Envision
UX/UI Design & Research · Climate Activism App · University · 2023
Overview
Climate change is happening—fast. So why not support those fighting it?
That’s why we designed Envision, an app concept for climate activists like Fridays for Future. Using generative AI and GPS data, it visualizes how our surroundings might look in future climate catastrophe scenarios. These powerful images highlight the urgency of the crisis, helping activists drive their cause forward.
Iterative Design Process
- User Research
- Ideation
- Design
- Evaluation
Goal
Envision was developed as part of the Contextual Analysis and Design course at the University of Salzburg. Our goal was to create a product that helps activists while learning how to apply user-centered design principles and methods in a specific context.
Role
Team Coordination
UX/UI Design
User Research
Tools
Figma, Midjourney, Miro, Pen & Paper
Team
Three Students
Timeline
Feb. 2023–Jul. 2023
Initial Design Brief
"We will design an interactive artifact that helps established environmental activist groups convey the urgency of climate change issues to the general public. The artifact should be engaging, interactive, and eye-catching and promote dialogue and action on climate change issues. We are successful when "Fridays for future Salzburg" activists feel empowered in conveying the urgency of climate change."
User Research
First Contact: Spraying Graffiti
We did what any reasonable user researcher would do—spray some walls! (Of course, legally.) This hands-on approach allowed us to engage directly with Fridays for Future activists, connecting with them in a way that felt natural and unintrusive. Through these interactions, we were able to identify their most pressing challenges and needs, which helped us shape the app’s features and purpose more effectively.
Going to a Plenum Session
We hit it off with the activists, and they invited us to join one of their plenum sessions, where they discuss key topics like event organization and strategy. This gave us valuable insights into their daily operations and how we could better support their efforts.
Semi-Structured Interviews
Previous research showed that one of the main challenges activists face is conveying the urgency of the climate crisis. To dive deeper, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 6 climate activists, each lasting 1 hour. This allowed us to better understand their needs and explore how technology could potentially support their mission.
Key Insights
Struggle for publicity
Climate activist groups strive for public attention on urgent environmental issues, navigating the challenges of maintaining an active online presence, utilizing traditional methods, and finding the right balance between provocative actions and legal boundaries.
Promoting engagement within a wider audience
Climate activists prioritize engaging a wider audience, combating disengagement and lack of knowledge by providing information, promoting action through protests and events, and recruiting dedicated participants.
Communicating urgency through emotive means
Climate activists aim to evoke emotions in people by addressing the urgency of climate change. Just stating scientific facts is not as effective in persuading as linking it to something personal and emotional.
Together we can make a difference
Climate activists grapple with a sense of helplessness but find hope and empowerment in the community, emphasizing the importance of individual actions and the collective voice in making a difference against climate change.
Enhancing internal communication and unity
No standard communication tool, diverse backgrounds, limited resources, and conflicting ideologies hinder communication and consensus among different activist groups, creating barriers to collaboration
Ideation
Once we narrowed down the problem space to five key areas, it was time to for ideation. Using moodboards, brainstorming sessions, and online research, we dove into different directions to spark fresh ideas. This dynamic process helped us uncover multiple design directions to work with.
Design Directions
As a team, we explored five design directions and ultimately selected the two most promising to pursue further.
AI Time Machine
Leveraging AI-generated images, this concept visualizes the future of iconic locations in Salzburg under different climate scenarios. It could be used for social media campaigns, public displays, or exhibitions to raise awareness and inspire action.
Climate Future in AR
This concept envisions interactive AR technology to showcase Salzburg’s potential climate future—simulating extreme weather, ecosystem damage, and other impacts. It could take the form of a physical installation in the city or a mobile app, making climate change more tangible and immersive.
