Overview

Research

Process

Designs

Lasso Loop In-home Recycling APP

Lasso Loop In-home Recycling APP

Product Designer + Researcher • IoT Product • 3 Months

Team

1 Founder, 1 Software Engineer, 2 designer (🙋‍♀️ me), 2 Researcher(🙋‍♀️ me)

Overview

The Lasso Machine is a home recycling appliance that lets households recycle and sell materials while boosting efficiency and recovery rates. To maximize its value, users needed a simple way to monitor and control the machine. The Lasso App was created to bridge that gap, making recycling easier, smarter, and more rewarding.

Discovery

Competitor Analysis + Interviews + Survey

Competitor Analysis + Interviews + Survey

Competitor Analysis + Interviews + Survey

Jump to Designs

Jump to Designs

Jump to Designs

We Researched for:

  1. Who are we designing for?

  2. What do they need during the interaction with Lasso?

  3. What makes them love or enjoy using Lasso?

Who?
Who?
What Interaction they need?
Need?
Why they love it?
Why they love it?
We Found:
We Found:

Scroll Right

Who?
What Info They Need
Why Love Lasso?💛

Eco-enthusiast

  1. Appliance Status

  2. Footprint

  3. Education Element

  4. Recycle history

The Impact They Made

Cash-back recyclers

  1. Appliance Status

  2. The selling Price

  3. Cumulative earning

How much they earned

Neighborhood Hub

  1. Appliance Status

  2. Which User Is Using

  3. Contribution

Deeper community connection

Jump to Designs

Jump to Designs

Or scroll to see the research process

Who

Eco-enthusiast

Cash-back recyclers

Neighborhood Hub

Need

  1. Appliance Status

  2. Footprint

  3. Education

  4. Recycle history

  1. Appliance Status

  2. The selling Price

  3. Cumulative earning

  1. Appliance Status

  2. Which User Is Using

  3. Contribution

Why Love Lasso

Impacts

Money earned

Community connection

Competitor Analysis

To explore and prioritize design patterns and features, we did a competitor analysis.

To explore and prioritize design patterns and features, we did a competitor analysis.
Direct Competitors
Direct Competitors
Direct Competitors

Bottle recycling Apps

Bottle recycling Apps

Bottle recycling Apps

Indirect Competitor
Indirect Competitor
Indirect Competitor

Other Recycling apps

Other Recycling apps

Other Recycling apps

Indirect Competitor
Indirect Competitor
Indirect Competitor

Device controle apps

Device controle apps

Device controle apps

Interview
Interviewed 2 stakeholders to understand appliance capabilities and 17 future users to identify needs, motivations, scenarios, and expectations for an ideal app experience

Interviewed 2 stakeholders to understand appliance capabilities and 17 future users to identify needs, motivations, scenarios, and expectations for an ideal app experience

2 interview with Lasso Loop engineers to understand the appliance's capability

2 interview with Lasso Loop engineers to understand the appliance's capability

2 interview with Lasso Loop engineers to understand the appliance's capability

6 interview with Pre-sale users who signed up with Lasso.

6 interview with Pre-sale users who signed up with Lasso.

6 interview with Pre-sale users who signed up with Lasso.

11 interviews with Potential buyers who has interests in recycling can share opinion (recruited using social media)

11 interviews with Potential buyers who has interests in recycling can share opinion (recruited using social media)

11 interviews with Potential buyers who has interests in recycling can share opinion (recruited using social media)

Surveys
Gathered 22 survey responses from Lasso pre-sale users to explore feature and visual preferences

Gathered 22 survey responses from Lasso pre-sale users to explore feature and visual preferences

67%

67%

67%

prioritize efficiency over entertainment

prioritize efficiency over entertainment

78%

78%

78%

expressed little interest in gamified features

expressed little interest in gamified features

90%

90%

90%

expect the app has product scanning for recyclability

expect the app has product scanning for recyclability

85%

85%

85%

live in multi-person households

live in multi-person households

We concluded three design tenets from the research:

  1. Make simplicity design with minimal interaction

  1. Make simplicity design with minimal interaction

"I want the app to be easy to navigate, clean, and functional. I want to get to necessary features quickly and avoid multiple button presses."

"I want the app to be easy to navigate, clean, and functional. I want to get to necessary features quickly and avoid multiple button presses."

"I don't want anything fun/gamification, I don't have much time for that. I just want to be able to finish my tasks as quickly as possible."

"I don't want anything fun/gamification, I don't have much time for that. I just want to be able to finish my tasks as quickly as possible."

70%

70%

70%

Pre-sale users want a efficient and simple app that serve the basic functionalities and regular updates.

Pre-sale users want a efficient and simple app that serve the basic functionalities and regular updates.

  1. Integrate Pervasive Educational Elements

  1. Integrate Pervasive Educational Elements

"I know that it creates an impact to the environmental footprint, but it would be nice to see things like, oh, you shouldn't be buying this, or these are recyclable material"

"Scanning could be helpful in terms of deciding what to buy in the stores. It could induce behavioral change"

90%

90%

expect the app has product scanning for recyclability

Design Process

  • Phase 1. Rapid Ideation

    Initiating the design process, we established user flow and roughly sketched ideas. We rapidly tested these ideas by asking peers to complete simple tasks and asking their first impressions and explorative thoughts.

