Currently, all students living in university accommodation must use a washing app to book their washing cycles. So the reason users will engage with the app is out of necessity.

The app landing screen has been modified to re-iterate the message from the installation (Less heat,
less plastic, better food) and for students to use lower temperatures to release less microplastics into
their food.

When users are about to select a washing cycle, a pop up message informs users that by selecting the eco cycle, they can collect points which they can redeem for coffee or food. This uses the behaviour strategy of feedback to inform the users of possible rewards when choosing the target behaviour. The pop up message initially appeared later in the initial lo-fi prototype but users felt that it should appear earlier in order to influence their choices so it was moved.

The washing cycles are colour coded (green less energy use, then orange, and finally red for highest energy use).The eco friendly options are highlighted in green and are marked as recommended options. Additionally, behaviour steering is used as they are set as the default options. Users have to actively select another option if they want a higher heat setting. By increasing the effort required for users to select an alternative option, they are being steered towards the ideal behaviour through the design.

Once the cycle is chosen, users can read further information about the cycle such as indication of use, time and temperature. From user testing, students felt if they knew what clothes could be cleaned using the eco setting, they would be more likely to choose the setting. Lack of knowledge was preventing them from selecting an unknown, new option.

Upon selecting the eco washing cycle, another pop up message uses feedback to congratulate users once the eco setting is selected and that they have collected points. The number of points collected correlate to the cycle chosen and this is indicated in leaf icons next to each cycle (For example, three ‘leaf’ points are collected for the Eco quick wash cycle). Here, gamification is used to encourage the target behaviour. The more eco cycles chosen, the faster points are collected and the more food and drink can be obtained. This positive feedback loop was used in order to sustain the new behaviour in the students.

Users can also use the app to complete payments for their chosen cycles as they normally would be
able to.

Time remaining for the cycle is also shown as this was a feature that users felt they wanted in an app.
It was deemed important to also include features that students highly valued. Although cycle time
remaining is not related to sustainable behaviour change, it will improve the users experience and
satisfaction when using the app. As a result, users will have a higher perceived usability of the app
(Sonderegger and Sauer, 2010) and this can lead to a positive association between the new
behaviour and the app.

Once enough points are collected, they can be redeemed at various locations on campus cafes for hot drinks or food. Students simply have to take the app to the café and the points can be scanned.

The points collected from the app can be redeemed at any university café. This will
shown on the app through a campus map. Not only will this point system help students to save
money, but it will encourage them to buy food and drink from cafes on campus. This
therefore benefits both students and stakeholders (university cafe’s and the university itself).