top of page
header zoomed out.png

Limitless for the ultramarathon runner

A case study to learn more about prototyping methods 

Tools

Pen, Paper, video, Illustrator, Figma

Team size

2 people

My role

Workshop Facilitation, Sketcher, Visual design

Goals

  • To better understand different prototyping methods and how they could help improve existing solutions or explore problem areas

  • Provide ultramarathon runners with an easy and accessible way to find routes for training

Methods

storyboards, digital prototypes, WOZ prototypes, video prototypes

This project focused on the development of a design solution that would help ultramarathon runners prepare for competition. This project was part of a course called Prototyping at Stockholm University. The course focused on learning about low-fi and hi-fi prototyping tools. These tools were used to develop a final design solution for ultramarathon runners.

 

We got to chance to create paper prototypes, storyboards, digital prototypes, Wizard-of-Oz (WOZ) prototypes, and video prototypes. Our final design was an app called Limitless, which is a high-fi prototype created in Figma.

​

Ultramarathon is a footrace that is longer than a traditional marathon of 42 km. The problem many ultramarathon runners have is to find long enough routes to train before their competitions. This resulted in Limitless, which is a navigation app that allowed the user to save and share routes.  

Timeline

3 weeks

Project background

The next method we were introduced to was Wizard-of-Oz, which is when the user interacts with an interface without knowing the response is being generated by another person.

The next method we were introduced to was a video prototype. A video prototype can include things such as graphic elements and special effects. The result can be presented for the users, to generate feedback on a design solution. We created a video prototype that displayed our design solution Limitless. This video prototype was based on our Storyboard.  
Video 1: Video prototype of Limitless
Figure 1: Storyboard created in Storbarodthat
Storyboard_2.jpg
The process, in this case, was different compared to other projects due to how the focus was on learning different prototyping methods. We started by exploring paper prototyping which is a great tool for the early stages of conceptualizing. The project went on to sketch wireframes.

We continued by using storyboards. A storyboard is a great tool to visually predict and explore a user's experience with a product. This method can help understand how people would flow through the interaction. My group got to brainstorm a few ideas for our final case and recreate them within a storyboard.  
 

Process

limitless5.png
Figure 2: Limitless
1Final logos copy@2x.png
1Artboard 1 copy 2.png
These icons were made to provide the user with the option such as Save routes, Create own routes and Homepage. Save routes allow the users to save their own or other people's routes. 
The stakeholders for our digital prototype were ultramarathon runners. We started out with a complex prototype idea that included navigation, keeping track of calories, running recommendations, and a wake-up feature (in case the ultramarathon runner would fall asleep by exhaustion). But we realized soon how all of these features might distract from the real problem, which was the difficulty of finding long enough routes. Limitless was therefore scaled down to a navigation app that allowed the user to save and share routes. 
 

Solution

bottom of page