SnowLabs
SnowLabs is a trip planning website designed to replicate the snowboarding experience at various ski resorts.
Role:
UX Designer, UI Designer, Video Game Design
Tools:
Figma, FigJam, Unity, VSCode, C#
Project Duration:
3 months
Summary:
I designed a travel planning website that helps snowboarders and skiers find the best resort for their skill level. People new to snowboarding often struggle with selecting the most suitable ski resort to meet their needs. They may hesitate due to a lack of familiarity with available ski resorts and may have uncertainty about what to expect from the experience.
The goal
How Might We help new skiers and snowboarders find the perfect snow resort for their needs?
IN A RUSH? JUMP TO FINAL DESIGNSResearch & Journey Mapping
Journey Mapping the User Experience
To figure out what features to develop, I created personas following the "Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework." This model was very helpful in finding critical moments I should pay attention to. Through these journey maps, I was able to pinpoint tasks on my website that were both satisfying and challenging.
User Flows
User Flows
Here is a user flow I created that illustrates in great detail the flow of my website. Users start on the home page and search for ski resorts. Users find trails that they are interested in and play in-game scenarios of the resort.
User Interviews & Concept Testing
Testing my concepts with video game designers
I reached out to designers on LinkedIn and scheduled seven meetings with professionals in the industry. During a particularly insightful conversation with a Game Developer from Rockstar Games, I was inspired to dedicate my final semester to learning C# and Unity. It felt like the perfect time to acquire new skills, and I was determined to challenge myself for this thesis.
Just three days later, I created a project brief and presentation for the same designers. I aimed to create a travel planning website that allows users to play video game levels of snow resorts with real-time weather conditions.
Visual Design Exploration
Reiterating Problematic Features
I explored a variety of different ways to search, filter, and select dates. Based off of my final prototype showcased at California College of the Art's 2023 Senior Showcase, my audience suggested to me to have a more visually appealing user interface.
Compared to my old designs of drop-down menus and collapsing content, the new more modern and intuitive style was well received. Users liked that users don't have to click into drop-down menus for information to pop up. Originally, users had to click a drop down menu to change the difficulty. That is not the case anymore.
Old Designs
New Designs
Final Designs & Gameplay
1. Choosing a Ski Resort
Users can search for ski resorts by name or choose one from the list provided. The website offers a filter feature that lets users search for resorts of their skill level. Additionally, users can specify a future date, and the in-game experience will emulate the weather conditions for that day.
2. Playing a Trail
After choosing a ski resort, users select a trail to play. Each trail has descriptions explaining the difficulty of the route.
3. Gameplay
After selecting a ski trail, users are put in the snowboarding experience. If the date selected has dark skies with heavy snowfall, the game will reflect that. The conditions in the game will help users prepare for their upcoming trips.
Reflection
It is important to reach out to people to broaden your understand of design and communication
My primary objective with this project was to gain a deep understanding of the video game development process. In all my endeavors, my central goal is to enhance communication with development teams by grasping the systems they employ in game creation. By engaging with professionals I connected with and asking questions about Unity tools, I made significant strides in mastering Unity and C#. These newfound skills will undoubtedly benefit my career in Product Design.