Designing Sprout: A Lifestyle App for Mindful, Sustainable Living
Overview
Sprout is a sustainability-focused lifestyle app designed to help users make mindful, eco-friendly choices in their everyday lives. The app features tools such as a carbon footprint tracker, a product scanner that provides recyclability and environmental impact info, a community forum, curated sustainability tips, a local product locator, and customizable lists for personal eco-goals. The design emphasizes simplicity, motivation, and positive habit-building making sustainability more approachable and rewarding for everyone.
Goal
The goal of Sprout was to create an intuitive and engaging digital experience that educates and empowers users to live more sustainably. By integrating informative tools, gamified progress tracking, and a supportive community, the app encourages small, consistent actions that collectively make a big environmental impact. The project aimed to bridge the gap between information and action turning climate-conscious intentions into accessible daily habits.
Skills
UI Design
UX Design
Research
The goal of this research was to understand how individuals currently engage with sustainability practices through digital tools, identify barriers to action, and uncover opportunities to support more consistent eco-friendly behavior through a mobile experience.
I explored resources like the EPA’s calculator and Recycling Simplified to shape our content.
Key takeaways:
Recycling rules vary, causing confusion.
People don’t always understand a product’s full environmental impact.
Users prefer simple, personalized guidance over overwhelming data.
Competitor Analysis
We reviewed top sustainability apps like Klima, Earth Hero, and Kora to understand strengths and gaps.
What we found:
Most apps track carbon, but lack interactivity or local recycling help.
Scanning features exist but often forget past items or miss regional info.
Few apps offer rewards or progress tracking to keep users engaged.
The opportunity:
Combine scanner tools, eco education, local recycling guidance, and gamified features (like badges, streaks, and visual goals) for a more engaging, helpful experience.
Personas
Branding
The SPROUT logo was purposefully hand-drawn to evoke a sense of warmth, authenticity, and human connection. In a space often dominated by sterile data dashboards and minimalist tech design, this choice sets SPROUT apart as a grounded, approachable, and emotionally resonant brand.
By incorporating an imperfect, organic style, the logo mirrors the very values the app promotes: progress over perfection, conscious effort, and a return to more mindful living. The visual identity reinforces the idea that sustainability isn’t about being flawless it’s about growing, learning, and taking small, meaningful steps every day.
“Oh that’s cool — I’ve been meaning to get better about this stuff, but I never know where to start. SPROUT actually sounds doable.” - Bryce Hoen
Homescreen
The SPROUT home screen gives you a quick snapshot of your impact like how many eco actions you’ve taken, items you’ve recycled, and carbon you’ve saved, all shown in colorful progress rings. You’ve also got a streak tracker to keep you motivated, badges to show off what you’ve earned, and a daily tip that’s easy to scroll through and learn from. At the bottom, there are two handy cards: one to scan a product for recycling help, and one to find nearby refill stations. The layout’s clean, simple, and color-coded so everything’s easy to find.
Alternative Designs
Tips and Community
The Tips & Community page is all about making sustainable living feel easy and personal. You can filter tips by your state or local area, search for exactly what you need, and save your favorites with one quick tap. Each tip starts as a short card, but when you tap it, it expands to show the full post with more info. There’s also a saved section so you can keep track of the ones you want to come back to later. And if you’ve got a great idea to share, the “Add Post” button makes it simple to contribute to the community.
Tips and Community Page
Full Post
Add Post
Saved Tips
Product Scan
After scanning a product, you’re taken to a breakdown page that tells you exactly what material it’s made of, how (or if) it can be recycled, and where it impacts the environment like in manufacturing, packaging, or transportation. It also walks you through how to properly recycle it step-by-step, with tips to avoid mistakes.
Product Locator
The product locator helps you find nearby refill stations and eco-friendly stores based on your location. You can save your favorite spots for later. It’s like a little green guide in your pocket.
Personal Page
The personal page acts as your central space within the app. Here, you can access all your saved tips and community posts in one place, making it easy to revisit helpful info anytime. You’ll also find your earned badges on display, tracking your progress and celebrating the sustainable actions you’ve taken along the way.
User Flow
Wireframes
Home
Tips and Community
After Scan Page
Product Locator
Personal List Page
Badge
Takeaway
Designing SPROUT was all about keeping sustainability simple, approachable, and motivating. We focused on small, everyday actions—like tracking progress, earning badges, or scanning a product—that help people feel good about making better choices without the pressure. It’s not about being perfect, just about growing a little every day.