WAVE is a smart wristband and application that enhances the surfing experience by tracking sessions, analyzing performance, ensuring safety, and fostering community engagement.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Despite surfing's rising popularity, there is a limited amount of technology available to surfers who are looking for a safer and more enhanced surfing experience.
THESIS
The current wearable technology market for surfing is limited in both its accuracy and usability, therefore presenting a relatively unexplored field for research and development in wearable technology. WAVE will provide surfers with more insight into their surfing sessions and create a safer surfing environment for surfers across all skill levels.
PROBLEM & SOLUTIONS
RESEARCH
During the research phase, 91 Google Form survey responses were collected and 11 interviews were conducted. To participate in both the survey and interview, participants had to have prior surfing experience. Participants ranged from beginner level surfers to intermediate and advanced level surfers. The responses from both the survey and interviews provided valuable insight into the wants and needs of surfers across varying skill levels.
TARGET AUDIENCE
A beginner surfer is someone who is new to the sport and has limited experience riding waves. An intermediate surfer is someone who has progressed beyond the beginner stage and has developed a basic proficiency in surfing skills. An advanced surfer is characterized by a high level of skill, experience, and mastery in the sport of surfing.
KEY RESEARCH FINDINGS
PERSONAS
I concentrated on two main target users, surfing instructors and professional surfers. After talking to several surfing instructors, they all voiced that their main concern was their students safety. In talking to surfers who competed in surfing competitions, I found that their main concern was looking for ways to improve their performance and have an edge over their competitors.
EMPATHY MAPS
MOODBOARD
Throughout the design process, I created various mood boards to help create a visual identity for WAVE. The mood board that I settled upon was one that evoked the feelings of serenity and relaxation, similar to the feelings that someone experiences while surfing. This was achieved by using different shades of blue and incorporating oceanic elements.
BRANDING
PRIMARY LOGO
SECONDARY LOGO
TYPOGRAPHY
WIREFRAMES
HIGH FIDELITY PROTOTYPE