When we kicked off our "Learn Lounge" project, we set ourselves an ambitious task: to build a concept app in just two weeks. With only three of us on the team, we knew we had to move fast and think creatively. This article will take you through our approach, process, and what we learned – including how we implemented sustainable design.

'We set ourselves an ambitious task: to build a concept app in just two weeks.'

What we did

We embarked on a  two-week sprint to build a concept app with the theme of "Food Waste Reduction", through the lens of sustainable UX and UI principles. 

We looked at several different opportunity areas to see what was achievable and meaningful, and decided on the following:

• Providing access to food for people experiencing food insecurity, our main focus
• Showing users that the app itself was sustainable

We presented our concept to a fictitious client, the product owner and marketing manager at "SaveBite"(roles taken on by two members of staff not on the project) and aimed to create a prototype that could be pitched to their board to gain outside investment. This process gave us a chance to run through the motions of a real project, from initial research to client presentation, in a way that felt challenging and rewarding.

How we approached it

With a clear goal in mind – to learn as much as possible and deliver a viable concept in two weeks,  we set up a safe space for experimentation. Allowing for quick decision making and room to make and learn from our mistakes without fear. We worked with a tight timeline, forcing us to make decisions swiftly and effectively, often with limited information, but using our expertise to help guide us.

'We set up a safe space for experimentation.'

We set up a full project environment using our standard tools - Confluence, Jira, and completing timesheets. We held “client” review sessions to mirror a real-world scenario. By treating the project as “real” we maintained a structured process with realistic parameters. However, by acknowledging that this wasn’t actually real we removed some of the pressures that come with that. This was a learning process, and to learn requires the opportunity to make mistakes. We made it very clear between us that it was ok to try new things, and for them to be unsuccessful - as long as we learned from it. We made it ok to not be “perfect” and that was incredibly freeing. It didn’t actually reduce our output quality at all in the end, it just removed the fear of letting anyone down which in turn promoted confidence.

'Our focus was on having fun while also learning.'

Our way of working

We began with two sessions to define our goals and timebox all of our work. To speed up the process, we used AI tools like ChatGPT and Miro AI to generate a company profile and project summary, minimising the time spent on setup, as this information  would normally be supplied by the client. This allowed us to focus on the core of our project: developing a sustainable concept app. We did not use AI to support the project deliverables, just to provide some fictional context.

We conducted research on food insecurity, looking at UK data and analysing both direct and indirect competitors. We examined community-driven apps, resources for tackling food insecurity, and sustainability-focused apps to understand what was already out there. Our goal was to create something unique yet practical, concentrating on the needs of all users.

'A fifth of UK households are struggling to get access to good quality food at reasonable prices.'

Food Security Report

Sustainable UX and UI design

Sustainability and accessibility guided our design choices throughout the sprint. Unlike many projects where increasing dwell time is key, our UX aimed to reduce users' time on the app to save battery and screen time. We followed "Web Sustainability Guidelines" similar to the Web Accessibility Guidelines, but with an eco-friendly focus.

'The digital industry is responsible for 2-5% of global emissions, more than the aviation industry.'

W3C Introduction to Web Sustainability Guidelines

Key UX aspects

• Streamlined user journey: We designed a simple, intuitive journey with minimal steps, allowing users to quickly find what they need
  
• Minimal content: By using clear and concise language, we made navigation intuitive and accessible. We focused on using fewer images, only to emphasise the human aspect of the brand, and avoided videos to keep energy use low
  
• Easy searching and categorisation: Users could search food by tags, organised into food groups to promote nutrition knowledge. Special tags like "To be eaten today" helped further reduce waste
  
• Personalisation: During onboarding, users set their preferences to ensure the food displayed is relevant to them and to create a tailored "bag size" for sustainable consumption
  

'If the Internet were a country it would be one of the top five polluters.'

W3C Introduction to Web Sustainability Guidelines

Key UI principles

• Minimalism: Smaller page loads use less energy, therefore we eliminated digital clutter. 
• Reduced use of images: Fewer images means less energy consumption. Saved energy means saved electricity for the end user that is likely to have financial limitations.
• Typography choice: Geist Sans, a San Serif font was chosen for screen legibility. This was due to the visible difference between capital height and its ascenders, and the letters being easily distinguishable from one another (for example with I-i-L-l-1)
• Eco-Friendly colour palette: Dark mode was set as the default to reduce light emitted by screens, saving energy particularly on OLED devices. We purposely created a colour palette using the least energy intensive colours: Black, green and red.
• Optimised Icons: Simple, consistent and friendly icons were used as a replacement for food imagery. Avoiding photos of actual products saves data uploads and on-screen processing

Brand identity

We applied findings from our brand research to create a very quick brand identity and logo. Usually brand design would be a whole project in itself, so this was ambitious to include as a tiny part of a single sprint. Knowing we couldn’t achieve our usual standards, we approached this as a bit of fun rather than spend time selecting a stock logo.

Initially we explored ideas that focused on the cycles of re-generation and rotation. Sustainable brands generally incorporate arrows to indicate reusability and regeneration. However, we wanted to focus on the theme of fresh food. In particular what best represented fresh, local and accessible produce.

This led us to the green tomato, with its slightly wonky shape, and a starlike stem created from many arrows aimed at the same focal point. The rationale behind this was:

• The tomato is a universal food, used by almost all cultures in the UK, from soups to pasta sauce to salads and curries
• The wonky shape reflects food that can often end up going to waste for not meeting over idealised standards
• The green colour reinforces the sustainable ethos of the product, and shows that it provides an alternative to the normal red tomato

Key takeaways

• Achieving more in less time: Our experiment showed how much could be accomplished in a short space of time with a focused, efficient approach - with minimal amends from the client
  
• Sustainability matters: We learnt the importance of sustainable design by integrating it into every stage of the project, from concept to delivery
  
• Quality doesn’t have to suffer: Even with tight deadlines, a structured approach and strong team alignment kept the quality high. The key was setting clear expectations and achievable goals at the start, and of course having a talented team that are confident in their areas of expertise
  
• Adapting to new challenges: Working with new tools, minimal resources, and tight timelines taught us to be resourceful, adaptive, and creative

Conclusion

In just two weeks, we were able to deliver a concept app that balanced innovation with sustainability. This project taught us that quick turnarounds don’t necessarily mean a compromise on quality – with the right team, plan and mindset, great things can be achieved. 

Now back to the real world and working with real clients!

Feel free to get in touch or follow along for future projects, as we continue to explore new ideas and push the boundaries!