an artistic stroll that encourages physical activity while exploring captivating artworks crafted by individuals within the community and showcased in their front yards.
My roles:
Project Manager
UX/UI Design
Prototyping
Tools used:
Figma
Canva
Discord
Timeline:
February - March 2023
Context
This was a project for UW’s IMD 491: Generative Research and Design course. Our professor connected us with Gregory Engel, the curator of Whimsy Walks (https://whimsywalks.org), who was seeking a website redesign.
The Whimsy Walks website appeared static and lacked any noteworthy functionalities. Despite the concept of Whimsy Walks being alluring, the website itself was rather unimpressive and unappealing.
Problem
Create an application that will attract users and encourage them to participate in Whimsy Walks.
Solution
The Before
Whimsy Walks was created to expose local artists workpieces but unfortunately, the website design was lackluster, with a minimalistic approach that failed to capture my attention. It lacked any interactive elements, making the site feel very rigid.
What's more, the website appeared outdated and unoptimized for modern web design practices, such as responsive design and mobile optimization. The lack of regular updates or fresh content only added to the stale impression.
Current Review
When it comes to website design, there's nothing more disappointing than a website that appears:
❌ Plain, boring
❌ Non-functional
❌ Lacks Interactivity
❌ Single Page of Content
Whimsy Walks was guilty of all, leaving me underwhelmed with no interest at all.
The website's current foundations were inadequate for further development which required to start from scratch.
The website consists of a single, long page that looks like the above image when scrolling, featuring up to 29 sections of art.
The Process
To gather research data, we designed a 20-question online survey and distributed it to a variety of participants, including our friends and family, neighbors of our group members, and Seattle residents.
Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we were unable to limit our focus to the neighborhoods where Whimsy Walks is located, so we expanded our survey to include the general Greater Seattle Area.
Survey Conduction
64%
of the participants commented that when going on walks, safety is a concern and they want to feel safe.
55%
of the responses indicated that dog walking was the primary reason for walking around their neighborhood.
36%
go on daily walks for healthy benefits.
9%
go on walks to sightsee, gain cultural absorption, and sense of community.
This helped us move forward with our design, and focus on the features that were most wanted based on the feedback we received from our participants.
Content Solutions
One big change we did was switch Whimsy Walks from a website to a mobile app.
Whimsy Walks is centered around nature walks. Having the app on a portable device would be more accessible and convenient for users on-the-go. It allow users to easily navigate routes and access information while outdoors.
1
2
Mobile apps offer a more streamlined and user-friendly interface compared to websites, which would enhance the user experience and increase engagement.
Whimsy Walks could take advantage of the many features and capabilities that are unique to mobile devices, such as GPS tracking and push notifications, to create a more personalized and immersive experience for users.
3
Broadening the pages and functionality
Style Guide
Lora and Lato share similar curves, height, and shape, making them highly legible.
Our color selection process aimed to reflect the outdoor walking experience offered by Whimsy Walks, with green being a central component to symbolize greenery. To incorporate a subtle pop of color, we decided on an orange tint, drawing inspiration from the art scene. The orange and green tints complement each other perfectly, without overwhelming the overall design.
Assets and Components Created on Figma
The Solution
A fun and engaging social media application for people to discover and appreciate local public art while building a community around it.
Home Page
Map Page
Check out the interactive prototype here
Community Page
Reflections
〰️
Reflections 〰️
Whimsy Walks was a 9-week project, but the assigned deliverables left me with less time to build the prototype. With only 2 weeks left, I started working on it without a plan.
We ended up splitting tasks with one member drawing out a mock-up design while others focused on class deliverables. It taught me to manage my time better and be conscious of time when there are constraints.
While some might find it easy, using Figma efficiently was a challenge for me. I self taught myself and didn’t take advantage of the endless tutorials there were to offer. Over time of dabbling, I became more familiar with Figma, but still lacked organization, often making things more complicated than necessary.
However, I'm proud of my ability to create assets, components, animations, and unique touches. I learned lots of new cool tricks which excited and motivates me to keep pushing forward to expand my knowledge.
In the end…
There were six other groups working on Whimsy Walks, each with a similar goal. Gregory had the freedom to choose which aspect he wanted to focus on, whether it be design or features. Ultimately, one group decided to pursue their project as their graduating capstone project.
Meanwhile, my group and I had a discussion on what we would have done if we had more time to work on the project. We came up with several potential enhancements, such as adding a map feature with route overviews, fitness tracking capabilities, and community events integration. Additionally, we recognized the importance of understanding user motivations and preferences for walking, such as why they go on walks (e.g., exercise, mental health) and what factors matter to them (e.g., scenery, distance). These insights could have been useful for further improving the app's appeal to potential users.