Designing a community-driven outdoor experience to help people create meaningful connections through nature.
Overview
TrailTrek is a mobile experience designed to encourage people to explore local outdoor spaces while building stronger connections within their communities.
Created during a 3-day designathon, our team explored how digital experiences could transform everyday outdoor activities into opportunities for relationship-building and shared experiences.
Tools
Figma
FigJam
Canva
Google Docs
Role
UX Researcher
UX Designer
Team
UX Designathon Team (2)
The Challenge
How might we use elements of everyday life to promote bonding and relationship-building?
To better understand and approach the question, we identified three key themes:
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Everyday experiences
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Community connection
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Relationship building
💭 How Might We...
After identifying key themes from the original design challenge, we created an How Might We statement to better help future design decision.
How might we create a digital platform that encourages meaningful connections among community members while making outdoor exploration accessible, safe, and enjoyable for families and individuals?
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Design Goals:
Based on our initial exploration, we wanted to create an experience that:
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Encourages people to spend more time outdoors
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Supports meaningful connections between community members
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Provides accessible information about local trails
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Creates a safe and welcoming environment for families
Research
Primary & Secondary
To better understand existing behaviours around outdoor activities and community engagement, we conducted a combination of secondary and primary research.
Competitive Analysis
We analyzed existing platforms including:
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TrailLink
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Instagram
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Facebook
This helped us understand existing behaviours around:
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Discovering outdoor locations
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Sharing experiences
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Building online communities
Secondary Research
We reviewed existing literature exploring the relationship between nature and well-being. Research suggested that spending time outdoors can positively influence mental health, relaxation, and overall well-being.
“Living in urban areas with natural features such as trees, gardens, parks, birds, and water is associated with higher levels of mental well-being”
Study by Oannis Bakolis et al.
Primary Research
We conducted interviews with 10 participants to understand their outdoor habits, motivations, and challenges.
Key Finding #1
Outdoor experiences are connected to relationships (friends, family, etc.). Most participants preferred social events/activities in nature as opposed to solo ones.
Key Finding #2
People like social outdoor experiences. Participants described outdoor activities as opportunities for: 1) mental clarity, peace, and connection.
Key Finding #3
Safety influences outdoor participation. While many enjoy exploring nature, there are concerns around: 1) location, 2) safety, and 3) trail information.
Key Finding #4
90% of participants reported using their smartphones during outdoor activities for navigation, communication, capturing photos, or accessing information.
Survey Insights
A survey with additional participants supported our interview findings. Key insights includes:
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87.5% associated nature experiences with feelings of calmness
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81.5% believed outdoor experiences with loved ones create stronger connections
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81.2% preferred spending time outdoors with others
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43.7% identified stress relief as a motivation for exploring nature
Turning Insights into Design
Based on our research, we identified four core features:
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Community Groups
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Users can create or join local groups to share experiences, photos, and recommendations.
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Local Events
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Users can discover and participate in community outdoor events or organize their own activities.
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Trail Discovery
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Users can explore local trails with information including:
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Difficulty level
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Accessibility information
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Trail conditions
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Community reviews
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Community Resources
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Users can access helpful information shared by other community members.
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🖋️ Design Process
Due to the limited timeframe, our team followed a rapid design process:
Ideation
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Brainstormed potential solutions
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Prioritized features based on user needs
Information Architecture
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Organized content structure
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Defined key user flows
Prototyping & Iteration
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Created low-fidelity sketches
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Developed high-fidelity Figma prototypes
The Solution
TrailTrek is a community-focused outdoor platform designed to make exploring nature more social, accessible, and engaging.
The platform uses location-based communities to create a safer and more connected environment where users can discover trails, participate in events, and share outdoor experiences.
Key Screens
Community Groups
Users can connect with people nearby, share recommendations, and exchange outdoor experiences. People living in the same community can create groups or events OR participate in
partnered events like camping or hiking in
a national park.
Community Events
Users can discover or create outdoor activities to encourage participation and connection.
Reflection
This project strengthened my ability to work quickly through ambiguity and make informed decisions with limited time.
One of my biggest takeaways was the importance of balancing creativity with feasibility. During rapid design projects, it is easy to focus on adding features, but strong design comes from prioritizing the features that provide the most value for users.