Systems Design
Community Design
Eco Guide
A redesigned waste-sorting system for the Troy Farmers Market — making composting intuitive through signage and community-centered design.
Final Compost and Landfill bins deployed at the Troy Farmers Market
Role
Systems & Community Design
Timeline
3–5 Weeks
Tools
Laser Cutting (RDWorks),
Signage Design
Method
On-site user testing & iteration — refined through direct observation of real sorting behavior at the market.
My process

From first sketches to a tested, working prototype — the full arc this project moved through.

Grid of thumbnail sketches exploring bin and signage concepts (process thumbnail)
01
Brainstorm
Explored visual systems that could make correct waste sorting faster and more intuitive at a busy market. Sketched a grid of bin and signage concepts.
The market's existing recycling education signage board (process thumbnail)
02
Research
Studied common sorting mistakes and existing signage to understand where visual systems tend to fail. The market's original bins used only text-based paper signs.
Final low fidelity prototype with wallpaper-covered bin faces and printed signage (process thumbnail)
03
Prototyping
Moved from a low-fidelity prototype to a high-fidelity version, refining icons, color, and bin layout, laser-cutting panel templates in RDWorks.