THE QUESTION

Improve, Integrate, and streamline the camping planning process

Across the US millions of people take advantage of our National Park system and go camping each year.  For companies like REI, there is a vested interest in holding on to more customers and convincing them to continue camping.  This helps reinvest money into the parks and increases revenues for related businesses. Due to increasing constraints a number of people confirmed desire and interest in camping more often but noted specific obstacles.  

• Research and address obstacles by providing a platform where all aspects of the user experience would be contained and easily managed.
• Merged the elements of finding and booking campsites, building customized checklists, providing social and interactive components, and ensuring that all needed information is intuitively available. 

MY ROLE

led ideation, design and user testing while ensuring brand cohesion

As the sole designer It was my purpose to discover REI members pain points, integrate a web-based solution, and streamline the camping process. This was all in an effort to increase accessibility to the outdoors.

The Solution

Find similarities and patterns in order to build the persona hypothesis and identify an opportunity for improvements to the camping experience.  A number of  candidates were then screened to determine which issues were most problematic. Many of the participants stated that the planning process was complex due to the time investment needed to navigate multiple sites and then gather information from them. Making these obstacles more challenging is that much of the information presently available is outdated.

User Research

Through card sorts, heuristics, and competitive analysis it was found that other sites had some but not all of the information as requested by the users. Additionally many lacked any e-commerce aspect that would to help fill gaps in coverage of items needing to be purchased or replaced. Most users sought the ability to find a campsite online that had reviews and images, and then be able to book the trip all in one place. Lists and ways to collaborate with others was secondary, though it held significant interest as a way to share the experience.

Plan

The site was broken down to best describe how an interested camper would review and determine a desirable camp site. This was based on the process of orders of importance and need. Of those surveyed, finding a site and having availablen and then filtering it to better suit a campers needs or requirements as the changed what was important.

DESIGN

Sketches and Wireframe mock ups required a number of changes. In testing it was determined that some elements of the search function including providing a home page that was accessible was important.

Further changes to the wireframe were needed including adjust color on the Local Navigation bar as users found the information difficult to read.

RESULTS

User Testing Results

Testing provided insightful information in regards to organization of user interface elements. The side bar was equally useful to half those tested. Images were found helpful in making a decision about booking a trip. The navigation through the site was efficient with certain adjustments needing to be made. This includes placing buttons and navigation “Book Campsite” into the screen of the initial loading of the page. There was also work needing to be done to differentiate colors and fonts both within booking a site and on the checklist page. Issues included not enough variation of color to indicate hierarchy or orders of importance.

User Prototype Testing

Scores shows that that overall testing of prototype was a success and that the item was found both useful and needed. Many of the participants found the checklist very helpful and something they would use to plan trips. Most cited that being able to get a better understanding of the look of the site, see a map and book the campsite to be of the most important features. 

Further feedback requested that the information on availability be provided earlier to assist in the selection process. In the next iteration this will be added and tested. 

REFLECTIONS

The Take Away

I came away from this opportunity seeing more clearly the improvements that can be made in established companies like REI.  This company has an opportunity to reach out to greater numbers of its customers and do great things for reconnecting people with the beauty of the outdoors. REI defines its purpose as supporting people with an active and engaged lifestyle. Listening to customers and enthusiasts, provided the insight to streamline the processes of where how and what campers need to plan a successful trip. By bridging gaps cited and removing barriers for having more holistic sets of information it was possible to improve the would be campers experience. Further It was apparent by the feedback provided more then increase REI brand loyalty, implemented this type of product would rebuild many lost connections to the natural world.