Wayfarer
Cornell University CU Design-a-thon 2026 Winner! Two-day design sprint. 71 participants. Wayfarer: An app designed to accompany you on your walk. Asynchronous social connection and easy access to journaling. Wayfarer's mission is to bring people together, to build a more connected culture through reflection, observation, and presence.
UX Design + Research
The Prompt:
Design a digital application or product that reimagines one aspect of daily life.
The Problem:
Gen Z is subject to manipulative tools like social media and doomscrolling to stay connected and entertained.
My Purpose:
To design an alternative to doomscrolling and addiction by encouraging emotional and social relationships within the user's physical environment.
My Process:
Navigation apps are purely functional and prioritize efficiency, contributing to digital burnout and spatial amnesia. I hypothesized that designing a "spatial journal" could encourage users to take a slower look at their commute and experience "soft fascination" (Attention Restoration Theory).
Initial Screen Sketches
Wireframe Ideation
I conducted moderated usability testing on my initial prototype, which relied heavily on text-based journaling and live social feeds.
The users rejected the initial design. They noted that stopping to type a journal entry pulled them out of their physical environment, defeating the app's purpose. They also found social notifications highly disruptive to the sanctuary of their walk.
I immediately pivoted the UX strategy away from "active journaling" toward "frictionless capture" and "somatic grounding," prioritizing screen-off interactions.
The Solution:
A home-screen widget and Apple Watch integration that allows users to record ambient audio or voice memos in two taps, bypassing the keyboard entirely to keep their eyes on the city.
Social features are strictly opt-in and asynchronous. Friends' traces are left on the map to be discovered organically, transforming the city into a shared canvas without the pressure of a live feed.
A system of gentle, location-based pings that notify users when they walk past a coordinate where they previously left an artifact, fostering reflection on how their perspectives have changed over time.
Future Directions:
Integrating an AI transcription service for premium users. This would take the frictionless audio recorded during the walk and automatically transcribe it into a searchable, text-based journal for deep reflection once the user is back home.
Expanding the Apple Watch complication into a standalone, fully functional watchOS app, allowing users to leave their iPhones at home completely while still capturing spatial memories.
Exploring institutional partnerships (such as university wellness programs or corporate HR). Wayfarer could be licensed as a preventative mental health tool, encouraging physical movement and cognitive decompression for students and employees facing digital burnout.
My Role:
UX Designer
UX Researcher
Customer Discovery
Tools:
Figma Make
Figma
Project Gallery:
