Happy Camper Part 1: Research & Discovery

Happy Camper was a concept project completed as part of my Google UX Design Certificate program. The goal was to design a mobile app that helps users plan camping trips with ease. This first phase focused on understanding the users and defining their needs through research, user journey mapping, and persona creation.

I conducted user research and analyzed insights, created detailed personas, stories, and journey maps, and helped shape the problem statement for the project. I designed and facilitated surveys and interviews, synthesized findings into affinity maps, and presented research takeaways to guide the design direction. I was responsible for ensuring that the design phase was grounded in clear, human-centered insights.

User Research: Conducted surveys and interviews to identify pain points in trip planning, such as difficulty coordinating with friends, uncertainty about campsite amenities, and lack of reliable resources.

User Personas: Created personas representing different camper types (first-time campers, families, seasoned adventurers) to guide design decisions.

Journey Maps: Developed journey maps to illustrate how users currently plan trips and where frustrations occur. These insights shaped opportunities for the product.

This was my very first UX project, and it gave me a solid introduction to the foundations of user research. I was still learning how to design effective surveys, conduct meaningful interviews, and translate insights into personas and journey maps.

Looking back, I can see how my early research was helpful but limited. If I could do this phase again, I would:

• Expand the sample size to make findings more representative.
  
  

• Incorporate competitive analysis earlier to understand the market better.
  
  

• Validate insights with quick sketch testing before moving forward.
  
  

Even though I was new, this phase taught me that research is the backbone of UX. Learning to listen to users first made every design decision feel clearer and more intentional.

Click Here to see how everything came together.