doer
"I have more to worry about." High control, neutral attitude. They stick with whatever is most efficient and effective, keep costs low, and value convenience. Pro-environmental messaging does not land with them.
The Dependent
"I can't do much anyway, so why bother?" Low control, neutral attitude. They hold a live-in-the-moment outlook, value convenience and price, and are prone to impulse purchases. They rarely intervene in consumption they feel they cannot control.
Three human themes
Across the mindsets, three patterns pointed to where a design could intervene.
Timely intervention
Most of us know the right thing to do but need a reminder at the right time and tone to act on it.
Not my place
Positive influence stalls when people feel uncomfortable correcting or reminding others.
Households shape habits
In a shared home, new rules and habits form together, so a household can change every member for the better.
The opportunity is in composting
We generated concepts against the design questions, then scored them on feasibility and impact to choose where to invest.
The gap we chose
Fruits, vegetables, roots, and tubers
45%
are wasted globally (WWF)
We prototyped the box, bag, and rewards dashboard, then tested them across two rounds to see what people actually read, kept, and acted on.
First test: the meal-kit box
First test: the rewards system
Designing a box with a personality
Understanding home cooks pointed us toward a friendlier, more legible set of touchpoints.
Personify the touchpoints
Anthropomorphism builds a relationship between the user and the act of storing compost.
Remind where they'll see it
Put friendly reminders in the exact places users encounter while cooking.
Label where they read
Clear instructions land right where users look, so understanding takes no effort.
Second test: the box
The bag earned its keep
The personified ingredient bag was the clearest win of the second round.
Second test: the rewards
The Boks system
A box that becomes a bin
It splits into recyclable and compostable compartments, and puts its instructions on the side flaps, the one place people reliably look.
Boks box open, showing the two compartments and side-flap instructions
A reminder you won't throw away
The personified ingredient bag nudges users to store food scraps as they cook, then rolls up to go in the fridge.
Personified ingredient bag with reminder copy
Impact you can watch add up
Quantified impact and monetary rewards track on the meal-kit service's dashboard, using the goal-gradient effect to keep users coming back.
Rewards and progress dashboard screens
Recyclables compartment
Holds packaging waste separated from food scraps.
Compostables compartment
Collects food waste for return and composting.
Side-flap instructions
Mission-critical steps live where users actually read.
The character
The personified face that makes the box feel worth cooperating with.
Return label
Stuck on for collection day, when a fresh Boks arrives.
Janet's week with Boks
Janet orders a meal kit that integrates with Boks. As she unpacks, friendly reminders tell her to store the waste. She uses the box as a bin, sorting recyclables and compostables, and moves her ingredient bags to the fridge. When she cooks, the bag reminds her to store scraps and packaging; she rolls it up and freezes it. On collection day she repacks the bags, sticks on the return label, and hands the box to our staff for a fresh one. She is rewarded for what she sends back and tracks her progress on the dashboard, while Boks composts the waste and sells it to local farmers.
