When did walking become so difficult?
In most suburban American cities, walking to places is close to impossible due to their car-centric infrastructure. Within the current environment, there is very little room for casual, spontaneous, or exploratory walking.
This is Santa Clarita.
As a result...
“With cars going 50 miles per hour even at the crosswalk, walking is really unsafe.”
“Streets get quite dark at night and there’s no one else on the sidewalk. I’d rather drive.”
“I used to really like walking, but walking in Santa Clarita is just so boring.”
“I didn’t even know there was a paseo. Where is the trail?”
With these in mind, we asked:
How can we make walking enjoyable no matter where you are?
Solution
Whether you’re in Santa Clarita, New York, or in the middle of nowhere, Amble’s Walk Generator will guide you on a different walk every day.
User research · UX strategy · UI design · Motion design · Prototyping · Illustration
Feature
Review a weather report tailored for walks.
No need to open the weather app and scroll every hourly forecast to figure out when to avoid the rain or when to leave in time to catch the sunset.Walkability Report
Feature
The walk generator allows the user to customize walks based on distance/duration, mood, and destination, making walks intriguing every single time.A New Walk Everyday with the Walk Generator
Feature
Unlike other map apps that might route you to walk on a highway, Amble’s navigation is tailored for pedestrians with features such as Sun Walk, Shade Walk, and Safe Walk modes.Navigation built for pedestrians
Research
I first looked into the market to examine whether existing products cater to walks for pleasure.
I gained the following insights about competitors:
From this, I wanted to design a product that would fill the space between “fitness tracking” and “outdoor adventure” with everyday walking as a casual experience.
Competitive Analysis
I first looked into the market to examine whether existing products cater to walks for pleasure.
I gained the following insights about competitors:
- ✅ Can track running, hiking, and walking with detailed stats
✅ Strong social features - ⛔️ Navigation apps are not as tailored to pedestrians
- ⛔️ Not optimized for casual, mindful, or exploratory walking
- ⛔️ Focus on achievement or destination rather than the experience of the walk
- ⛔️ Designed for planned outings, not quick, everyday, low-effort walks
From this, I wanted to design a product that would fill the space between “fitness tracking” and “outdoor adventure” with everyday walking as a casual experience.
Research
To better understand the needs of walkers, I conducted user interviews with interviewees in Santa Clarita and in Seoul about their experiences. 2 interviewees had cars and 6 did not. Out of the various issues and patterns in interviewees’ walks, I found that:
From the research, I gathered that a tool or service addressing navigation and timing issues could improve the experience of walks, if it could improve safety and, stimulation, and ease of walks.
Interviews & Affinity Mapping
To better understand the needs of walkers, I conducted user interviews with interviewees in Santa Clarita and in Seoul about their experiences. 2 interviewees had cars and 6 did not. Out of the various issues and patterns in interviewees’ walks, I found that:
- Interviewees recognize the potential psychological and physical benefits of walking but resort to driving for comfort and speed.
- Interviewees avoid walking due to safety concerns regarding cars, sidewalks, and dangerous areas.
- Sidewalks are often inaccessible for people with dogs, strollers, kids, or luggage.
- Planning a walk feels like work because interviewees have to check weather, sunset time, and crowd levels just to avoid discomfort or danger.
- If there were more stimulating destinations and variety, interviewees predicted they would walk more.
From the research, I gathered that a tool or service addressing navigation and timing issues could improve the experience of walks, if it could improve safety and, stimulation, and ease of walks.
Ideation
The research findings were enough to start brainstorming solutions to address these issues.
I pared down the ideas based on relevance and accuracy to the original problem, and feasibility of implementing the solution. For example, the points of interest feature seemed valuable for the purpose of providing reviews about interesting destinations, but it would require heavy community participation, which would be difficult to achieve in the early stages of the app.
Hence, the following 3 core functions were chosen:
🚶 Walkability Forecasts
🪄 Walk Generator
💬 Social Features
Wireframes
I drew out sketches of these functionalities to shape the rough structure of these functions, and created wireframes on Figma. The wireframes were helpful in figuring out the relationship of the different features, and to gather feedback.
Branding and Design Language
To brand the product, I cam up with a design system that would feel lightweight, organic, and highly legible, given the outdoor usage of the product. The mixture of serif and sans typography reinforces the mindful nature of the walks. Playful anthropomorphized illustrations add charm and liveliness to the app.
Design Explorations
Main Screen
The goal for the main screen was to serve as an effective launchpad for walks. I explored various content, with the goal of designing an effective gateway to other parts of the app.
I experimented with various main page options, where the main page would also serve as the first touchpoint of the walk generator. However, there were too much information or too many calls to action on the initial designs, which became overwhelming for the user.
I ended up designing the Walkability Report because it provides just the necessary amount of information for users, while providing a chance to look into details if they choose to. It also features a simple, bold call to action (”Start Walk”) allowing users to access the walk generator.
Walk Generator
As one of the standout features of the app, the walk generator needed a streamlined experience that would accurately capture what the user wants in the least amount of steps. After reviewing different models—control panels, text prompts, route suggestion cards, etc.—we arrived at a questionnaire model. It allows flexibility within defined parameters, while reducing cognitive load by taking the user step by step through the process.Navigation
The navigation had to be designed in a way that was different from other navigation apps for pedestrians. Rather than focusing on the most efficient route between point A and point B, it had to allow for exploration, and have features for making walks more pleasant, not just efficient.
The solution that I came up with was to hide the exact path and to only provide glimpses of the generated path as a default, sparking curiosity. By allowing users to reveal street view photos from the generated path, the experience of the walk is emphasized over the destination.
To address safety concerns while not overwhelming the user, I added a panel including detailed information on the path, featuring shade and road makeup information.
During the walk, it’s possible to modify your walk to your liking, between sun/shade modes (where you can be directed to sunny or shaded routes depending on the environment and time of day) or safe mode (brightly lit streets, streets with more activity based on live data).
Final Screens
Reflection
I learned that…
Users want the experience in between point A and B
Amble taught me that designing for nuanced goals like calm, safety, or surprise requires thinking beyond a single function. Flexible systems should adapt to user needs beyond efficiency.
Amble taught me that designing for nuanced goals like calm, safety, or surprise requires thinking beyond a single function. Flexible systems should adapt to user needs beyond efficiency.
You can encourage behavior change without gamifying it
Rather than tracking streaks or achievements, Amble focuses on delight, ease, and discovery. Motivation can be built through emotional resonance and moment-by-moment usefulness.
Rather than tracking streaks or achievements, Amble focuses on delight, ease, and discovery. Motivation can be built through emotional resonance and moment-by-moment usefulness.
A strong product narrative emerges from deep synthesis
Originally sparked by my own need for shaded routes as a dog owner, interviews across cities revealed larger needs: safety, discomfort, and planning fatigue. This shifted the product from solving a personal inconvenience to reimagining the experience more holistically and accurately.
Originally sparked by my own need for shaded routes as a dog owner, interviews across cities revealed larger needs: safety, discomfort, and planning fatigue. This shifted the product from solving a personal inconvenience to reimagining the experience more holistically and accurately.