    Individual Brainstorming

    Group Discussion

    Crafted User Flow

  • Phase 2. Variants and Preference Testing

    We created two variations of low-fidelity prototypes, then conducted 4 preference testing sessions.

    Variant 1: Tab-less approach

    Recycling Process on the landing page, other features nested under the hamburger menu.

    ❌ This variant created a navigation challenge, requiring users extra effort to learn the flow.

    Variant 2: Four Tabs Approach

    Bottom navigation with four distinct tabs: Home, Schedule, Scan, and Profile.

    ✅ Conventional navigation and modern interface was favored, makes it easier to use.

  • Phase 3. Usability Testing and Repeated Iterations

    Optimized navigation system

    Balanced Business Goals & Usability

  • Phase 4. Increasing Fidelity and Heuristic Evaluation

    Increased Fidelity

    Standardizing the color system

    Covered Edge Use Cases

Design Solutions

Appliance Status

💡Users need a low-effort way to check machine status so they know exactly when it’s ready to recycle. “I just want to know when it’s ready to recycle. I don’t have time to play around with it.”

🗝️ The home screen surfaces appliance status, indicating whether it’s connected and ready to load. No phone input is required. Users interact only with the appliance, and the status updates automatically in the app.

💡Users need a low-effort way to check machine status so they know exactly when it’s ready to recycle. “I just want to know when it’s ready to recycle. I don’t have time to play around with it.”

🗝️ The home screen surfaces appliance status, indicating whether it’s connected and ready to load. No phone input is required. Users interact only with the appliance, and the status updates automatically in the app.

Connection Success

Connection Success

Connection Error

Connection Error

Loading Bottles

Loading Bottles

✅ When the bottle loaded success

✅ When the bottle loaded success

⏳ The animation will start automatically.

⏳ The animation will start automatically.

❌ When the loaded bottle is problematic, for example not drained

❌ When the loaded bottle is drained

⏳ The animation will start automatically.

⏳ The animation will start automatically.

Container & Pick-up Scheduling

How much much did users collect presents in the second tab. Users won't need more interaction to see how full their container is.

We made pickup scheduling less prominent to avoid unnecessary trips. Our Client, Lasso Loop, wants to pick up those full containers to cut costs and keep the supply chain efficient.

When a container is full, users get an easy notification to schedule pickup. If needed earlier, pickup is always available in settings.

Maintenance & Live Chat

More supportive features can be found in setting bar.

Scanning to Guide

We added a scanning feature to help users tell recyclables from landfill. It supports the appliance and educates users to do the right thing.

We added a scanning feature to help users tell recyclables from landfill. It supports the appliance and educates users to do the right thing.

Lasso engineers told us AI object recognition is tricky, but it can improve with more training images.

So we added a feedback system: users get instant correction when recognition is wrong, and engineers get real-world data to improve the model.

Lasso engineers told us AI object recognition is tricky, but it can improve with more training images.

So we added a feedback system: users get instant correction when recognition is wrong, and engineers get real-world data to improve the model.

Impacts

Lasso app present their key milestones with notification without extra interactions

Lasso app present their key milestones with notification without extra interactions

Users will be able to find their impacts and earning in one tab to see a clear summary.

Users will be able to find their impacts and earning in one tab to see a clear summary.

Reflection
Reflection

Good Design Comes From Discussion and an Open Mind

Good Design Comes From Discussion and an Open Mind

I’m in the back row on the right.

  1. Strong outcomes through collaboration
    We ranked at the top of our class and received highly positive feedback from our client.

  2. Discussion leads to better design decisions
    There were many discussions around which design direction was strongest and which research questions were most essential to ask. These conversations led to confident design decisions, which is what I love about working with thoughtful designers.

  3. Open-mindedness is essential in IoT design
    Designing for an IoT system meant understanding the machine, constraints, and user needs simultaneously. Balancing business goals with user advocacy required active listening and an open mind when working with both teammates and the client.

  1. Strong outcomes through collaboration
    We ranked at the top of our class and received highly positive feedback from our client.

  2. Discussion leads to better design decisions
    There were many discussions around which design direction was strongest and which research questions were most essential to ask. These conversations led to confident design decisions, which is what I love about working with thoughtful designers.

  3. Open-mindedness is essential in IoT design
    Designing for an IoT system meant understanding the machine, constraints, and user needs simultaneously. Balancing business goals with user advocacy required active listening and an open mind when working with both teammates and the client.

Yidi Lin

Let's connect and see what's next!

© 2025 Yidi Lin. All Rights Reserved.

Contact

Yidi Lin

Let's connect and see what's next!

© 2025 Yidi Lin. All Rights Reserved.

Contact

Yidi Lin

Let's connect and see what's next!

© 2025 Yidi Lin. All Rights Reserved.

Contact