Alpine Alert
Project Overview
Current avalanche safety systems, like regional postings or websites, provide generalized warnings over large areas. However, they lack localized and route-specific alerts, which leaves users at risk when exploring backcountry zones. I created Alpine Alert with a more user-specific approach that can take into account an individual’s precise route, timing, and elevation to help mitigate personal risk from avalanches.
This Project
End-to-End Application
My Role
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UX Research
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Branding
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UX/UI Design
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Testing
Duration
​3 weeks
The Process
Define
Research Plan
After looking into gaps in the market for outdoor winter apps, I found that a big area in need is safety. My idea is to create an app that would serve as a personalized avalanche safety tool for winter sports enthusiasts and backcountry travelers. I really want this app to focus on proactively mitigating risk, by flagging areas and routes that have high risk of avalanche or extreme snowfall, so you know where you can safely be while off-grid.
Problem Statement
Create a backcountry safety app with a more user-specific approach that can take into account an individual’s precise route, timing, and elevation in an effort to help mitigate risk.
Research Goal
Determine the aspects of backcountry skiing that could benefit from enhanced safety for users in avalanche-prone areas.
Research Methods
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Competitor Analysis
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User Interviews
Conducting Research
Competitor Analysis
Avalanche Forecasts
Open Snow
OnX Backcountry
Unique Value Propositions
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Provides region-specific avalanche forecasts by aggregating data from 20+ North American avalanche centers.
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​Ability to plan your routes up to 2 days in advance and view color-coded danger levels on the map
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Unique "Daily Snow" write-ups by meteorologists provide detailed weather insights.
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Features mountain webcams and customizable weather maps for added convenience.
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3D mapping capabilities allow users to visualize terrain in detail, helping them scout for safe or challenging areas before heading out.
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Seasonal modes adjust maps for winter conditions, including avalanche data and slope angles.
Company Advantages
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Users can rely on timely updates aligned with local avalanche centers.
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Regional partnerships ensure accurate and relevant data.
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Simple app that functions well even with poor connectivity.
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Global coverage—ideal for travelers and ski enthusiasts planning international trips.
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Integrates GPS to recommend nearby mountains and real-time conditions.
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Multiple map layers offer a comprehensive view for backcountry planning across all seasons and terrain types
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Community tools allow for detailed planning and easy collaboration with others
Company Disadvantages
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Limited to avalanche-specific information in North America—no weather or ski reports included.
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​The user interface might feel outdated compared to competitors.
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The app’s primary focus is weather forecasting rather than avalanche safety.
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Heavy reliance on weather forecasting means snow predictions can still be inaccurate in volatile conditions.
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Heavy reliance on downloaded maps: If a user forgets to download maps ahead of time, they might lose navigation capabilities without cellular access
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Some users report that the app can be overwhelming or cluttered
User Interviews
I used affinity mapping to organize and analyze my user research results. It revealed user wants for automatic offline downloads, real-time data, and a simplistic design
User Personas
I created two personas to represent users of my website. These personas helped me to keep my focus on the end user throughout the design process.
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The user Alex highlights backcountry skiers who are free roamers, always interested in joining friends on spontaneous adventures. He relies on information from others who have first-hand recent experience on similar trails. His main frustration is the difficulty of understanding avalanche and other safety data and would love a simplistic view for his backcountry experiences.
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The second persona, Emma, is a safety seeker, making sure she has all up-to-date information and backup options prior to setting out into the backcountry. Through her thorough research and use of many resources, her biggest pain point with avalanche safety is that there isn't real-time, hyperlocal data.
Research Takeaways
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Participants expressed a strong need for more localized, real-time information on avalanche conditions, including factors like slope angle, wind, and snowpack stability at different elevations. A lack of route-specific data decreases confidence and forces them to rely on broad regional forecasts.
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Participants reported that existing avalanche forecasts often feel too generalized and sometimes misleading, with difficulty interpreting risk levels for specific routes. This creates uncertainty and forces many to cross-check with other sources or rely on gut feelings.
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Many participants struggle with connectivity issues in the backcountry. They would benefit from offline access to maps and safety updates, ideally with satellite-based notifications. Push notifications or location-based alerts are preferred, as long as they are concise and relevant.
