Market Research Findings

1. Bring Awareness to UN Goal #12

2. Fill Low-waste Resources Gap

3. Encourage Global Participation

1. Fossil Fuel Consumption

Teach kids about fossil fuels and how we use them in manufacturing so they know the eco-cost of consuming goods. Deliverables: Fossil
Free USA Collaborative Video

2. Donations as Reusability

By reframing donation drives as a form of reusing, kids can learn that donating something creates a much longer product life cycle. Deliverables: School Event, Donation Rally, Game

3. Debunking the Recycling Myth

Teach kids how a single-use plastic item is recycled and why recycling should be a last resort after reducing/reusing. Deliverables: Educational Animation, Kids Activity

“I've never heard of low-waste living but I can understand it from context. It's trying to save as much as possible and not just throwing things away."

— Jimmy, Fifth Grader

Xander, Age 7 (Pseudonym)

A fourth grader who tries to recycle at home with his family. He says his Dad throws a lot of stuff in the trash but Eric likes to keep as much scrapes as possible in his bedroom, on his old desk. He was proud of donating items to the Burke Museum with the reward of his name on a plaque on the wall.

Ulyssa, Age 9 (Pseudonym)

A fourth grader who mainly recycles at home with her family and also donates clothes and other items to Goodwill. She knows that trash ends up in a “huge island in the ocean, that is the size of Texas,” and it makes her feel bad. What Ulyssa is referring to is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Rachel, Age 10 (Pseudonym)

A fifth grader who frequently donates her clothes and toys that she out-grows, to her friend or to Goodwill. Together with her parents, they mainly recycle paper products and she has a designated box full of scrape materials in her household, for future school projects and at home arts and craft activities.

Jimmy, Age 11 (Pseudonym)

A fifth grader who enjoys composting and protesting for the environment with his school at a local park, but ultimately wants to join larger public environmental protests to be taken more seriously and feel a part of the global eco-movement. He says that, “recycling is reusing and compost is giving back.”

Task Analysis one: matching worksheet

The key to low-waste living is knowing how to replace a disposable item for a reusable item. Each student was given the same worksheet. The task was to match a disposable item from the left column, to its reusable item on the right column. This is Erics’ completed worksheet.

Task Analysis two: voting on a style

Market research showed that an illustrative style is a good approach when designing for kids. Each student viewed four different illustration styles (ABCD) to vote on which style they liked best, and why. Style B won.

“Low-waste doesn't mean buying new things to be plastic free. Get through things before trying a sustainable option. Don’t consume something new when you don’t need to.”

— Eco-Collective, Co-Owner

First prototype

Before rendering Episode One, this lo-fi prototype maps out the story, animation action and VoiceOver script in key frames. With quick iterations I balanced showing the problem of waste with a solution to prevent kids from eco-anxiety.

Expert Review Takeaway: Explain more of why kids should build these low-waste habits, not just how to.

Final Prototype

This final version keeps most of the original story and finally uses the name No More 4.4, that the experts liked most. Overall it conveys a friendly tone with upbeat music.

Prototype Adjustments: Highlighted below, I added frames 2-8 to explain the meaning behind ‘No More 4.4’ to show why USA’s waste is a problem and how kids can help the UN reduce waste.