AM+A

Finding a sustainable way of life is a 21st-century global challenge. The “green” movement helped to increase people’s awareness of sustainability issues and propelled development of products to help decrease our ecological footprint. Smart grid applications enabling users to monitor their energy consumption are some of these innovative products. However, most are targeted to the PC and don’t focus on innovative data visualization. Communicating critical data helps build awareness, but does not result automatically in effecting behavioral changes. The question then shifts to how exactly to motivate, persuade, educate, and lead people to reduce their energy consumption.

For the Green Machine project, 2009-10, AM+A researched, analyzed, designed, and evaluated powerful ways to improve sustainability-oriented behavior by persuading and motivating people, especially home consumers to reduce energy consumption and increase increase efficiency and recycling by means of a well-designed mobile phone application concept prototype: the “Green Machine.” AM+A designed and tested a prototype Green Machine application oriented to making energy conservation behavior changes and redesigned and improved the user interface based on interview-participant feedback. The Green Machine uses principles of combining information design/visualization and persuasion design.

AM+A’s presentation and white paper explain the development of the Green Machine’s user interface, information design, information visualization, and persuasion design. The project has been published in case studies and articles in the USA, Europe, South Africa, and South Korea. Aaron Marcus has lectured about the project in Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, and the USA, among other countries. Aaron Marcus’ Green Machine lecture is on YouTube: