A ReDesign: Recycling Sign

Recycling is different everywhere. It’s important to be able to quickly and cohesively communicate what users can do with their waste when on the university campus.

This recycling sign is an insert on our wallhugger bins that have a frame for any 8.5 x 11 inch paper. These wallhuggers will only be inside buildings across campus.

I saw room for improvement in the previous design. When tabling, I asked students their thoughts on the sign. Most often found it informative but overwhelming when they are on go. I agreed with their sentiment and thought that there was a better way to inform our community quickly. I wanted to reduce the least common items anybody may carry across campus like an egg carton or laundry detergent. Instead to focus on the most common items that people may carry in their day to day while on campus. In the old design, the bottom information was lost by the frame making it difficult for users to know what doesn’t go in there. While I found the intention of having the recyclables going into the blue cute. This illustration took up a lot of space that could have been used to inform people how to dispose of their waste. In my redesign it was important to create a cohesive and decluttered product that allowed the important information to shine and for everyone on campus on how to quickly dispose of their waste.

I also created location-specific wallhugger inserts for the dining retail locations that featured the waste items generated by that restaurant.