WATER
FOOTPRINT
Understanding the severity of water crisis in India and its causality and provide water literacy by promoting behavioral change through service design.
How much water is sitting in your cupboard?
RESEARCH
POLICY
BEHAVIOR DESIGN
UX/UI
INTRODUCTION
iNDIA &
WATER
Growing up in a region struggling with access to safe drinking water, I always wanted to understand the water related issues and look for solutions that are inclusive and life altering. Availability of safe drinking water promotes improvement in many aspect of life, education, wellbeing etc.
Water is a limited source. Only 3% of world water is usable for people.
This fresh water is locked in glaciers (68%), ground (30%) and surface water (1.2%).
Water is scarce.
India has 4% of world's fresh water and 16% of world's population, making water a scarce and priced commodity.
India is suffering from severe water crisis owing to its extreme topography with areas prone to flooding and other parts to draught.
The main reasons for India's water problem surfaced -
1. Weak Policies
2. Ignorant Governance
3. Corruption
4. Improper distribution
SECONDARY RESEARCH
WHAT IS
VIRTUAL WATER?
Virtual water is the water “hidden” in the products, services and processes people buy and use every day. Virtual water often goes unseen by the end-user of a product or service, but that water has been consumed throughout the value chain, which makes creation of that product or service possible.
IMPACT OF
UNACCOUNTED
VIRTUAL WATER
The modern water crisis is due to uncounted water footprint
The impacts of virtual water are many - specially because it goes unaddressed.
1. Industries make rampant use of water during production, a part of this water gets lost into irreversible "grey water" - that water that is needed to holds pollutants.
2. Extra energy
3. Severe economic disparity.
4. It puts pressure on already water starved regions.
5. It increases the water prices and poor people have to give away a larger share of their income.
6. Climate crisis.
SYNTHESIS
The severe water crisis & disparity is due to improper policy intervention, but most importantly due to lack of water conversation. It is matter of have & have nots - and calls for immediate actions in following regard -
1. Democratic water distribution
2. Circular production processes
3. Behavioral change in urban lifestyles
It is important that the products complete their water cycles.
INFERENCE
An urgent need of change in behavior's & lifestyles to reduce the pressure on draught prone areas and stop the rising water disparity and hopefully avoid worsening the existing water crisis.
GOAL
Designing a behavioral change tool, which is based on "nudging", "learning", "participation" and "rewards" to help people stay aware of their impact on the water ecosystem and make better "water conscious" choices.
SCOPE
BEHAVIOUR
SURVEY
VISIBLE
WATER
Water we use for drinking, washing, daily needs.
VIRTUAL
WATER
Water in the form of goods and products we store/exchange
Activity 1 - Participants were made to count their daily usage of water for one day - bucket (5 liter) as the standard unit.
Activity 2 - To count the number of products stored in a cupboard record the amount of water used for each in production.
Water footprint - the measure of indirect water in our products. It is the total amount of water consumed at different stages of product's life cycle / consumption chain.
With out capitalist economy and consumerist attitudes we are hoarding products and thus hold vast amount of water, with out it ever return to its cycle.
Thus deepening the struggle of have & have not.
OUTCOME
To design an intuitive habit forming application to help people attain "water literacy" & reduce their per capita "water footprint".
SERVICE
In the surveys conducted before on water footprint, we understood our user behavior's and outlook on water crisis. The exercises also helped realize what are the experiences required in order to reduce one's water footprint.
USER
MAPPING
Easy water accessibility
Lack of knowledge
Limited knowledge of conservation
Considers water crisis to be rural issue
Not easy to calculate water footprint
Don't know which products are water conscious
User Behavior
Water responsibility is usually shared & hence less effort
Water used for each task is a habit & hard to change
No idea on what changes can help & how
Water literacy
Behavioral nudging
Personalized missions
Community building
Easy & effective tips for conservation
Tangible progress
Experiences that can help our user become water friendly
Quick Availability of water count
Reach for Water conscious products in market
BUT WAIT.... Who is our User and what do they need?
Wobble - IA & Journey
" Wobble " is a digital service for people who want to make water conscious choices with the help of - easy to do & quick water conservation tasks in their everyday routine life.
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Wobble - Design system & Wireframes
Important considerations for the design experience that can consolidate habits and induce behavioral change -
1. Eye soothing and relevant shapes - color palate.
2. High contrast for CTA.
3. Catch-phrases and directed attention.
4. Personalization and guidance at each step.
5. Picture superiority bias.
6. Affordance cues.
DESIGN
EXPERIENCE
Homepage
Agenda
Progress
