Trailblazers

AR Gameplay Layered on Your Favorite Trails

Theme

Augmented Reality,

Audience engagement

Timeline

9 weeks

Role

UX Designer: Synthesizing research, Experience Designer, and interaction Designer

Problem

With the average American spending 90% of their life indoors, Trailblazers aims to create an experience that rivals the addictive nature of social media, drawing users outdoors to improve their health and happiness. Our goal is to make outdoor exercise as engaging as digital entertainment.

Solution

An augmented reality (AR) experience designed to transform trail running into an engaging adventure, encouraging users to exercise outdoors.

Get Ready to Run Wild and Play Hard

Introducing a running experience that transforms every jog into a thrilling adventure through time. In this game, you are not just a runner; you're a hero chosen by agents from the future, tasked with the critical mission of solving rifts in the temporal field.

Watch the trailer

We started with…

Ethnography

Observed popular trails and engaged with trail runners at the Austin Greenbelt.

Interviews

Conducted interviews with trail runners who represent different genders, ages, ethnicities, and body types, focusing on understanding behaviors and trends.

Literature Review

Analyzed existing journals and reports on the trail running community.

Data Collection

Explored online forums and platforms for discussions about trail running.

Pie chart displays survey response to the question, “How have you built or expanded your trail running community?”

Personas

Getting to know our users was key to creating an immersive and engaging experience.

The Athlete. Focused on performance and challenge, this persona values trails that test their physical limits.

The Social Runner. Driven by community and camaraderie, this persona enjoys sharing experiences with fellow runners.

The Explorer. Motivated by adventure and discovery, this persona seeks trails that offer breathtaking scenery and new experiences.

Through interviews and surveys, we gained valuable insight into our users' goals, needs, experiences, and behaviors. These personas helped us create a user-centric approach and ensure our ideas aligned with our target audience.

Digital Media Value Map

Next, we defined the audience’s functional wants and needs, pains and gains, and purpose and motivations. These discoveries informed the design of our product and services.