Project Summary
What is Wayfarer?
Wayfarer is an interactive driving audio-tour experience for the intellectually curious traveler.
The Vision
To create a linear audio tour experience the user could enjoy while driving. The app will dually navigate the user through the tour while also playing audio associated with different points along the way. The app will notify the user with a bell or sound that the next “Waypoint” is coming up soon. When the user passes over the point, the next “chapter” of the story will begin playing automatically.
Brand Vision
Look and Feel
Ric and Scott were looking for something reminiscent of vintage national park posters; something clean, but with character. They expressed interest in the pastels used by David Hockney in his pieces specifically of California. They also were interested in elements relating to old maps, adventure, and discovery.
Identifying value
I identified the value to be gaining a deeper understanding of the areas people travel through via an engaging, character-centric story. Competitors in the space are focused mostly on sharing raw information in a textbook-like fashion. There’s a huge opportunity here to make learning new things significantly more fun and engaging.
Solutions
I determined the main use cases we’d be solving for would include the user that would like to entertain him/herself and their family during a road trip, the user that would like to learn more about a destination while traveling through, and the user that would like variety in content to consume while driving long distances.
User Journeys
Core loop & journeys
I built out UX Diagrams for the core loop and comprehensive user journey using Miro, a collaborative tool that acts as an unlimited whiteboard. Flip through images below, or hit Miro Board link to get a closer look.
Wireframes and User Testing
Wireframes
Below are the initial wireframes I built with Sketch in preparation for user testing. I created two sets reflecting two states: with purchases, and without purchases. Check out the different states by selecting the link below.
Design Challenges
Building the wireframes and having discussions with the team revealed a lot of interesting challenges for creating a linear audio tour experience in a context where there are lots of variables that can interfere. For example, what happens if the user pauses audio for a short period of time, continues, and then hits the next point before the previous is finished? What do we do if the user needs to pull off for gas, or for something to eat? How would we go about getting them back on track? These questions and many more were addressed as we moved through each step of the process.
User testing
I built an interactive prototype with Principle, prepared questions and encouraged my clients to interview as many friends and family for the first iteration of testing as possible. There were a number of really strong insights we gained from doing so. Key learnings included the following:
- I’d like a way to go back and listen to audio for specific points
- It’d be great if there were additional points outside the tour that were suggested, like good restaurants or lookout points
- Seeing the price under buttons was off-putting, hadn’t explored enough to see a lot of value before price presentation
- Include real-time distance from the start point of the tour in the Tour Preview screen
- Include information about when would be the best time to do the route (ex. to avoid traffic)
- Trailer video icon not prominent enough
- Adding a tour overview would help me visualize where I’ll be going would be very helpful
Design System
Final Designs Prototype
