TERRA
My Role: UX Research, UX Design, UI Design
Hikers spend a ton of time researching where they want to go, which trail they want to do, how to get there, what they’ll need, and much more! This all adds up and results in a ton of time spent on research, maybe even more time than on the hike itself.
My teams initial research showed us that nothing currently exists as a solution for safety, security, and information for hiking trails.
CHALLENGE
Prior to going on a hiking trip, hikers should complete comprehensive research about the hike to be fully prepared. However, oftentimes, the information needed has to be found across multiple sites/apps and then cannot be accessed offline while hiking.
How might we keep hikers prepared and safe throughout their hiking journey?
BUSINESS PARTNER
As part of this project, we were tasked with choosing a potential business partner for our app.
We decided to explore companies within the outerwear apparel market, specifically those who have a focus on hiking gear.
Columbia’s goal as a business is to do right by the people they reach, the places they touch, and the products they make which is something that truly resonated with us. Further than that, their brand personality elicits not only the push to be active and inspiring but also social impact and positive change.
By partnering with us, Columbia can…
Extend the customer experience
Compete with major competitors
Build its brand
Increase sales
PRODUCT PRINCIPLES
After identifying some of Columbias core values, we as a product team also created a set of principles to further align with Columbia so our research and design would empathize with both the partner and the target audience we're solving for.
Promote environmentally conscious mindset
Promote an active lifestyle full of adventure
Promote safety on hikes
Promote sharing hiking experiences to build a community
USER RESEARCH
Our goal of research was to discover and explore users current hiking experience. We specifically wanted to know how and if they research trails, frustrations they encounter, share their adventure post completion, and track their hikes.
“We didn't research the timing and it started to get dark as we were hiking down, which was very scary. So that's why the most important thing for me now is to plan everything out.” — User
To empathize with our users more, we used our insights to craft Vanessa, a representation of our primary user.
VANESSA | THE VIEW SEEKER
She currently spends too much time researching hikes prior to beginning them.
She still finds herself unprepared after all of this research.
She wants an easy way to keep her parents informed on where she is hiking.
DESIGN
TERRA is an all-in-one hiking application. It strives to give users the best hiking experience all the way from planning to the very end of their hiking trip, and even after.
EXPLORE TRAILS AND FIND RELEVANT INFORMATION
RECORD YOUR HIKES
CHECK OUT WHAT YOUR FRIENDS ARE UP TO AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT
SHARE YOUR HIKE SO FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES CAN TRACK YOU LIVE
PROVIDE FELLOW HIKERS WITH REAL TIME UPDATES
Our team designed all of the UI of TERRA as well, with a ton of thought going into each of the elements.
TESTING
We completed 2 rounds of testing, first in mid-fidelity and then in high-fidelity, with the goal of seeing the overall intuitiveness of our app as well as our main features, listed below:
Supporting a friend’s hike
Trail info page
Recording hike
Sharing live hike
Real time weather update
Testing Takeaways
Users had a positive response to the app and especially enjoyed the eco-friendly tips
Icons need to be further explored for the sharing and real time update features
LOOKING AHEAD
In order to develop our app, there are a few core areas we will be leveraging APIs, shown below:
Maps
Routes (navigation)
Places (ratings and reviews)
Current weather data
Hourly forecast
Climate forecast up to 30 days
Alerts and announcements
National Park information