Aquarium of the Pacific - “Every Effort Matters” Mobile Application

Designing a native mobile application to support the Aquarium of the Pacific in its ongoing quest to inform, engage, and inspire the public in conservation and sustainability

AOP iPhone Mockups for Case Study White Background.jpg

Project Overview

Our team was tasked with designing a native mobile application for the Aquarium of the Pacific, a leader in environmental education and conservation, to aid them in their continued efforts to engage, lead, and inspire individual and community clean-up efforts.

Scope

2-week design sprint (academic client project exercise)
Team of 2 UX/UI designers in remote collaboration

Tools

Figma, pen and paper, Photoshop, Mural, Whimsical, Google Survey, Google Suite, Zoom, Slack

My Role

I lead research, presentation and UX writing, and shared responsibilities in data synthesis, design, and prototyping

Key Research Methods

Aquarium of the Pacific Affinity Map Detail 1.jpg

Identifying and Understanding Potential Users

  • Received 14 responses to a 29-question survey

  • Conducted 7 1-on-1 interviews with select survey respondents

  • Organized 3 rounds of affinity mapping to determine themes in user responses

Aquarium of the Pacific C&C Analysis Graphic.jpg

Competitive and Comparative Analysis

  • Explored the websites of several other major national aquariums

  • Explored news aggregator applications (Feedly, Apple News)

  • Explored gamified experiences with communal leaderboard elements

  • Explored The Ocean Conservancy Group’s Clean Swell application

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Auditing Design Flows

  • Explored and noted the navigational flows of our referenced conservation application and news aggregator platforms

  • Created basic flows for our design’s education, effort recording, and leaderboard/reward systems

Clean Swell App Advertisement Clipped.jpg

With the information gathered from these exercises, we gained:

  • A better understanding of our users’ needs, wants, and pain points concerning environmental education and effort motivation

  • Insight into users’ desire to “see” the results of their actions and efforts

  • Insight into users’ desire to participate in efforts in concert with other members of the community and on their own time

  • User feedback that directed us to craft a simple, familiar experience

  • User feedback that shifted our focus away from AR

  • Insight and inspiration for how to organize and present our application experience

  • Specific inspiration for presenting the collection effort from The Ocean Conservancy Group’s Clean Swell application, shown here

User Persona

Using our research results, we crafted a persona, Sofia, to help us focus our design. Sofia:

  • Is environmentally-conscious

  • Wants to engage with their community while social-distancing

  • Finds it difficult to remain motivated in conservation without community accountability

  • Wants to track and “see” the results of their efforts, as well as the efforts of others

  • Wants to engage in conservation efforts on their own schedule

  • Wants a trusted voice in environmental news and community outreach

Aquarium of the Pacific Case Study Persona Detail

Lo-Fi and Testing

Low-fidelity designs were created and iterated upon with pen and paper. We engaged with a design studio with 3 fellow designers, using it to further iterate and refine design ideas and direction. Further low- and mid-fidelity designing took place in a shared Figma workspace, with wireframes focusing on providing a familiar, intuitive, interactive experience. We conducted 2 rounds of 3 usability tests, using feedback gathered in the first round to inform design changes prior to the second test. After some final navigational tweaking, we increased the fidelity further by utilizing the Aquarium of the Pacific’s color palette and branding.

Examples of early concept sketches.
Examples of mid- to higher-fidelity wireframes depicting possible home screen views.
Examples of mid- to higher-fidelity wireframes depicting possible event listing screens and interactions.

Key Design Features

  • A simple, familiar interface

    • Increasing user engagement through a recognizable experience

    • In-app motivators (points, badges, challenges)

  • A trusted voice in environmental education

    • Showcasing a collection of local and global environmental news stories

    • Information about local community environmental efforts and clean-up events

    • Sustainability and conservation tips

  • Easy effort tracking

    • Intuitive collection logging and reporting

    • Earned point system to quantify results of individual clean-up efforts

    • User leaderboard-style standings to reflect individual efforts and motivate through friendly competition

AOP App Phone Screens 2.jpg
AOP High Fidelity App Screens.png

What I Learned

Communication is key: Though we were both comfortable creating and collaborating under “typical” circumstances, this was our first foray into remote design. We emphasized attentive, active listening, operational flexibility, and clear, direct communication.

Go with that they know: Established designs and interactions engender user trust and engagement. Cutting-edge ideas are not always the way to capture and maintain user interest.

Solid research will yield a solid design: Finding the sweet spot between client and user needs comes by asking the right questions and fully considering the answers. 

Focus on the foundation: As good as a design may look, its functionality is paramount. It’s easier to repaint a house than it is to rebuild one.

Next Steps

  • Improve gamification and expand community competition, ranking, and rewards

  • Expand accountability features such as individual pledges and peer challenges

  • Incorporate other major aquariums to expand the network, awareness, community engagement, and impact