ACG Hiking App: Case Study
The Proposal
Challenge
How might we give members of the hiking community a hub to provide convenience
and solutions to everyday problems on the trail?
Key Objective
The ACG hiking app should connect trail lovers together & provide users with top rated hiking trails, group hiking features, shopping & more.
User Personas & Stories
In the early development stage I interview real people that share the same interests as other members of the hiking community, discovering their likes and dislikes on the trail. Gathering data from the interviewees, I am able to form two distinct user personas and their pain points.
User Persona: Mike Johnson
Mike's Pain Points
User Persona: Sarah Miller
Sarah's Pain Points
Paper Wireframes
Now understanding the common pain points I am able to brainstorm and sketch paper wireframes to provide the best possible solutions for the user.
Solution #1
From the trail page there are multiple destination categories. Once a trail is selected, the user has the option to share the trail details and location to friends within the app, contacts and more.
Solution #2
Within the Group Hike option the user can plan a hike with friends marking the date, time & directions directly in the app, with an option to add the date to their calendar.
Solution #3
On the app homepage the user can view posts from other ACG members and friends, add contacts, plan hikes and more.
Solution #4
To help the user prepare for a hike, there is a "shop this trail" option located on the trail info page. When selected, the user is taken to the shopping page of the app with a curated list of hiking gear fitting most appropriate for each trails temperature and condition. This goes on to become the highlighted feature of the ACG app.
Solution #5
Giving the user a sense of security, the Hike Tracking feature allows navigation back to the start of the trail when GPS is unavailable, using the phones compass and "point A" to "point B" direction.
Solution #6
The ACG community can explore the trails together with the Group Hike event page. Choose your city and view events in the area, once an event is selected join the trail group and confirm the date, time and other trail info.
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
After completing the wireframe sketches I build the low-fidelity wireframes in Adobe XD, forming a more detailed flow with necessary changes.
Wireframe #1
Wireframe #2
Wireframe #3
Wireframe #4
Wireframe #5
Wireframe #6
Brand Exploration
After the wireframe testing stage there are 2 branding moodboards composed for the UI of the ACG app.
The first moodboard is inspired by trail guides and the rugged earth tones seen on the trail.
The second is inspired by the 90s roots of Nike ACG. Pulling colors from the eras popular hiking apparel style and advertisement design, this goes on to become the final Identity of the ACG app.
High-Fidelity Mock-up
After wireframing and brand design options are complete, the best option from both categories are met to create the final high-fidelity mock-up.
