Overview
Past Paths
Past Paths is a mobile app that connects Vancouver hikers with their surroundings, with a focus on immersive narrative storytelling along the trail.
My role
UI/UX Designer
Tools used
Figma
Unity
Timeline
Oct-Nov, 2023
(4 weeks)
Team
Qianhui Qin, Chelsea Zhang,
Mandy Lo, Xin Ye, Ty Radman
Challenge at hand
How can we help hikers learn about the historical stories of the trails without interrupting their hiking experience ?
Background
Who are we designing for? What do they desire?
Let’s start with the client’s story...
Our client, as well as our primary user, a middle-aged man from North Vancouver, is curious about the historical stories of the land while hiking. He often checks Wikipedia to find answers to questions like "Who was the first person to reach the peak?" or "What happened at this lighthouse?" He wants a product that helps people his age learn this information and build a deeper connection with the trail.
Client’s Opinions Also Matter
📍 Navigation
🐚 Historical stories
🌟 Simple & aesthetic UI
Research
Learn more about our users
About 400,000 household (20%) in BC are hiking enthusiasts
49% no children
33.4% indicate interests in cultural history buffs
Enjoy travelling alone
Findings
Immerse in nature is a MUST
While hiking, individuals seek to immerse themselves in the beauty and tranquility of nature.
Navigation helps
People need navigation tools to guide them through unfamiliar trails.
cultural history buffs
Many hikers have a natural curiosity about the history and stories associated with the places they visit so they start searching for information on phones.
Annoyed by screens
Hikers frequently have to shift their focus from the natural surroundings to their mobile screens from time to time
Defining Persona
David
51
Consultant
Hiking Enthusiasts
Vancouver
Inspiration
"Vancouver is rich with stories. I want to know who was the first person to conquer the peak, how people used to live here, why they were here, and who they were...These questions just pop up in my mind during hikes."
Goals
Connect with the history and communities during hiking.
Pain Points
Difficulty getting historical information about hiking locations.
Disruption to hiking experience from online searches.
User Story
As a middle-aged hiker, I want to be introduced to the land’s historical significance without too much screen time, so that I can know more about this land under my feet and enjoy its tranquility as well.
Competitor Analysis
Product Type
Competitor
Inspirations
Limitations
Google Maps & AllTrials
Accurate live location detection, detailed multi-level zoom-ins, multiple filters to pick a hiking trails such as elevation, estimated duration, etc.
No stories
BC Assembly of First-Nation
Credible sourced stories presented on interactive maps
Rely on long text
ArcGIS StoryMpas
Animations on map
Mainly for presenting trends and infographics
Navigation Assistance
History website
Map Illustration
Audio Story Narration
Story City and Autio
Stories to be triggered automatically based on location
stories are about much larger places and communities rather than a landmarks
No one-stop solution in the market
Ideation
Is a location-triggered audio guide what we are looking for?
From market research, audio storytelling can help reduce screen time, and location-triggering can provide users with precise stories related to the places they pass by with minimal disturbance.
Value Proposition
FOR ... enthusiastic hikers
WHO ... wants to connect with the history and communities of the places
THE ... Pastpaths
IS A ... easy-to-use mobile hiking guide
THAT ... narrates history and communities stories along the way
UNLIKE ... Alltrails, Qutio and British Columbia Assembly of First Nations (BCAFN)
OURS ...
Provides an all-in-one hiking app with an audio guide that delivers narrative stories
Prioritization (Bullseye)
We invited the client to join in a bullseye exercise to categorize all proposed features into critical, important and less important. so that we can prioritize the features
Critical
Offline map for navigation
Audio tour guide
Map illustration
History stories with location triggers
Important
3D map
Setting up hiking goal
Social gallery
Effective notification but not disturbing
Less important
Visual presentation of the stories
Video
Leaderboard
In-app character as tour guide
User Flow
Wireframes
Testing
User Testing Insights
01
Font and button size
Font was hard to read because too small.
02
“Do Not Disturb” mode
Provide “mute” option in navigating page to allow users easily mute the story audio anytime.
03
New feature needed
Add comment feature in history gallery for photos/trails
Design Concept
Visual Identity
Aa
Outfit Medium
Outfit SemiBold
Outfit Regular
# 13391D
# 737240
# 737240
# ACBAB0
Map Illustration
POI Illustration
Branding
Final Design
Select your trail
Get trails information and select your trail before hiking.
Onboarding
Explore the trail
Trail details
One-Stop Solution
One-stop solution to start your journey, you are able to download the map and direct from home to trail without switching different apps back and forth.
Location Trigger Story!
Artistic Map transforms iconic places into lovely art.
Audio guide will be automatically triggered when you reach a point of interest (POI), sharing the historical story of the location.
See the photo from the present to the past
Take photo of the historical landmark. Here when you click the history gallery, you can see the photo of lighthouse from the present to the past.
