Stridy

Building a little green app with a big green mission.

In this project, I:

  • Led the product strategy that transformed a back-of-the-napkin idea into a viable consumer app
  • Focused product priorities into a simple MVP for launch, while building out an attainable roadmap for ongoing development
  • Forged the UX for a seamlessly native cross-platform mobile app designed around social litter collection
  • Brought elements of positive gamification and competition into the app, to encourage adoption and retention
  • Collaborated with a visual designer to translate that UX into a clean, attractive design and with engineers to bring the app to life
Hero image of the Stridy app design

In early 2020, amidst the chaos consuming the world, a client came to KNOCK with a bold idea for a litter collection mobile app. A fitness tracker, of sorts, but with a different metric — instead of tracking steps or counting calories, it logs the trash you find and collect from your environment. The concept was sound, but needed a team that could bring the idea to life. Oh, and we had three weeks to design the whole thing.

App architecture diagram for the Stridy app

After a very brief naming and branding phase, we landed on Stridy, an app that gives users a cleaner way to move. While the creative minds behind the brand fleshed out the details, I jumped headfirst into architecting the app. Based on our scope and timeline, it had to be simple. But it also had to be enjoyable enough to be worth using day after day. I outlined a structure for the app that kept this simplicity in mind, focusing primarily on utility and task-oriented navigation. 

From there, I developed comprehensive wireframes for every view within the app. I aimed to lay out the app in a way that felt intuitive to users of either OS, knowing the app would be built in React Native. This meant taking advantage of swipe-based navigation, using familiar modalities as a way to focus on tasks at hand, and integrating system-native features (camera, maps, etc.) where possible.

One of the key components of the app was the system of points, cutely depicted in the app by a leaf icon. These points are earned for every litter pickup, and accumulate to reflect the user’s overall impact. This not only gives the user a tangible sense of reward for their service, but also provides fuel for friendly competition and social motivation. Future plans for the app build on this system with concepts such as group challenges and public leaderboards.

The final design of the app manifested as a calm-but-joyful aesthetic experience. It’s a warm and encouraging accompaniment to your morning walk, or a refreshing addition to that routine evening stroll around the block with your pup. While further development of the app has been handed over to Stridy’s in-house team, I’m still excited by its potential. It may not reverse global warming, or rid the oceans of plastic, but it does empower users to make a difference in their communities. And if we all find a cleaner way to move, heck, we might just notice things are a little less littered around us. ♻️

Branding and UI design by the multitalented Beth Sicheneder; app naming and tagline is a brainfart of word-wizard Lucas Hines.