The Bacon Dilemma
For a recent job interview, I was given a challenge: Solve a real-life user-experience problem that does not involve software or the internet.
I decided TESCO's unhelpful bacon packet
was primed for some problem-solving.
The Spots App
Overview
A concept side-project using UX methodology. The aim was simple - identify a problem in the urban extreme sports space, and solve it.
The result is an app which draws from user interviews and competitive analysis to allow practitioners of these sports to progress and meet up for sessions. There's also a pretty sweet UI that works in both light and dark themes!
Discovery
“At the end of the day you’re sharing that common goal”
Regardless of the interdisciplinary politics between urban sports, the 'common goal' is that no matter what you ride, you get stoked on landing tricks and progressing.
“We’re all looking for the same sort of stuff”
Skaters, BMXers, practitioners of parkour or whoever it may be, generally want to find a nice quiet spot with some interesting obstacles and have a session.
“You really need to session with a group to progress”
If there is a good amount of people, they are able to feed off each other, get inspired and push each other forward.
My user interviews at the skatepark involved several skaters, 2 scooter kids, a group of 3 BMXers and an in-liner.
Solution
Prototype
Dark theme
Light theme
'Session' feature
As we know from the skatepark research, riding with others is the best way to progress…
Riders can use the ‘session’ feature, which tracks users’ GPS, to find nearby groups currently riding spots. Wherever users see this green colour, it means ‘session’. This feature is unique to Spots and not found in other spot-finding apps.
Avatars
Users can pick an avatar if they don't want to upload a photo. This will show as their current location on the map, and anywhere their profile picture would show, such as in messaging other users.
They can also pick an image which shows their sport, flagging to others who might want to ride with them. While this may seem to segregate riders into their tribal sports, the greater goal of progressing their skill level is better served by this ability to locate other practitioners of the specific sport.
Conclusion
I had heaps of fun making this concept app, and next steps would include testing the flows and iterating. If anyone out there is interested in making something like this and need a UX designer, I would be super happy to offer my services pro-bono - I ride BMX and would love for there to be an app like this in existence!