Sustainable Behavior Application for Mobile devices

In combating climate change, each of us can play our part—especially designers, by creating apps that help people become more sustainable!

The SBAM (Sustainable Behavior Application for Mobile devices) cards are a practical tool designed to facilitate the ideation and development of mobile apps that promote sustainable behaviors [1]. They are made on the SBAM guidelines framework by Tancredi et al. (2024) [2], that can be sum up in the following table.

The SBAM guidelines by Tancredi et al., 2024 [2]

How are the SBAM Cards designed?

• Each card represents an SBAM (Sustainable Behavior Application for Mobile devices) design guideline.
• The front of the card displays the name of the guideline and a brief summary of its key concept.
• The back contains guiding questions to help you apply the guideline to your app mobile project.

How to use the SBAM Cards?

1. Preparation
   • Gather your design team or work individually!
   • Start by defining a clear objective for your app: which aspect of sustainability do you want to focus on? In which area do you want to encourage sustainable behaviors?
2. Introduction
   • Familiarize yourself with the cards by reading the descriptions of the guidelines and the questions on the back.
   • Distribute the cards among team members or lay them out on a table for an overview.
3. Ideation
   • Select the cards that inspire you the most: you don’t need to use all the cards.“
   • Read the concept on the front and think about how to apply it to your project.
   • Let the guiding questions on the back inspire you, and discuss with your team how to implement them.
   • Combine multiple cards to boost creativity!
   • Take notes on the ideas that emerge from each card so you don’t lose any.

Have fun!

Tips

• Use the cards as inspiration.
• Follow the guiding questions to develop your ideas.