Customers overlooked informational posters and stickers.
Several customers asked what to do with their containers when they finished or threw them in the wrong garbage bin.
Friendlier
A research-driven exploration of reimagining reusable packaging experiences to make returns more intuitive, rewarding, and meaningful for everyday users.
overview
Elevating Friendlier’s end-to-end container return experience.
Many Friendlier customers didn’t know their containers were reusable, how to return them, or how to reclaim their deposit. Taking a research-driven approach, we reimagined every touchpoint of the return experience to make the process clearer and more rewarding.
the solution
A journey that celebrates every return.
Our solution reimagines the end-to-end Friendlier experience by connecting the checkout terminal, return bin and display, and mobile app into one seamless journey. Each touchpoint surfaces users' environmental impact and gives rewarding feedback throughout the reuse process, while personalized progress, rewards, and insights motivate continued participation.
Our redesign turns a hidden, account-only impact experience into one that recognizes every customer at every step.
research
We grounded our design solution in research.
To uncover our insights, we combined try-it-yourself walkthroughs, user observations, user interviews, and moderated usability tests. Across 7 Friendlier locations in Metro Vancouver, we observed customers throughout their visits and interviewed 11 users: 5 first-time and 6 experienced.
The diagram below shows our observations of what customers did with their containers, and whether they knew about the deposit return.
insights
45% of interviewees found the deposit-return process confusing.
Users had difficulty differentiating the container PIN from the ID and knowing what to do after entering it.
The deposit wasn't what motivated customers to use Friendlier.
Users were indifferent to the deposit and used Friendlier for other reasons, like being sustainable or donating to charity.
personas
Personas kept our design grounded in real behaviours.
Maya, the Casual Environmentalist. She wants to support sustainable causes but is too busy to notice opportunities. Friendlier's signage doesn't catch her attention.
Robin, the Reluctant Participant. They want a quick, familiar experience and will only complete simple tasks that feel immediately rewarding.
final solution
A journey that recognizes reuse at every step.
We connected checkout, the return bin, and the web app into one experience that makes impact visible and returning effortless, whether or not customers have an account.
return bin
A return bin that does the work for you.
I worked on the return bin experience, including the community impact map, facts about how Friendlier works, and the interaction for returning containers. Together, they turn the bin into a shared moment, surfacing collective impact, informing both users and non-users about Friendlier, and letting customers return their containers with zero extra effort.
I’m especially proud of one detail I proposed: RFID-powered return bins. Through our observations, we found that some cafes had signs above their garbage bins telling customers not to throw Friendlier containers in the trash, yet it still happened. I came up with the idea of using RFID technology to make the bin light up when a Friendlier container comes near, guiding customers to the right bin in the moment instead of relying on a sign to stop them beforehand. The same RFID tags also connect each container to the customer’s account automatically, so dropping it into the bin is all they need to do!
