What began as a project designed to inform residents and visitors of a remote southern Arizona town about air quality developed into a comprehensive app that addresses the unique pollution concerns of several regions throughout Arizona.
The goal was to offer a free mobile app with real-time air quality monitoring and forecasts for a targeted region. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality wanted a user-friendly interface so that residents, workers and visitors could stay informed about air quality in that region, learn how to minimize the impacts of air pollution on their health, and make decisions that also help impact the environment in a positive way.
Starting in 2016 with the launch of AirNogales, the iOS and Android app focused on informing residents about levels of dust and smoke particulate pollution (PM10 and PM2.5) that comes from wood burning, traffic, driving on dirt roads, construction activities, windblown dust and stagnation. The app also offered tips to minimize the impact of unhealthy air days. AirYuma followed in 2017, and in 2019, the first iteration of AirArizona was created to address Lead and Sulfur Dioxide pollutants unique to the Hayden/Winkelman and Miami/Globe mining town areas of the state.
As app downloads continued to increase in 2019, ADEQ decided to adopt a new tactic to eliminate the need for managing multiple apps, while giving residents and travelers new options for staying informed about air quality. AirArizona was completely overhauled and merged Nogales, Yuma, Hayden/Winkelman and Miami/Globe air quality notifications into one app, along with Tucson and metro Phoenix, giving users the ability to:
• configure alerts and notifications
• track specific pollutants
• view historical and 24-hour forecasted data, and
• share alerts across a variety of social platforms.
At A Glance
We relied heavily on Adobe Illustrator for the bulk of the app's user interface design elements, starting with rough wireframe prototypes and working our way through design iterations that led to the final user experience. Adobe Photoshop was also used for the vibrant, scenic backgrounds that represent the unique regions of Arizona.
App Features
• Hourly and 5-day Forecasts
• Pollution notifications sent to your device’s home screen
• Social forecast sharing
• Health suggestions for protecting yourself and your family
• Information on pollution controls
• Historical pollution data
• Links to additional ADEQ resources
• Available in English and Spanish
About the Creators
Catywampus is a full-service, boutique creative/interactive firm that began its first air quality project in 2011. After 9 years of working in the air quality space and seeing the impacts of education and awareness efforts, Catywampus launched MintSky in 2020 to focus solely on air quality outreach initiatives.
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