HERA
Overview
HERA (Hiking Emergency Response App) started as a final project for my Human-Computer Interaction course. We were challenged to design a mobile experience that helps hikers reach emergency services—even with limited signal. I led the UX design process from research to wireframes to high-fidelity prototyping in Figma.
What I Learned
The project kicked off with a user research sprint, where we identified pain points in existing emergency apps and hiking behavior. We conducted interviews and heuristic evaluations to uncover friction in high-stress outdoor scenarios—like confusing UI or slow signal feedback. From there, I worked on wireframing a minimalist yet responsive design that could adapt to spotty connectivity and quick decision-making.
Through this project, I gained hands-on experience applying core HCI principles like user-centered design, heuristic evaluation, and iterative prototyping. I learned how to translate user needs into interface flows and visual components using Figma, and how to critically evaluate designs for usability and accessibility. It deepened my understanding of how design decisions impact user experience — especially in high-stakes scenarios like emergency response.
What I’d Fix
With more time, I would’ve loved to explore a dark mode for low-light hiking, and build a more robust error-handling interface to better reflect real offline constraints. Testing with actual hikers also would’ve helped us uncover more context-specific insights.
Tech Stack
- Figma