Hello and welcome to another Pocket UX post. These mini UX/UI app designs are just for fun and to keep my skills sharp! The Dinosauria Park app allows park visitors to discover which rides have the shortest lines, so they can maximize their time - and fun! 🦕
Project Info
Duration: 2-3 days +/- Concept client: Dinosauria Park Role: UX / UI Designer
Mediums: Figma, Procreate
Problem Statement
“When I go to a theme park, I want to be able to see which rides have the shortest lines, so I can go on as many rides as possible.”
Overview
Dinosauria Park is a popular amusement park in California with many dinosaur-themed exhibits, rides and tours. At approximately 200 acres, the on-going challenge visitors have is to know which rides have the shortest lines, so they can go on as many rides as possible during their ticketed day.
As the famous Dr. Ian Malcolm said in Jurassic Park (1993) “Life finds a way.” 🦕
Design Process
I maximized results by researching as deeply as I could before a sketch hit the paper, or a pixel ended up on the screen. Even though this product design challenge had a quick turnaround, I would have still followed the same process structure should it had been a greater amount of time. 1. Empathize 2. Define 3. Ideate 4. Design / Prototype 5. Test / Feedback
★ Empathize
Competitive Analysis
There usually is not much competition when dinosaurs are involved — but I began by studying competitors. There were a handful of amusement park apps I wanted to learn from. I created a list of features users might appreciate by listing them across other designs.
High-level competitive analysis between existing apps in the marketplace.
User Research and Pain Points
I analyzed reviews for various apps which gave me a good foundation to identify must-have features. Most importantly, I was able to see users preferred a less complicated, or process heavy design. There were many complaints about the apps draining phone batteries which is never a good thing when spending all day in the park.
★ Define
Project Goals
After gaining some clarity into user needs and how existing apps had flaws to address, I gathered my research and created a pocket-sized list of project goals.
I wanted to:
• Create a clear, visual hierarchy of ride wait times • Build a robust system which would allow users to see attractions located on a map, view wait times, save attractions as favorites, and have the ability to book a fast pass to hold their spot in line. • Use a light-weight, native OS app
Task Flow
Due to the quick-paced nature of this product design challenge, I chose to create a high-level flow for the specific task of viewing ride wait times.
★ Ideate
Sketches / Wireframing
I had a few ideas for screens outside of the established task flow, but ultimately chose to move forward with the sketches necessary to convey the goal of the original task completely.
★ Design / Prototype
UI Kit / Mini Style Guide
To give the design a natural and prehistoric feel, I chose to stay within shades of green and yellow. I drew inspiration from the valleys of Hawaii which so often evokes imagery of dinosaurs roaming the earth. I had designed the logo in a previous project and it lent itself well in this case.
Hi-fi screens
The following screens were built in Figma for iOS language.
Dinosauria Park screens: sign up, map view and list view
Dinosauria Park: map view
Dinosauria Park screens: ride details
★ Test / Feedback
I posted this project online and asked for feedback and advice for the UI. The final screens took their feedback into account and it increased the usability. In specific, the use of color-coding the wait times.
Results & Lessons Learned
Overall, this pocket-sized product design exercise was really eye-opening for me. It came with its own set of challenges which set me out on the hunt for more information. I’d love to revisit this project in the future to gather more feedback, build out more screens and of course… research… and more research. Forever learning.
Disclaimer: The thoughts shared in this blog are solely my own and do not represent the perspectives of my professional relationships or clientele.