HU APP - Gamified Food Waste Education

Project Overview

Project Type: Collaborative Project – BrainStation UX Design Bootcamp
Industry: Education · Sustainability · Gamification
Timeline: 2 weeks (2024)
Team: Collaborative with peers
Tools: Figma, Google Docs, Slack, Figma Slides
My Role: UX/UI Designer · UX Researcher · Copywriter · Prototyper

Problem Space
Food waste is a significant global issue with environmental, economic, and social consequences. In schools, large amounts of uneaten food are discarded daily, often due to limited awareness or education about its impact. This waste contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and resource depletion, while missing opportunities to foster sustainable habits among students.

Solution
We designed the HU App, an interactive platform that uses gamification, rewards, and impact tracking to engage students in learning about food waste. By combining education with playful design, the app empowers students to take meaningful action toward building sustainable habits.

Meet The Team

Secondary Research

✨ Research Synthesis

The interviews revealed that students care about food waste, but often lack awareness of its long-term impact. Many admitted they throw food away without thinking, and several said they would be motivated by rewards, progress tracking, or peer competition.

From these insights, we identified three key opportunities:

• Education through engagement → using gamification to make food waste awareness fun and interactive.

• Motivation through rewards → points, badges, and progress visuals encourage students to take action.

• Transparency through impact tracking → showing how individual actions contribute to a bigger collective result reinforces sustainable behavior.

These findings directly informed the design of the HU App, which combines learning, gamification, and impact visualization to build sustainable habits among students.

Design Challenge

How Might We expand hands-on educational programs for middle and high school students, empowering them to develop practical food waste management skills? 

Our Goal

Persona

Timmy represents students who lack awareness of food waste but are motivated by rewards and playful learning.

Timmy's Storyboard 

At school, Timmy notices a garbage bin that has tipped over and helps clean up, throwing away his unfinished sandwich without much thought. Later, in class, the teacher talks about food waste and introduces the HU app, sparking guilt and curiosity in Timmy.

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He downloads the app, creates an avatar, and explores its fun features, like challenges and tips for reducing waste. Motivated, Timmy starts using the app during lunch, making better choices and earning points. Inspired by his impact, he shares his experience with friends and family, showing how small actions can create big change.

UI Inspiration

Designing The Experience

Hi-Fidelity Wireframes → [View Prototype]