I
Overview
GoodGuide provides consumers with product information to help them make better choices, driving the development of safer, healthier, and more sustainable products. By combining product ingredient data with authoritative chemical regulation sources, GoodGuide rates products, offering consumers instant access to credible and easily understood product information.
II
Iterative Exploration
At GoodGuide, we employed iterative design methods to address some of our most challenging product features. This process included user interviews, online surveys, paper prototyping, high-fidelity prototyping, and A/B testing.
Our major challenge was developing a meaningful scoring system. Starting with a single product category—shampoo—we refined our approach through several design cycles and user tests, resulting in a new health-based scoring system complemented by scores for environmental and social aspects.
We asked users about their most recent shampoo purchase, conducted an in-depth review of the product, gathered extensive data, and tested our hypotheses about user preferences. We organized this data into a hierarchy and tested various designs, including better-rated alternatives, to see if users would choose those alternatives.
GoodGuide
A platform providing health, environmental, and social impact ratings for products, empowering consumers to make informed choices on personal care, food, and household items.
Sustainability
B2C
User Research
Personas
User Testing
Info Architecture
Prototypes
Interaction design
Visual design
The app allows consumers to receive healthy product recommendations tailored to their needs. Shampoo was used for initial testing, as customers primarily seek shampoos that match their hair type.
Users can employ photo recognition or scan a product’s UPC code to access the GoodGuide rating and identify potentially harmful chemicals along with explanations.
IV
In collaboration with the Marketing and Business Development teams, GoodGuide established several partnerships with major retailers such as Amazon, Target, and CVS to enhance health and environmental awareness among consumers.
Developing Partnerships
& New Revenue
III
Mobile App Design
User research revealed a clear need for a mobile app to help customers quickly evaluate ingredients in household cleaners while shopping in stores. Given that GoodGuide already had the data, developing a user interface for this specific use-case was seen as a valuable opportunity with minimal risk.
Target and GoodGuide teamed up to promote and integrate Made to Matter, a collection of brands meeting Target’s standards for natural, organic, and sustainable products. The site’s redesign also introduced a new revenue stream through media ads, with Target serving as the launch sponsor.
Amazon partnered with GoodGuide to feature healthy and sustainable household cleaning supplies in its Earth Day Spring Cleaning promotion. GoodGuide developed the information architecture, design, and branding for this curated guide.
User testing revealed that many users preferred simple product recommendations for their hair condition.
Consumers showed curiosity about chemicals and ingredients.
Highlighting key concerns raised user awareness without overwhelming them with a complex scoring system.
Initially, environmental and social scores were combined with the product score. Decoupling these scores and assigning them to the company proved to be more relevant in user testing.
