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  UX case study     Campaign  Trash Monsters


TIMELINE
Jan 2023
TEAM
Personal Project
ROLE
Concept, Design & Prototyping
TOOLS
Adobe CS
Figma
Spine



OverviewTrash Monsters is an app designed to reduce littering by making waste disposal more engaging. Instead of simply guiding users to nearby trash bins, the app introduces playful “Trash Monster” characters inspired by real trash bins, turning the act of throwing away garbage into an interactive experience. Users ‘feed’ their trash to these monsters, making a mundane task more enjoyable and rewarding while fostering a culture of responsible waste management in Seoul.

By integrating gamification and character design, Trash Monsters makes cleaning up the city feel rewarding rather than an obligation. This project was driven by the belief that small behavioral nudges, when designed well, can lead to meaningful environmental change—a step towards cleaner streets and a more engaged community.






CONCEPT

Background



Walking through the streets of Seoul, I frequently noticed piles of litter accumulating in areas without visible trash bins. The lack of proper disposal points, combined with the inconvenience of carrying trash, often led people to dump their waste irresponsibly. Rather than just pointing out where bins are located, I wanted to motivate action by turning the act of waste disposal into something people would actively want to do.



Seoul has only about 8 trash bins per square kilometer, a significantly lower number compared to other major cities. In contrast, Melbourne, Australia, had 80 bins per square kilometer in 2020, while New York, USA, had 29 in the same year. This scarcity makes it difficult for citizens to find disposal points, and the lack of awareness regarding bin locations further contributes to littering on sidewalks.









CHALLENGE

Problem Statement
How might we encourage responsible waste disposal in urban environments
by making the process more engaging and accessible?







QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

Survey

I analyzed data from the "2021 Administrative Service Satisfaction Survey"
conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government,
which gathered responses from 3,112 citizens.







QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Interview

To explore the issue from multiple perspectives,
I conducted in-person interviews with
sanitation worker, government official, general citizen.





SYNTHESIS

User Persona



SYNTHESIS

User Journey Map




SYNTHESIS

Problem & Solution





Let's combine the task of finding nearby trash bins with a gaming element,
turning trash disposal from a chore into an enjoyable activity.

Simply informing users about the location of trash bins assumes that they will go out of their way to dispose of their waste.
However, as previously mentioned, one of the reasons people litter is the inconvenience of seeking out trash bins.
Therefore, I propose a service that makes the act of disposing trash fun and enticing,
encouraging users to willingly travel even long distances to dispose of their waste.






IDEATION

Work Flow






IDEATION

Low-Fi Prototype







FINAL DESIGN

Key Features







GPS-Based Trash Monster Navigation
Trash Bin Location Provided By: Seoul Metropolitan Government

Using GPS, the app displays Trash Monsters around the user on the main screen. When a user touches a Trash Monster, navigation activates to guide them to the nearest trash bin.
Each bin awaits with an eager Trash Monster, and when the app recognizes that trash has been deposited in the bin, the corresponding monster grows.








AR-Enhanced
Trash Monster Navigation


With AR guidance, users can see Trash Monsters appear in the real world, waiting at designated bins. As they follow the path, the monster becomes more animated, reacting when trash is successfully disposed of, making waste disposal more engaging and rewarding.







My Trash Monsters:
Tracking Waste Disposal Progress


In the My Trash Monsters screen, users track their waste disposal progress as monsters grow based on their habits. The app highlights their most developed monster, making waste disposal engaging, rewarding, and fun.








Smart Waste Sorting & Bin Locator

Users can scan an item to identify its material and receive disposal instructions. The app provides clear recycling guidelines and directs users to the nearest appropriate trash bin, making waste sorting effortless and accessible.





FINAL DESIGN

Campaign

To spark interest, trash found on the streets will have a label saying ‘Give me to a trash bin’
and an arm of the Trash Monster attached to it, encouraging people to pick up and properly dispose of street litter.





The campaign aims to observe changes in attitudes toward picking up and properly disposing of street litter.
It also assesses the environmental impact of these actions while collecting valuable data and insights to inform future conservation efforts.


Practice


My approach involved attaching stickers with the message
‘Give me to a trash bin’ to trash found on the streets.
This initiative started experimentally within Konkuk university campus,
with the primary goal of encouraging people to pick up the stickered trash and dispose of it in trash bins.











When people scan the QR code attached to the trash,
a temporary map of trash bins within the campus is displayed.


Impact




The campaign gained significant attention within the university community. Photos of litter with the stickers sparked discussions on university community platforms, drawing widespread interest.
Many comments were positive, with numerous students expressing their intention to pick up and properly dispose of litter when they encountered it.

Over the course of a few days, a noticeable decrease in litter on campus was observed. This outcome suggests that the campaign was more than just an environmental initiative. It contributed to a shift in social awareness.

The strong community engagement and positive reactions demonstrated its effectiveness in promoting responsible behavior, highlighting its potential to influence attitudes toward environmental protection.





REFLECTIONS

Final TakeawaysWhile the Trash Monsters app was not fully developed, the campaign allowed me to observe real user reactions to waste disposal behavior. Seeing participants engage with the concept reinforced the potential of gamification in environmental action, but the lack of user testing for the app itself remains a missed opportunity. Testing how users interact with features like AR navigation and monster evolution would have provided deeper insights into optimizing engagement and usability. What I Learned...

Designing for behavioral change
Although the app was not developed, the campaign showed that playful incentives can influence real-world habits. It reinforced the importance of designing engaging, action-driven experiences to encourage sustainable behavior.


The need for user testing in interaction design:
Without direct user testing, validating interaction flows and refining engagement mechanics was limited. This highlighted the importance of iterative testing to ensure that digital interventions translate effectively into real-world impact.

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