Team Canada
The Olympic Team design project focused on creating a barrier-free digital platform that promotes inclusivity in sports. Our goal was to design an app that connects community members with local sports events, fostering participation regardless of skill level or background. Through user research, interviews, and feedback, we identified key user needs and challenges, leading to the development of a mobile app that offers personalized event recommendations, easy navigation, and accessible features.
Client:
Team Canada
Role:
Customer Rep & Designer
Year:
2024
The Design Challenge
How might digitally-enabled experiences foster safe, inclusive, and barrier-free sport through the lens of one of the three pillars of action: Podium, Play, Planet.
Introduction
The purpose of our research is to investigate the barriers that individuals face when participating in sports. By understanding their perceived barriers, we can then develop strategies on adapting group sport activities programs to effectively bridge the gaps caused by the barriers, thus creating a source of community, comfort and empathy.
Approach
By incorporating intervention strategies from individuals who experience perceived barriers, and modifying group sports activities programs to foster inclusivity, we hypothesize that the adapted programs will be effective barrier redactors.
Participants
After initial desk research, we proposed conducting in-depth, one-on-one interviews with underrepresented individuals to gather insights and understand their experiences and perspective on their perceived barriers.
Our participant pool was 18+ and those who were active in sports or participated in recreational sports programs.
Key Insights
Everyone plays sports but do they enjoy it
Barriers do not discriminate
Inclusivity is not one size fits all
There is no such thing as individual sports
Canada as a mosaic : a double edged sword
Ideation
An integrated/independent digital product where local community centres and private owners can effortlessly sign up as organizers and host exciting sports events for people to join, to drive community engagement, promote physical activity, and foster a sense of belonging. People can conveniently RSVP for these events. The digital product would offer wide array of events that cater to diverse preferences (women’s only, LGBTQIA+ friendly events, skill levels - beginner, intermediate, expert).
Rationale
Creating a digital product unrelated to Team Canada can serve those who don’t culturally identify with a conventional ‘Canadian’ product. We believe that the product can be supported/associated with Team Canada.
We wanted to include not only community centres (public) but also privately owned fitness companies to be able to post events to offer opportunities for people to try out different sports.
We believe that hosting events that cater to certain demographics is an effective way of meeting everyone’s inclusivity needs.
The Transition from Web app to mobile app
After initial research, we opted for a web app but faced design challenges. To improve functionality and accessibility, we transitioned to a mobile app. The onboarding screens guide users through features and allow them to set preferences, including language selection.
The Home page showcases events and recommendations, with event details providing key information like descriptions and availability. The Explore page includes filters for easy event search, with both map and list views. "My Events" acts as a calendar of booked events, while the saved events page offers quick access to bookmarked activities. The profile page allows customization, and the payment process ensures smooth, secure transactions.