NaturCycle, 2024 (UX/UI Concept Project – Seneca Polytechnic)
NaturCycle is a sustainability-focused beauty app built to bridge the gap between consumer wellness needs and responsible environmental practices. The project was born out of deep user research, comparative matrix analysis, and journey mapping, revealing a lack of platforms that combine personalized skincare support with eco-conscious action. Targeting eco-conscious users, especially younger generations and wellness-driven professionals, the app leverages AI to offer skin analysis, virtual try-ons, and a transparent waste tracking system. Every design decision—from color palette to interaction flows—responds to user behaviors and unmet needs uncovered during interviews and testing. NaturCycle is not just an app—it’s a movement toward integrating daily beauty habits with planet-positive outcomes.
“Sustainable beauty begins with daily choices. NaturCycle empowers you to care for your skin and the Earth—one product, one scan, one cycle at a time.”
NaturCycle redefines beauty as a system of reciprocity: what you give to the planet, you receive in wellness. With its circular design and community-centered features, it cultivates a habit of conscious beauty, turning routine skincare into daily acts of environmental empowerment.
To design a seamless, emotionally intelligent app that guides users through sustainable beauty decisions—helping them manage skincare routines while also contributing to waste reduction. The app seeks to build brand loyalty through impact-based gamification, real-time eco-feedback, and a warm, skin-inspired interface that resonates on a personal level. NaturCycle’s ultimate mission is to reshape how people think about self-care—connecting it to environmental care.
The NaturCycle design system follows a Human-Centered Design and Double Diamond strategy model. Starting with ethnographic-style user interviews, the app’s foundation was rooted in empathy: understanding not just what users do, but what they feel when shopping for beauty products or tossing empty packaging.
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Visuals were inspired by skin tones and natural materials, using warm gradients, earthy tones, and gentle transitions to build emotional resonance.
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UX Flow prioritized minimal friction, enabling waste actions and impact feedback with a single tap.
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Typography and icons were soft yet legible, designed to foster trust and welcome, not intimidation.
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Gamification elements like point tracking and positive reinforcement turned sustainability into a habit loop.
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Inclusivity was essential—accessibility standards were built in from wireframe stages, with text contrast, icon clarity, and emotional diversity of personas tested across iterations.
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Users struggle to access truly eco-conscious beauty tools that align with their routine.
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Lack of transparency around product sustainability and disposal.
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Users feel overwhelmed by greenwashing and disconnected from the real environmental impact of their choices.
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Beauty platforms often neglect waste management, and recycling feels like a separate burden.
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Existing apps don’t offer a unified space for product discovery, try-ons, and responsible action.
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Conducted in-depth UX research, including user interviews, personas, empathy maps, and A/B testing.
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Developed the full visual identity and UI system from scratch—blending brand strategy, skin-toned gradients, and intuitive interactions.
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Built and refined wireframes through three design sprints, using Figma and Adobe XD for prototyping.
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Successfully integrated AI-driven user flows for skin analysis, usage recommendations, and loyalty rewards.
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Created a uniquely emotive design language that aligns product care with self-worth and planet care—earning top marks in user engagement trials during classroom review.
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