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More advanced users, including guides, want the option to see real-time reports from others in the field, like crowdsourced updates, to assess conditions. This could help them validate forecasts and make adjustments mid-trip based on others' experiences
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While more experienced participants manage multiple sources of information, newer users find the amount of safety information overwhelming. They would benefit from simplified insights or a summary of key points, especially for complex data on snow and avalanche risk.
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Participants reported challenges aligning safety practices within groups due to differing risk levels. An app with real-time data could help unify decision-making, helping both cautious and risk-tolerant members reach a consensus.
Ideate
Determining the MVP
Due to time constraints, I would not be able to create a product with every feature that the app would offer. I needed to prioritize features based on those of highest importance to my user and to my business. I created a prioritization matrix to determine the version of the app with just enough features to be usable by early customers who can then provide feedback for future product development.
Product Roadmapping
I listed out potential features to include and placed them where I thought best in the prioritization matrix. Based on the results from this matrix, I determined that on this first wave of designing, I will focus on providing real-time location-based alerts. I wanted to provide users with simplified key information in the first release of this app.
Site Structure
Sitemapping
To understand the mental models of the people who would be using our product, I conducted a card sort after determining my MVP. From the card sorts that I conducted, key categories emerged as:
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Home
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Forecasting
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My Routes
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Crowdsourcing (Phase 2)
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Settings
Interaction Design
User Flows
I created three user flows to highlight the key pathways users would follow when using the Alpine Alert app.
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View current conditions and recent weather updates
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View safety conditions via the map
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Turn off the feature to call SOS using your phone's voice assistant
Design
UI Components
Brand Guide
Brand Values
I started the brand creation process by brainstorming the values that I want my brand to stand for. Alpine Alert focuses on:
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Commitment to Safety & Protection
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Proactive Risk Management
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Promote Trust & Reliability by providing accurate and transparent information
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Encourage users to safely explore without compromising their adventurous spirit
Color Palette
I wanted my app to resemble the calm, serene atmosphere when skiing in the backcountry. I used light blue as the main color throughout the design to provide a sense of calm. Which I then paired with white to create harmony and balance.
Typography
I chose typography that would align well with my brand values and the simplicity and readability of my app. I chose my header font as it is elegant, yet simplistic, and my secondary font as a way to continue to add simplicity and readability.
Brand Logo
When it came to brainstorming ideas for my logo, I knew that I wanted to include mountains that would resemble the backcountry and a way to show caution/safety, like a caution sign that I blended with the mountains.
Prototyping
Sketches
High-Fidelity Mockups
Testing
Usability Testing
After building out my high-fidelity prototypes, I conducted usability testing on 5 potential users of the app. To my surprise, there were very few issues that they ran into - with them mainly being a bit of rewiring that needed to be done with the Figma prototyping.
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A few suggestions and takeaways that came from the usability testing were:
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Add more detail through text & imagery
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Include snow depth in the weather conditions
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Add tooltips
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Overall, I think these are wonderful suggestions, however, based on timing and logistics, I decided that they would be edits better suited for phases later on. The addition of more detail and snow depth would require much more effort and additional information from satellite and weather measurements, and I am unsure if they can accurately collect snow depth data in such remote areas without the help of humans.
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The addition of tooltips would be very helpful for users, but since this is an app, there is no "hover" which is how tooltips are used. If I build out a web-version in the future, I will be sure to include the addition of tooltips.
Final Prototype
Closing Insights
Final Remarks
This project really took me by storm. Out of my three final projects (Airbnb Itinerary, PatsPIcks.ai, and this), I think that I had the least amount of time to complete it, but it was by far my favorite and I think, some of my best work yet.
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Wrapping up this project, it was my final project to complete and it has felt like such a surreal experience. I have been taking this course since June 2024, now completing it in December 2024 and it is incredible to look back on how much I have learned and how much my confidence has grown over these past 6 months. I went from knowing very little about the UX/UI design process and the tools that designers use, to feeling like I have had this knowledge for years.
Next Steps
If I continue to build out Alpine Alert, I would love to add interactive features so the user who presses the "SOS" button and reaches out for emergency help can connect with their rescuers. A few features that I have brainstormed about adding are:
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Messaging mode where the emergency dispatch can let you know when they are on their way, how far away they are, and so users can message them about updates as well
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Live tracking to see where the emergency dispatch is
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Live tracking for the app user if they have to move after they have called for help