SKI
An app that enhances
the skiing experience
for beginner.
unconfident when trying to adapt to a new
resort and unable to contact my friends
when skiing. So we were wondering what
we could do to solve this situation.
In this project, I took on the role of UX
designer and researcher.
Beginning skiers easily get anxious when skiing, which would affect their ski experience. How can we help skiers gain confidence and provide them with a pleasant skiing experience?
Most of the skiing apps in the market today are not designed for beginners. We believe that SKI should provide more information and help for beginning skiers to feel more confident and comfortable at skiing.
We researched the four existing ski apps on the market and asked over 50 beginners what would affect their skiing experience. Many existing apps allow for tracking skiing data, We identified two primary needs: intuitive trails information and increased frequency of contact while skiing.
In order to understand the needs of skiers, I sent out surveys and received 56 valid responses.
By comparing the exisiting HUDs in the market, I ventured out and analyzed the pros and cons of current HUD features of different brands.
- Record Skiing Data
- Choosing the Suitable trails for them
- Contact with others while skiing
- Getting help in emergency situations
5 beginning skiers were interviewed about their current ski preparation and the negative situations they encounter while skiing.
Users care about the weather, temperature, and crowds on the day they ski.
.png)
When beginners choose a trail, they are most concerned about the icy conditions, the difficulty, the scenery, and whether or not there are any unexpected conditions happening now.
.png)
Beginners can contact their friends when skiing to make them feel safe and they usually do not know the emergency number of the ski resort, so when they encounter an emergency it is difficult to contact others in time to get help.
.png)
When beginners are challenged with more challenging trails, they will easily lose their feelings of safety and will want to be accompanied by someone to ski down.
.png)
“The icy conditions and the crowd on the trails were important to my skiing experience.”
Eileen wasn't sure about the conditions of the trail, such as whether there was ice or how crowded it was, and she usually avoided the very long line for the chairlift because she thought it must be crowded up there.
.png)
“Skiing is so cold that I don't want to turn on my phone to switch software to check my friends' messages.”
Bruce feels cold when skiing and it is very troublesome to switch between ski and chat apps. He would only connect with his friends at the bottom and at the top of the mountain.
“When I hit a steep hill, it was really scary. I couldn't believe I could ski down by myself.”
When Doreen encounters a very steep trail she loses her confidence and needs someone to ski down the hill with her.
Skiers choose their slopes based on multi-dimensional factors. For instance, the snow's quality, people's flow, etc.
Existing apps can't personalize recommendations for skiers. For example, some skiers prefer landscape, some focus on the fun of the slopes, etc.
When skiers encounter unexpected situations it is hard to get help.
allows them to find the right trails
Skiers can instantly know the real-time conditions of the slopes, basic information, and other people's reviews.
can find the right trail
By the skier's preference, the app will recommend the most suitable trails by priority.
in touch with others
Makes it easier for skiers to communicate with each other.
Brainstorm ideas
While the Go Ski page provides users with a record of their trip, users have been tested and found that the mileage helped them feel more confident about skiing the entire trip than the percentages.
I overestimated the benefit to users of displaying different information at the same time. In fact, users were confused by the information-filled screen and preferred a clean interface. So I reorganized the visual aspect of the interface so that information is only displayed when the user needs it.
.png)
At present, users do not have enough information to know about the trails when they go to a new resort. This often leads to users not being able to find the right trails in a short time. To solve this problem, I have set up a feature that allows users to prioritize their needs to find the best trails for them. As a result, the software recommends the most suitable trails for them based on their needs and provides real-time information about the trails.
I found that beginners prefer to ski in groups and they need to make a team to increase their confidence, so I set up a team system where they can see the location of their teammates on the map.
Nowadays, the vast majority of beginners do not know the emergency number of the resorts. This leads to most of the time, users are not able to get help in short time. To solve this problem, I set up a contact function that allows users to contact people nearby timely and provide emergency information, so as to increase the chance of getting help.
.svg)
