UXDI Project 1

Navigating Outdoor Recreation

The Task - Create a design solution, utilizing a process of gaining insights from user interviews and data analysis. 
Subject - Camping

Interviews

The assignment was to design for a single user. After doing background research on camping I interviewed the target user and other users. All were users interviewed were camping less than they wanted to.

The interview data showed that users had access to resources (REI workshops, money, and travel guides), however they were not being utilized. Furthermore, it showed that camping was about a passion for being outdoors and active.

The resources were not being utilized because they were not about being active about the outdoors. Identifying themes like this, produced three problems statements.

A design direction was created to solve these there problems.

Design Direction - The design will work towards increasing confidence in camping skills and lessen the decision making burden on the user, without disrupting the user’s current lifestyle.

Ideation

Sketches

The strongest solution to the design direction was a digital app.

Prototype

clickable prototype here.

The design increases confidence with its gamification feature that allows you to gain experience points by earning merit badges, planning trips, and taking photos.

The decision making burden is lessened by the filtering features that allows the user to strategically rule out choices, providing recommendations based on user history, and presenting curated adventures.

Learned

I learned that user experience is not only data driving but also empathy driven. The UX designer has to learn how to separate what they want so he can understand what the user needs.

Research and data is more about the emotions of the user.

I would have…

spent more time outside of class, particularly practicing my presentation.

recorded more emotional reactions in the interview process.

explored a desktop app before I went to a phone app first.

Still puzzled?

I am still thinking about how I could focus my message and better differentiated between Yelp and my app.

Should I have named my app?