WaveMakers

WaveMakers is a forecast app that provides surfers with the weather information and safety recommendations necessary to make informed decisions before heading to the water. This project was conducted as part of my UX Design Program (“UX Immersion” course) with CareerFoundry. I designed the app with marginalized communities and first-time surfers in mind so they can feel supported as they venture into the surf world.

My role:

• UX Design

• UI Design

• UX Research

• Branding

• Prototyping

• User Testing

Tools:

• Adobe XD

• Adobe Photoshop

• Adobe Illustrator

• Zoom

• Canva

• Flaticon

Timeline:

9 months, part-time

(up to 20 hours/week)

Discovery 🔍

The Problem

Some of the common reasons people surf are to challenge themselves, connect with nature, and be part of a passionate and exciting community. To make sure that they can do this safely, it’s common for surfers to check the conditions of the wind, waves, and weather near where they will be catching waves. Knowing this information can help surfers avoid dangerous situations and better prepare for their time on the water. However, this can be difficult for surfers, especially beginners, since many existing forecast apps display complex weather data in a difficult-to-understand way.

Surfers need an app that shares weather conditions for a given area in a simple and aesthetic way because they want to know what the waves are like and whether the water is safe to surf in. We will know this to be true when we see how many surfers use the app to check the weather before they go into the water.

Competitive Analyses

To gain inspiration for what I should and should not include in my app, I conducted competitive analyses on two of the most popular surf forecasting apps: Surfline and Magicseaweed.

The analyses showed that surfers enjoy using Surfline and Magicseaweed because they both empower users to be their own forecasting experts through the use of live cameras and human reporters. The global reach of the apps and the detailed graphs/maps provide users with comprehensive knowledge of the current weather conditions. Additionally, both apps foster a community by having a large social media following that highlights professional surfers performing at their best on the water.

However, there were a few aspects of both apps that caused frustration amongst users or could be improved.

Based on this research I made initial plans for how I could design the new app.

Understanding the User

After weeks of being unable to find surfers who were willing to participate in user interviews, my mentor suggested that I contact people who were not currently surfers to ask them why they had not participated in the sport, and if/why they were hesitant to do so. This idea intrigued me since many of the existing resources I researched were targeted at experienced surfers, so I was unsure if beginners or anyone who had a basic interest in surfing were having their needs met.

I interviewed three people who had little to no surf experience. I asked about their reasons for not surfing, and if they thought anything could encourage them to pursue the sport. All of the participants identified as women, people of color, and/or members of the LGBTQ+ community.

With the insights I gain during the user interviews, I created my primary persona.

Persona

After conducting the user interviews I decided that my target audience would be people in marginalized communities that were interested in surfing, but were not yet completely comfortable due to safety concerns and/or feeling excluded by the “surfer bro” stereotype. Because I needed a specific user in mind throughout my design process,

I created my primary persona, Fatima Smith.

Fatima is a busy and technology-advanced millennial who lives in Seattle, WA. She is considering surfing as a way to de-stress and gain more work-life balance, but she is also worried that she will not know how to stay safe in the water. Fatima needs a way to learn about the basics and what to expect on the days that she surfs to feel more confident and well-prepared.

Scenario

I storyboarded a scenario for Fatima to better understand the frustrations they would have with current surfing resources.

Defining Goals

Project Requirements

In addition to the basic features that are required for mobile apps, my UX Design program also had a list of requirements specific for the surf app project.

The features that I needed to include are:

• A display of wind conditions in real-time

• A display of wave conditions in real-time

• A display of weather conditions in real-time

• A display of algae reports in real-time

• Recommendations that can help users stay safe

User Goals

• Learn how to stay safe when surfing.

• Personalize their surfing journey to opt in and out of features.

• Not feel like an outsider in a predominately male and white sport.

Potential Difficulties

• The primary risk is that the app will not be able to provide accurate information in real-time.

• Because it will be a new app, it may not have enough global employees who can update the weather forecasts and reports several times each day.

• Another risk could be the large number of surfers who are loyal to other apps, especially Surfline, and may be reluctant to explore other platforms.

Possible Solutions

• There is a hole in the market for an app that provides beginning surfers with information on weather conditions.

• The key is to create a user experience that presents weather information in an aesthetically pleasing way that is also easy to understand.

• The backend development of the product will have to be optimized so that the information is accurate at any given time.

• Marketing will be important to present the app as an appealing alternative to popular competitive platforms.