First Design Iteration
Inspired by these two directions, we explored six concrete design concepts. After discussing them as a team, we chose to move forward with the most impactful idea:
1. Concept
We envisioned an app that empowers activists to visualize the impact of climate change. By leveraging generative AI, the app transforms photos of your environment into future climate scenarios, making these issues more relatable today. For example, it could show how Salzburg's old town might look after a major flood. The app combines these visuals with engaging text, allowing users to export their creations in formats like Instagram posts, QR-code stickers, or flyers to raise awareness.
2. Paper Prototype
Following our concept development, we created a quick paper prototype to explore how the app could function. This allowed us to visualize the user flow and identify key features necessary for its success. By sketching out the app's layout and interactions, we were able to refine our ideas and better understand how users would navigate and engage with the app's core functionalities.
3. Mid-Fidelity Prototype
After finalizing the user flow, I quickly designed a mid-fidelity prototype in Figma to visualize how the app could work. The prototype was detailed enough to gather valuable feedback from climate activists but simple enough to avoid wasting resources early on. We focused on the most important screens and interactions, ensuring it was functional for evaluation and discussions.
Evaluation
To ensure we were on the right track with our concept, we organized a focus group discussion with climate activists from Fridays for Future. The session, held in a casual park setting, lasted about an hour and followed a structured approach:
- Preknowledge & Use of AI: We explored participants' familiarity with AI and its capabilities.
- Presentation of AI Tools: We demonstrated tools like ChatGPT and MidJourney to showcase generative AI’s potential.
- General Discussion (AI in Climate Activism): Participants discussed how AI could help communicate the urgency of climate change.
- Presentation & Discussion of the App Concept: We introduced our app, asking if they could imagine using it, what purposes it might serve, and any concerns they had.
Key Insights
Opportunity – Content Creation
FFF activists see generative AI as a tool for creating social media content, flyers, posters, auto-replies, and full campaigns. They believe leveraging the AI hype can help attract more supporters.
Fear – Scientific Correctness
Activists worry AI could spread misinformation, distort facts, or be perceived as unreliable—similar to how right-wing populists often misuse technology.
Fear – Devaluation & Loss of Personal Touch
Activists fear AI could devalue their work by automating tasks. For personal efforts like speechwriting, they prefer a human touch over AI assistance.
Our App: General Positive Feedback
Participant 3 "Good solution to show climate change interactively and emotionally."
Design Specifications & Feature Ideas
Ensure scientific accuracy while integrating the app into existing practices like social media and flyers. Key feature ideas include a donate button and displaying probabilities for climate scenarios.
Updated Design brief
With these new insights and validation of our app concept, we were able to update our initial design brief:
"We will design an interactive 𝚊̶𝚛̶𝚝̶𝚒̶𝚏̶𝚊̶𝚌̶𝚝̶ mobile application that helps 𝚎̶𝚜̶𝚝̶𝚊̶𝚋̶𝚕̶𝚒̶𝚜̶𝚑̶𝚎̶𝚍̶ environmental activists 𝚐̶𝚛̶𝚘̶𝚞̶𝚙̶𝚜̶ convey the urgency of climate change issues to the general public through utilizing generative Al technology. The application's feature of generating future Al scenes should rely on accurate scientific predictions. The Al should provide information based on solid facts, ensuring there's no chance of false information. Furthermore, the application is meant to be meaningfully engaging, interactive, eye-catching, promote dialogue and action on climate change issues. It should be integrated into the "usual activist's workflow and tools." We are successful, when "fridays for future salzburg" and other environmental activists are feeling empowered in conveying the urgency of climate change."
Second Design Iteration
Well, we now knew what we had to do, so I jumped back into Figma to design the additional features and give the whole look and feel a fresh polish.
And of course we now needed a name, so we called it "Envision". See for yourself. ;)
Content from YouTube can't be displayed due to your current cookie settings. To show this content, please click "Consent & Show" to confirm that necessary data will be transferred to YouTube to enable this service. Further information can be found in our Privacy Policy. Changed your mind? You can revoke your consent at any time via your cookie settings.
Potential Outputs
