Outdoors
CONCEPT FOR A WELLNESS TRACKING APP
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Role
UX DESIGNER
USER RESEARCHER
Duration
2 WEEKS
Team
SOLO
Approaching motivation differently
Defeating laziness and maintaining a healthy habit? Well, that's no walk in the park. Or is it?
It's been scientifically proven that being outdoors has numerous physical and mental health benefits, and most people feel it. Still, it's easier to give in to laziness rather than commiting to a long hike. The task seems enourmous, which makes taking the first steps towards and maintaining the habit quite challenging.
Outdoors is an app concept that aims to gently inspire people to spend even a little time outside the four walls to improve their well-being.
Problem
Users need motivation to spend more time outdoors, taking into account their goals and needs.
Solution
Creating an app that encourages its users to spend more time outdoors by showing benefits, finding destinations and tracking progress in relation to set goals.
I reached this conclusion by exploring the gap between...
...my assumptions and user needs
Through surveys and interviews, users helped me validate the need for the product concept I had in mind. However, based on user research insights, users had me re-think the features that would constitute the MVP of Outdoors.
A large majority of users reported that they recognized and appreciated the benefits of being outdoors on their well-being, and that they would like to do so more often (76.9% and 84.6% respectively). From this, I learned that there was a gap between what users wanted to do and what they did. What remained was the question of how I, as a designer, could help users meet their goals. Approaching the solution, I assumed that users would be easily motivated by a community of like-minded people to keep them company. My initial assumption was wrong. Based on quantitative data and conversations with potential users, I learned that their needs were quite different.
ASSUMPTION
REALITY
...competitors and user needs.
As for the competition, there are plenty of apps that focus on the "great outdoors" and allow for effective planning of hikes and sports activities. I examined the most successful competitors offering outdoor-related services to see what they offered. The features of apps such as Komoot, Outdooractive and Alltrails focus on planning extensive routes with different levels of difficulty according to the user's fitness level. These activities are mostly measured in hours and include intensive sports such as hiking, running, biking and skiing.
But let's face it: most people don't have the time or energy for such a commitment. The common city dweller - a working professional, a busy parent - can often only afford an evening walk in the neighbourhood or a weekend day in the nearest forest. Based on user interviews, I knew that was enough to sufficiently refresh and recharge one's batteries. This gap is not addressed by the products currently available on the market. That is how I have learned how important it is for my product to encourage and celebrate even the smaller achievements by saying: they matter just as much.
Translating gaps into useful features
As described above, I identified three main factors that could help users to find the motivation to embark on a journey (even a short one) outdoors. I translated these three motivators into three sections and one feature. The sections are ‘PLACES', ‘GOALS’ and 'INSPIRATION'.
Naming of features
The names for these sections were chosen through a process of a sticker-vote with potential users. Every participant was presented with three options for each feature (and the feature's description), out of which they were to choose one that represented the feature in questions in the most suitable way. For instance, the three options for the "where to go" were DESTINATIONS, PLACES, and LOCATIONS. This method allowed to visually respresent users' preference that was based on feelings, rather than length or other considerations.
PLACES: the difficulty of deciding where to go could be the difference between staying home and going out. Users needed to know that the destination met their needs in terms of accessibility, scenery, and facilities. This feature allows searching destinations by applying filters.
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GOALS: users want the ability to motivate themselves by setting goals and tracking how well they performed against them. Goals can be measured in terms of frequency of performed activities and time spent outdoors. Walked time and distance can then be compared to the moods reported by the user.
INSPIRATION: people know the subjective benefits spending time outdoors had on their well-being - but laziness still gets in the way. This feature would inform users about scientifically proven benefits of being outdoors on their physical and mental health.
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Insight-based UI
In developing a user-centered product, I based my design decisions on the findings from the research phase. Having reviewed competitors, I found that they offer similar products not only in terms of functionality, but also of visual language and feel - which created an opportunity for something different.
Competitors promoted breathtaking sights mixed with remarkable achievements. This was reflected in the design in the form of images of landscapes, trails and slopes, along with use of one primary green color with a supporting black or white. This is indeed inspiring, but can also be somewhat intimidating. In contrast to grandiosity, I chose to emphasize the fact that motivation can be found in small and familiar things. One needs to take the first step to be able to notice the small wonders around: blue skies, puffy clouds, and tiny grass sprouting beside the sidewalk. Instead of grand, I have highlighted the small - which is no less impressive and equally beneficial to mental health. That's why Outdoors' UI has a soft background that features familiar motifs of nature, such as the sky and vegetation. The colours are calm, while the lines are gentle and flowing.
Outcomes
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Future steps
The prototype went through several rounds of testing and iteration in its earlier stages, but the hi-fi still requires another round - which would be my next step.
I also feel that the key features require some refinement. The PLACES section lacks space for saved destinations. Another feature I would like to work on further is the "Well-being" section on GOALS. I would like to further develop the reporting systems on users' overall mood as well as the aspects they would like to measure over time - such as creativity and stress levels. Finally, the "Record" feature needs some work: its archive section calls for better organization, and the recording process needs to be more intuitive for users.