Designing a Prototype Mobile Application for Carbon Footprint Awareness

In the diploma thesis, the author decided to design a prototype mobile application for carbon footprint awareness, as this is a topic that has not been well researched and presented an additional challenge to the author. Similar applications for calculating carbon footprint are not yet found on the Slovenian market. The diploma thesis consists of the following main chapters: UI/UX design, carbon footprint, recommendation systems, and the mobile application prototype and its development. Recommendation systems are important in applications as they enable efficient and personalised guidance of users towards content that is interesting or useful to them. Artificial intelligence algorithms enable a tailored user experience.

Problem

In the diploma thesis, the author decided to design a prototype mobile application for carbon footprint awareness, as this is a topic that has not been well researched and presented an additional challenge to the author. Similar applications for calculating carbon footprint are not yet found on the Slovenian market.

Solution and Method

The diploma thesis consists of the following main chapters: UI/UX design, carbon footprint, recommendation systems, and the mobile application prototype and its development. The first part of the thesis is dedicated to presenting UI and UX design and understanding the term carbon footprint. Every developer must know the basic principles of UX/UI design, as only in this way can they find the best possible solution for project implementation, taking into account all project specifics and the needs of the end user for whom the product is intended.

In the continuation, the diploma thesis is based on the actual creation of the mobile application prototype and its design. For the creation of the prototype, the design tool Figma, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe Photoshop were used. The application is based on calculating carbon footprint and encourages people to use sustainable forms of mobility, reduce the amount of food waste, self-sufficiency (with food, energy), recycling...

Results

Recommendation systems are important in applications as they enable efficient and personalised guidance of users towards content that is interesting or useful to them. Artificial intelligence algorithms enable a tailored user experience. It was found that testing the mobile application in the early stages of development is extremely important, as it enables faster identification of problems, improvement of user experience, and adaptation of functionality according to user needs.

This can significantly shorten development time and increase efficiency in designing the optimal final product. This insight was reached based on a conducted survey and presentation of the prototype to a selected group of users. Their feedback was crucial in discovering shortcomings and opportunities for improvement, which enabled easier and more directed optimisation of the application.

Precisely because of their responses, the prototype creation process could be adapted so that it proceeded more smoothly and with minimal additions, which contributed to a more refined and user-friendly final product.