Product: Mobile Application
Time: 8 Weeks
Role: Solo Project - Product Designer
Tool: Figma, Adobe Photoshop, Chat
What is the problem?
Ever find yourself exploring a new neighborhood and stumbling upon hidden gems—like a quiet park corner, a cozy sandwich shop, or an old building with a quirky backstory?
These unique discoveries make each walk memorable, but finding a way to capture the path, memories, and storyline behind how you stumbled upon them can be challenging.
What is Venturist?
Venturist is an app that turns your eventful walks into shared adventures, letting you capture and share unique finds—like hidden gems, scenic views, and unexpected sights—with friends. The app aims to boost your sense of presence, inspire exploration, and encourage physical activity. Venturist helps the user break routine and discover the world beyond familiar paths.
Where did the idea come from?
Moving to a new city sparked my curiosity to explore and uncover its hidden gems. As I wandered through the streets and neighborhoods in this new city, I discovered countless stories waiting to be told. These experiences made me wonder:
How can I document and share my urban adventures with friends, so they can immerse themselves in these stories too?
How can we share a journey with our friends?
{ Final Solution }
Venturist Home
The dashboard provides users with a simple, efficient way to review past explorations and plan new ones. It also allows easy access to their profile, chat with friends, and explore the map feature.
Venturist Walk
The walk feature allows users to begin their exploration using either the map or AR. It allows them to record their journey and document attractions through text, images, or videos, which eventually creates a visual story of their path.
Venturist Gallery
The gallery serves as a collection of both past and upcoming walks. Each entry includes a map of the walk, a description, and any media—such as photos, videos, or notes—documented by the person who recorded the walk.
Venturist Chat
Since the app’s primary focus is exploration, documentation, and sharing experiences with friends, I designed the chat feature to reflect these goals, making it more than just a standard messaging tool.
What were the goals?
• Providing options for users to customize their experience based on different interests
• A design that promotes active exploration rather than passive scrolling
• Encouraging users to explore beyond their regular walking routes, especially in areas they may be unfamiliar with.
• Allowing users to share discoveries with friends in an engaging way without overcomplicating the interface.
User Research
Results and findings
Results and findings
Given the quick turn-around, we conducted a small survey with 15 people. Most of these individuals are graduate students. Here are the results:
• 87% of survey takers say they enjoy documenting the unique spots they discover
However believe feel their current tools (e.g., photos alone) don’t capture the full experience or path taken.
• 73% of survey takers express a wish to share their discoveries with close friends
Many shared an emphasis on sharing the journey, not just the destination. They want to provide context around how they found these spots, not just what they found.
Information Architecture
The information architecture of Venturist is designed to be intuitive and user-centered, ensuring seamless navigation and easy access to key features. The app's structure prioritizes the discovery and sharing of walking experiences.
{ Design }
Visual Design
Color Palette:
To encourage users to upload their own photos, I chose a minimalistic color palette to reduce visual distractions and let user content take center stage:
• The palette was intentionally chosen to reduce visual distractions and allow user photos to stand out as the focal point.
• The neutral tones create a clean canvas that complements user-generated content, regardless of each image’s colors
• Blue is used sparingly as an accent color to highlight important interactive elements, making them stand out without drawing attention away from user photos.
Font:
• Clean, Simple Typography: I chose Avenir Next text for its clean, straightforward typography that enhances legibility, making it easy for users to read, even while on the go.
Component Library
Home: Design Insight
In designing the dashboard, my goal was to create a clear hierarchy that allows users to quickly identify key features while avoiding information overload. I focused on creating an intuitive user interface with a simple layout, clear labels, and a monochrome design, ensuring that user-documented media serves as a tool to personalize the app experience.
Walk: Design Insight
The Walk feature is designed to encourage users to capture media as they explore, helping those with a visual memory create a "map of memories" that aligns with the city’s layout. The AR function allows users to scan objects, making it easier for them and others to recognize and revisit those items in the future.
Gallery: Design Insight
Creating a gallery that would stand out was challenging. I decided to have thumbnails with important information on the bottom for clarity.
Chat: Design Insight
the design offers quick access to the collection of shared walks, allowing users to easily scroll through and explore them.
Future Work
• Run more usability tests to validate the current design and implement new user findings
• This was my first experience creating a complete component library and refining it over the semester, which taught me the importance of establishing a detailed guideline upfront to avoid repetitive work.
