TrailRanger

A fresh approach to outdoor exploration

2024

Solo

Academic

Overview

1/6

Context

Young adults today face high levels of stress and digital fatigue, often missing out on the benefits of time spent in nature. As a student, I saw the value of outdoor walks for mental clarity and wanted to make that more accessible.

Problem

18–24 year olds struggle to build consistent outdoor habits due to lack of time, motivation, and social support. Existing trail apps lack personalised, engaging features tailored to their needs.

Solution

TrailRanger is a gamified mobile app that encourages outdoor exploration through personal progress tracking, optional team challenges, and calming, nature-inspired design—making it easier and more enjoyable for users to reconnect with the outdoors.

Impact

Usability testing revealed strong engagement with the concept. Key pivots—like switching from competitive leagues to personal journeys—helped create a more inclusive and motivating experience, laying a strong foundation for future development.

Reduced Drop-off Risk

Through the redesign of the competitive system based on tester feedback

45%

Gap identified between desire and action through primary user research

>95%

Of testers preferred the progression-based experience over skill-based

Background

2/6

Young adults are facing increasing levels of stress and disconnection from the natural world. A report across Australia and New Zealand revealed that 72% of university students experience weekly stress, largely due to academic and life pressures. Another study found that 58% of 18–24 year olds turn to nature as a key way to destress, yet nearly half struggle to find outdoor activities that feel fun, motivating, or easy to engage with.

During my studies, I experienced firsthand how stepping outside for a walk could reset my focus and well-being. This personal insight, combined with broader research, led me to explore how design could support others in forming similar habits.

Problem

3/6

To validate this direction, I conducted a survey targeting the same demographic. 89% of respondents said they wanted to spend more time outdoors, with fitness and exploration emerging as their top motivations. However, only 44% reported walking at least once a week, highlighting a clear gap between intent and action.

This research revealed a strong opportunity: to design a tool that bridges the gap between motivation and follow-through, making outdoor exploration feel achievable, rewarding, and socially supported.

Grounded in behavioural frameworks like Self-Determination Theory and Octalysis, this insight became the foundation for TrailRanger’s direction. These initial insights led me to the research question.

Research Question

How can a gamified mobile app be designed to help inspire and facilitate outdoor exploration among 18–24 year olds?

Research

4/6

I reviewed four existing tools to identify what works—and what doesn’t—for this audience.

AllTrails

Strong on data and reviews, but lacks gamification or meaningful engagement.

Trails WA

Offers basic badges but has limited ongoing account progression or achievement.

TalknWalk

Gamified experience targeted at younger teens; doesn’t scale well to a broader audience.

Geocaching

Rich in exploration and challenge, but too complex and niche for everyday users.

To design for long-term habit formation, I grounded the project in two key theories:

Self-Determination Theory (SDT)

A powerful framework for understanding human motivation by focusing on three fundamental psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Octalysis Framework

A gamification model based on 8 core drives like achievement, unpredictability, and social influence. It guided decisions around rewards, progression, and community.

Using insights gathered from primary and secondary research, I created 3 personas to further understand the users pain points and motivations for potentially using this solution.

User journeys were also created for each persona to better understand how users would discover TrailRanger, and the touch points that would be involved.

As part of feature planning, a matrix diagram integrating theories from the Octalysis Framework and Self-Determination Theory were created to map out how potential app features align with specific motivational principles.

Design

5/6

Prototyping the app began with a site map and lo-fi mockups in order to rapidly test and receive feedback. Some key insights included:

1

Buttons such as the ones featured in the filters tab could be sticky

3

The leagues feature within the Arena page could do with some improvement

2

Content grouping within the Community page could be improved

4

The information on the profile page is really comprehensive and easy to follow

Moment of Clarity

Testers liked the concept of the Arena, but felt a disconnect with the leagues feature. This led to a key moment of clarity where I decided to pivot from the use of leagues to the use of a personal progression journey. Instead of featuring the leagues, the arena would just focus on the weekly optimal challenges and competitions currently within the arena.

Using the insights gathered from research and testing, the UI and app user flows were developed in Figma into hi-fi interactive prototypes.

Guiding the visual identity, this is a pattern created in p5.js, which was used as part of TrailRanger's brand.

It's a phenomenon seen throughout nature, such as in leaves, fingerprints, and even the brain. It's used within the TrailRanger brand as a metaphor for connecting with nature and exploring different paths.