Wattsy
Wattsy is a creative challenge I took part in. The task was to create the visual design of an application that helps a household reduce their energy consumption. The main goal of the page, it was initially only a homepage, was to communicate how people’s current energy consumption compares to others in their neighborhood. Secondarily, they should be able to learn about actions they can take to reduce their spending. As part of the exercise I should assume anything else that would help simplify the problem.
Obviously I got carried away and ended up creating a mobile app. It made more sense to me.
As I researched I quickly realized that the units of measure used in most energy saving apps were not relevant to the end user, just like for myself they were abstract concepts. I found myself constantly more confused than when I actually open an electric bill.
In a world where the top grossing featured apps are games, a social and gamified approach to saving energy seemed like an obvious solution to me. Consumers are skeptical of energy companies and are not likely to take advice on energy savings from them, they would rather take advice from friends and peers.
My first idea was to create badges or points creating a reward system; however, after looking at some research I realized it could have a negative impact on users so instead I decided to focus on what the end consumer is really worried about: Saving money and the environment.
