PERSONAL PROJECT • FALL 2024
Mountain Project as a digital guidebook to more than 300,000 rock climbing routes across the world. Although it’s the default for many climbers on their adventures, the interface is difficult to navigate. Motivated by mine and my friend’s qualms with the app’s design, I redesigned the user interface to be more intuitive.
Current design
OVERCROWDED The app’s content-heavy design can feel overwhelming, with excessive information displayed at once and heavy black rules separating sections. This leads to constant scrolling. What if users could customize how much content they see at once for a more streamlined experience?
COUNTERINTUITIVE There are multiple ways to access similar content, like two separate buttons on the "Ohio" page for viewing climbing areas and finding specific climbs. What if users could search both areas and climbs on the same page, simplifying navigation?
Mapping out user flow
This exercise revealed a key gap: there are limited ways for users to access their to-dos and ticks—essential features for a climbing app that users would interact with frequently.Priority guide
To map out hierarchy in the new design, I developed priority guides to structure the user experience. This method ensures that I can prioritize content first, establishing a logical flow, before diving into visuals.
Insipration from existing apps
PHOTO CAROUSEL - INSTAGRAMMountain Project uses real-world landmarks, making photos a key feature. Instagram effectively handles photo carousels with a simple dot navigation system, helping users track their progress through images.SEARCH EXPERIENCE - SPOTIFY
Like Mountain Project, one of Spotify's core functions is search. Mountain Project doesn’t currently offer a way to view past searches, which could improve the overall user experience.
Delivering the same information in a streamlined, concise format.
The redesigned homepage offers immediate access to downloaded areas, along with a new "bookmarks" feature. Introducing a navigation bar makes the app's primary functions more accessible and easier to navigate.
FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS
As an ongoing project, I plan to revamp the comments experience and introduce a profile page to foster a stronger sense of community. Since all content is user-sourced, these enhancements will celebrate the contributions of users, whose input is vital to the app’s success.