This was one of my most complex projects, Hike with Me is an app based on searching hikes on a map and join groups. They asked me to wireframe the screens based on the user flow, so I had to think about how certain users would interact with each screen and how it could change.

My two user personas are Joaquin and Shania, Joaquin is a more experienced hiker while Shania downloaded the app out of curiosity.

On this project, I learned how to get in the mind of the users to give them what they need to keep using this app, and how this can change depending on the user. I learned to add and remove features mindfully to give the best experience to every possible outcome

The objective of this project was to think about the "path" that the different users are going to take to create a wireframe based on this analysis. I developed empathy by getting on the shoes of the user personas to give them what they would need in order to schedule or join a hike with friends.

This project had two user personas: Joaquin, an experienced hiker who wants to organize hikes with his friends, and Shania, who is just getting started and would like to meet new people to interact with and get guidance. Two opposite users, but with the same objective: hiking with friends.

My first step as an UX Designer was to develop empathy for my users, I considered their concerns, motivations and mostly, needs. After giving some thought, I used post-its to create a general user flow of how the app would behave for every user, considering what is required for getting to their objectives.

I recreated my user flow on digital for a more clean read, and looked at it from the perspective of my users. For example, if I was Shania, I would appreciate some guidance on where to proceed, I would then choose and join a hike to meet people. The same goes for Joaquin, I would probably login and schedule a Hike to invite my friends since I'm experienced. You can see the different flows here:

With a clear structure built, I started wireframing on Balsamiq, I went on logical order (from signup/login to finishing a hike) to really feel like my users and understand which info they need and when.

I made sure that every needed information and interaction is in its right place.

The main screens are: scheduling a hike, joining a hike, finishing a hike and rating a hike, since there's where resides the main objective of the app: to get user to hike together.

Scheduling a Hike: I added a map and the possible hikes with the distance and difficulty to give an easy glance, and allow users to compare options. After they have choosen a trail, they would be required to fill extra info like the date, participants and most importantly: allow guests to join. This permits users like Shania to join hiking groups. Then they can set limits like the number of guests and their experience level. If the host forgot to invite friends or they don't have the app, he can copy and send the invite link on the Hike Summary Page.

Join a Hike: just as in Scheduling a Hike, the users can see the map and compare the options, I think this would be important given the different levels of experience that the hikers could have. Shania, our user persona, can click a trail on the map or filter by date, distance and difficulty if she doesn't find good results. If the host allows it, Shania can invite her friends with the invite link.

Finished a Hike: this screen would show the obtained XP Points on the hike for two main reasons: to motivate users to keep going, and to give them and understanding of what level they're at. It also shows data about the hike and the user, such as, distance, difficulty, total hikes, etc. It allows users to add those who participated in the hike as well to remain in contact and maybe rejoin in a new one. Finally, the users can take a picture with their friends to remember the moment and rate the hike.

Rating a Hike: I implemented a like/dislike system to facilitate the use on tiny screens. There's the option to comment and add photos, and you can see what the other participants are saying.

My last step on this project was to rearrange the screens according to user, you can see the final results here:

The outcome are the wireframes and user flows created. This would be the base for any upcoming developing. I learned from this project to create and cultivate empathy to make design decisions, stepping in my user's shoes helped me create a versatile product that would adapt to each user. I learned to create user flows and to predict the next step a user might make.