ori rapoport
Ori Rapoport
Spot
In this project I focused on creating a hiking app for finding and navigating to perfect spots in nature
- My role -
Research - UX - User personas - Prototyping
Discover
- Defining the problem
- market research
Define
- User research
- Data analysis
- Refining the problem
- personas
Ideate
- Brainstorming
- User flow
- Paper Wireframe
Design
- Prototyping
Design Process
The search for "spots" or places with a magical atmosphere, in the city or in the country, in the North or the South, has always been a challenge for travelers. The location of these places usually passes by word of mouth, the right question to the right person at the right time. If you have already received information about such a place, it is difficult to find it with partial explanations, descriptions from memory and navigation with unclear maps. When you get to the spot, the place is flooded with hikers, does not look as described and the only bench around is occupied by a band of crows.
The Problem
Dive in
The best way to formulate an idea is to either understand or discover an existing problem or experience it first-hand. Then, deduce from it the relevant meanings and think of ways in which it could have been solved. It is important to remember that not everyone responds in the same way to the same challenge and therefore it is imperative to establish user research as diverse and deep as possible.
My wife and I planned a picnic at a winery in the Golan Heights. When we arrived, we found out that it was packed with visitors and we could not get in. We decided to look for a romantic and secluded spot in the countryside but unfortunately, we did not know any such places.
Experiencing the problem
Target Audience
Experienced travelers
Travelers often do not limit themselves to familiar places. They like to discover and explore new places and do not shy away from unconventional routes. Hikers, for whom the outdoors is a routine way of life and every trip is a discovery and an adventure, know many places and where to look for them.
Amateur travelers
Travelers that rarely go for a walk, especially when there is nice weather and a day off from work. For them, the trip is a special and rare occasion and they will look for the perfect place. Travelers who do not have a list of destinations prepared in advance and do not have anyone to ask at a moment's notice.
For them, the perfect spot is as spontaneous as the trip itself. Hikers who were happy that the perfect place to stop was convenient to find and easy to get to. If they did not find the ideal place relatively easily, they probably would not make an effort to look for it.
"Rarely" travelers
market research
National Parks Apps
Some of the strongest players in the field of nature apps are the National Parks in the United States. In the United States, there are about 63 national parks with apps, providing an extensive solution for visiting parks but with directions only to areas designated for visitors. The element of exploration and wandering does not exist in them.
A collaborative app for trips in Israel. This is a geographical encyclopedia for travelers. The app displays the location on 3D topographic maps and allows users to add points of interest. I found several issues with the app:
"Amud anan" Social travel app
- It is very difficult to get acquainted with topographic - maps without prior knowledge.
- The challenging learning curve for users.
- Difficulty buying and downloading maps.
- The search function is ineffective.
- Clumsy and not intuitive.
- Convenient sharing and marking system.
- There is no hierarchy of points.
- Directions to the destination are not user-friendly.
User RResearch
Find a secluded and pastoral corner in nature, and just spend time in it
What is your favorite type of hike in nature?
Hiking trails, with or without water, find a spot along the way and enjoy nature
Spend the night in some nice and quiet place
Questionnaires for 35 travelers. To gather as much measurable information as possible regarding habits, preferences, ways of thinking, and the main methods of use. In this part, I interviewed 35 people. After analyzing the questionnaires, I learned a lot about the way the product should be developed, what should be emphasized and what should be further explored in the next stage of in-depth interviews with users.
User interviews
In-depth interviews. The purpose of the In-depth interviews is to better understand the results from the quantitative research phase. At this point, I focused on understanding behavior patterns in specific situations, preferences and complex ways of thinking.
Questionnaire research
Personas
Persons are descriptive figures built on the data collected from the study in order to represent the different types of users who will use the product, application, site or service offered in a similar way. These can be quantified, researched and relevant lessons and thoughts for further planning and design can be derived from them. The personas will help the designer understand the needs, experience, goals, and behavior of the users.
-The Solution -
A simple interface that will help you find and reach the relevant spots near you by focused filtering of characteristics that are important to you and navigation to the spot with detailed driving directions, accompanied by accurate photos and instructions.
The user will be able to see photos, details, and other travelers scores which will verify the quality, cleanliness and description of the spot.
The user will be able to share spots he liked or discovered, get a higher rating and be exposed to new and special spots.
The user will not be able to download the app from the app store but will have to be invited to it and thus, the quality of the community is maintained, increasing itself with quality users.
-The solution -
an app for finding and navigating to secret places in nature
An app for finding and navigating to secret places in nature.
User Flow
User flow is a schematic flow chart that a typical user passes in order to complete a task. User flow takes the user from the entry point, through a number of actions to the desired result and the final action. In my case, I chose a User flow for an experienced user on his way to find the ideal spot for him. in this User flow, he decides to change the spot settings, navigate to the place and even report a problem on-site. This is one of many different types of User flows.
Spots Hierarchy
Each spot has a color by type and a graphic description of the dot type. For example: lake, mountain, landscape, grove, forest, and more. By clicking on the relevant spot, the user can read more information about the spot. For example: who marked it, how popular it is, are there users on their way to the spot, and what facilities can be found there.
When a new user joins the app, he has the option to search and find the public spots shared by everyone and/or create a private list that he can share with the whole community or with selected people. The more places he finds and shares, the higher his ranking in the app, and the "secret" spots will open up to him. This hierarchy will, to some extent, ensure the constant improvement of the spots in the system.
There is no single definition for a "spot". A spot is a place with exceptional quality A beautiful, quiet, notably isolated place. A spot is something different for everyone, but the common feature to all spots, is the uniqueness in them that sets them apart from the rest of the places in the world.
( In the photo: the spot my wife and I found )