End-to-End Mobile Application
An end-to-end MVP mobile application crafted to inspire Portland locals to get moving and discover the city around them.
MY ROLE
UX/UI Designer
PROJECT DURATION
2 Months
00. THE PROBLEM
Portland is full of local businesses, cultural sites, and natural beauty, yet many residents fall into routines and miss opportunities to connect more deeply with their city. Tourists often rely on generic guides that don’t capture the character of Portland’s neighborhoods, parks, and ecosystems. Currently, there’s no unified, engaging system that motivates people to discover new places, connect with local culture, and build a relationship with the land through experiences like visiting parks, small businesses, and hidden gems.
Most discovery apps target tourists rather than locals seeking everyday adventure. Visitors can still benefit, but residents are underserved; they want to explore more, yet existing tools leave them overwhelmed. This app fills that gap by making local exploration simple, intentional, and rewarding.
01. DISCOVERY
Competitive Analysis
I conducted a competitive analysis of three similar apps to understand the market landscape and identify opportunities for differentiation: Swarm by Foursquare, Geocaching, and Portland Near Me Now.
The Portland Near Me Now app prioritizes visitors and does not allow users to check in. Apps like Swarm and Geocaching allow a form of check-in or collecting, but they are not specific to the culture of Portland.
User Interviews
I conducted interviews with five potential users of the product: four Portland locals and one international visitor. The research goals were:
Understand exploration habits and tools:
Learn how people (locals and travelers) discover new places in a city and what tools or apps they use (such as maps, geocaching, and itinerary planning).
Identify pain points and barriers:
Uncover frustrations and challenges people face when trying to explore or find meaningful experiences.
Explore motivations and rewards:
Understand what makes exploration enjoyable or worthwhile, and what would encourage continued engagement.
Define user needs and expectations:
Clarify what users want from a digital passport-style app, including features, types of locations, and rewards.
The interviews were conducted either in person or over Zoom. Audio was recorded at each interview and transcribed for research purposes.
Insights
Each barrier or pain point surfaced in research revealed a corresponding user need, goal, or motivation:
Cost → Free or Cheap Activities: 4 of 5 users indicated cost as a barrier and expressed a desire for free or cheap activities, with a natural inclination toward outdoor locations or experiences.
Analysis Paralysis → Clear Choices: 4 of 5 users reported feeling “stuck” or overwhelmed by too many options and expressed a desire for a clear, concise activity plan.
Lack of Motivation → Incentives, Time-Sensitive Rewards, and “Hidden Gems”: 4 of 5 users said they would be more likely to explore with the app if it offered motivating incentives, such as time-sensitive rewards, curated “hidden gem” locations, push notifications, or achievement badges.
02. DEFINE
User Persona
Three user personas were developed, but due to scope and time constraints, the focus narrowed to one primary persona: Jess, a “hybrid adventurer” seeking motivation to explore their new hometown.
POV + HMW
Based on the primary user persona, the following point-of-view statement and how-might-we question were developed to guide the ideation phase:
Portland locals need fun and inclusive ways to explore their city that will motivate them to connect with their community.
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How might we inspire Portland locals to discover new neighborhoods, events, and experiences that feel approachable and welcoming?
03. IDEATE
The ideation phase included developing a feature set, user flows, sitemap, and low-fidelity wireframes.
Feature Set
Based on research insights, I prioritized the following core features for the app: an onboarding flow, the MVP lists of stamps, the stamp collection interaction, search and filtering functionality, user profiles, and a saved items feature. Lower-priority features that didn’t make it into the MVP but should be strongly considered in the next iteration include a social feature for interacting with friends and limited-edition or time-sensitive stamps.
User Flows
I created two primary user flows to guide design and later usability testing. The first was a linear onboarding/tutorial flow that gives users a quick introduction to how the app works. The second explored the different possible paths a user could take to find a location and collect a stamp.
Sitemapping
The information architecture became clearer with a combination of card sorting and paper sketching of screens.
Low-Fidelity Wireframing
I started with paper wireframes, iterating key screens and gathering early peer feedback.
04. DESIGN
Branding
As this was an end-to-end design for a mobile app MVP, some branding was required. Logos, colors, and fonts were created, as well as a basic UI component library.
Branding assets: color palette, fonts, and logos
User interface components
High-Fidelity Screens
The final deliverables of the design phase included several high-fidelity key screens, such as the Home (“Explore”) page, “My Stamps,” “Saved,” and “Profile.” Additional screens covered the onboarding flow, the process of finding and collecting a stamp, and saving a location to visit later.
Key Screens: Explore | My Stamps | Saved | Profile
Onboarding User Flow
Additional Screens: Location Entry | Search Results | Category
Multiple ways to find and collect a stamp: Map view, search and filter, or browse
05. TESTING
Methods
Testing was conducted online and asynchronously using the Maze platform. Three key flows were evaluated: onboarding, finding and collecting a stamp, and saving a location to visit later.
The goals of testing were to assess the effectiveness of the prototype, focusing on:
Clarity of onboarding instruction
Ease of navigation
Ability to complete core tasks
Overall user impressions
Success metrics included qualitative feedback, time on task, path selection, and points of drop-off.
Results
Overall, the usability testing yielded an 83.3% task completion rate. One of the six participants was unable to complete any of the flows, exiting the Maze app before completion each time; however, their feedback suggested they had successfully completed the tasks, making the reason for this discrepancy unclear. The average time on task (TOT) for the first flow (finding and collecting a stamp) was 49 seconds, while the average TOT for the second flow (saving a location for later) was 30 seconds, with no feedback from users indicating struggles or confusion with either.
83.3%
Overall completion rate
49 sec.
Average TOT for task 1: finding and collecting a stamp
30 sec.
Average TOT for task 2: saving a location entry for later
Feedback was generally positive, with users calling out stamp collection as “enticing”, the app as a “cool way to find something new nearby” and two users describing the overall design as “intuitive”.
“It looked good and was easy to navigate. The prospect of getting stamps was immediately enticing.”
06. ITERATE
Users wanted clearer feedback when a stamp was available based on their location. One participant shared that it was “a little hard to collect a stamp at your current location,” noting there were “a lot of steps” and suggesting a prominent button to collect a stamp instantly. In response, the design was updated to include a clear visual indicator on the Home/Explore screen showing when a user is within range to collect a stamp.
Four versions of the notification design were created and tested, with preference for Option 2
07. CONCLUSION
Lessons Learned
Determining the MVP scope was a key challenge, as the product could expand in many directions. I had to deprioritize exciting ideas–like social features and time-based stamps–to focus on essentials. I also stretched my high-fidelity design skills and learned to apply patterns more confidently.
Next time, I’d incorporate more live usability testing. Maze gave helpful quantitative data, but synchronous sessions would provide deeper qualitative feedback and richer insights.
Next Steps & Future Work
A social component and time-based “event” stamps were highly desired by both users and myself, and would be strong features to explore as the product scales. There is also meaningful potential for partnerships with city organizations, local artists, nonprofits, and chambers of commerce, such as commissioning custom stamp artwork or co-promoting community initiatives. With additional time and collaboration, this product could evolve into a valuable tool for city engagement.
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