140 million users on The Weather Channel find climate change to be a threat
How might we educate & inspire them to mitigate this issue?
Project Duration
1 Month
Role
Product Design Intern @ IBM, The Weather Company (3 months)
Team
Product Designers, UX Researcher, Data Analyst
Status
In development
Background
The Weather Channel is one of the top 10 most trusted US brands & the most downloaded weather app, checked by over 50 million people daily.
Aside from working TWC's B2C subscription features, I consulted with my team to understand user needs, define features, & gather feedback for my intern project. I iterated through the design process by mapping user flows, building wireframes, & prototyping high-fidelity mockups.
The Problem
The monumental scale of climate change paralyzes everyday people into passivity & instills a sense of hopelessness.
The Solution
I leveraged The Weather Channel's credibility to develop a mobile app card that educates users on climate change & empowers them with mitigation techniques to inspire action.
Climate change is a controversial & politicized topic often incorrectly perceived as a future issue.
Therefore,
I provided trends of weather patterns to prove that climate change is ongoing from a scientific & data driven standpoint
Most people are unaware of how climate change directly affects them. With 89% of users sharing their location, there's a clear user need for personalized information.
Therefore,
I showcased extreme weather events linked to climate change, allowing users to set location-based alerts for their safety and that of their loved ones.
137 million users seek ways to help the environment, & 82 million prioritize a company's environmental record in their purchasing decisions.
Therefore,
I devised a shareable checklist of climate action items & suggested partnering with eco-friendly brands on The Weather Channel's free app. This strategy replaces distracting ads with appealing graphics that meet business & user needs.
To maintain TWC's reputation & only target interested users, this card is an opt-in feature.
Therefore,
New users see the card during onboarding after expressing interest in learning about climate change, while existing users can add it to their home page through settings.
Next Steps
Improving immersion, expanding audiences, & incorporating new features
Utilizing AR/VR provide an simulated experience of climate change’s effects
Extending the target users to businesses & those skeptical of climate change.
Expanding on incentives for completing the checklist providing discounts or merchandise for industry partners
Encouraging users to show support for sustainable policies phrased in a non political manner
Impact & Takeaways
Incorporating the climate change card in the ongoing mobile redesign
I presented my final prototype to the design team, who expressed their enthusiasm & discussed incorporating this feature in the upcoming update. From this experience, I learned to take ownership, design with precision, & articulate my decisions. I’m grateful for the opportunity to unite millions of everyday people to make better decisions for a better future.
