Hiking Application

Personal Project

Overview

As an avid hiker I have realized that the information I need for each hike is vital to the success of my trip. The issue I have experienced is that I must gather information from a number of different sources to be best prepared. To address this problem I decided to dive into a potential hiking application.

Research

I began by conducting interviews with hikers about what applications and websites they use as well as what features they specifically look for. I then broke down all of the ideas into a set of common tasks a user might hope to accomplish. These tasks were then brought back to users to be ranked in priority.

Design

Once I was pleased with the high level intentions of the app, I created a user flow diagram. From here I then began rough sketches. After this was worked and reworked to a refined process, I began wireframing in Axure. I tested iterations of my wireframe with my user group. Finally I decided to create a high fidelity prototype using Adobe XD, which could be tested and iterated on further.

Insights

Insights included thoughts on available filters when searching for hikes, the speed at which users were able to find a hike that met their criteria and particular feelings associated with a successful search. Users were generally excited to use the interface due to a gap in the market for this type of tool.

Solution

A number of important updates were made to address issues and enhance the experience. I am proud of the final solution and excited to see many similarities to what I originally envisioned. This project was especially enjoyable because it combined two of my favorite things, UX and hiking!