Statistics

4+

App store rating

1000

Daily active users

48k

App downloads

Client

Inside Labs

Role

Product Designer & Advisor

Brief

Deliver a mobile app that fosters community and competition among bikers that drives increased engagement and repeat visits.

The Challenge

Lenzerheide has triumphantly transformed into a leading mountain biking hub in Europe, flaunting its breathtaking landscapes and sophisticated infrastructure, and earning the prestige of hosting World Cups and World Championships. Yet, the leadership faced a strategic question critical to its competitive differentiation: How can Lenzerheide elevate its standing, adding yet another distinctive dimension to Europe's premier mountain biking destinations?

Value Delivered

The collaboration with Inside Labs co-founder and CTO, Daniel Medina, alongside partner Michael Krähenbühl, exemplifies the interdisciplinary synergy necessary for optimal design innovation. My role transcended mere aesthetic enhancements, focusing instead on a holistic user journey that reinvigorates player levels and incorporates dynamic team territories. These strategic touchpoints culminated in a robust design for the user experience (UX) and user interface (UI), seamlessly integrated with the existing Inside Labs Omni app—an exemplar of symbiotic design innovation and technology.

Solution

Inside Labs, having successfully devised winter strategies for Laax, had the insight to recognize that a mere replication of past successes would not suffice. Hence, a pivotal shift in design thinking was requisite to maximize Lenzerheide’s bike-season potential. For decision-makers in charge of this venture, a forward-looking approach that integrates innovative design principles with strategic business goals was paramount.

This initiative underscores the criticality of embedding world-class product design into the core of strategic business solutions. By melding user-centric design with technological prowess, Lenzerheide is poised to cement its status as an unparalleled mountain biking destination, offering an enriched, immersive experience that resonates with cyclists of all skill levels.

Process

In the pursuit of redefining Lenzerheide’s mountain biking experience, an agile design process was pivotal. This innovative endeavor required exploring uncharted territories not only for the destination but also for Inside Labs, necessitating a dynamic, iterative process to effectively foster innovation and alignment.

The majority of the design exploration focused on gamifying the biking experience, a strategic element designed to enhance engagement and user satisfaction. The approach was distinctly collaborative, featuring bi-weekly strategic alignment calls that allowed stakeholders to review diverse design explorations comprehensively. Central to this process was the use of a shared Figma file, which served as a collaborative canvas. This platform facilitated real-time visibility into the evolution of design concepts, allowing team members to contribute feedback seamlessly and collaboratively refine ideas.

Critical to the project’s success was prioritizing the development of an intuitive user experience (UX) as the foundation upon which an effective user interface (UI) could be constructed. This necessitated a robust prototyping phase, during which high-fidelity click-through prototypes were meticulously designed and evaluated. These prototypes acted as a simulation environment where the Inside Labs team could scrutinize and iterate on the game’s UX flow, ensuring alignment with the existing framework of the Omni app.

Sketches show ideas for the gamification features.
Screenshot of the working Figma file.
Profile explorations

Results

In the competitive terrain of digital user engagement, success is often validated through quantifiable metrics. The Bike Kingdom app is a testament to the power of strategic design innovation, achieving exceptional success in its debut season. With over 40,000 downloads and more than 400,000 user interactions in its inaugural period, the app demonstrates impressive market penetration. The app’s performance, underscored by a robust 4+ rating, reflects not only high user satisfaction but also enviable conversion rates, positioning it as a benchmark in digital engagement within the tourism and recreation sectors.

  • Milestone Innovation Award 2020
  • Best of Swiss Apps Award 2020