Team:
6 UX Designers
& Researchers
Skills:
UX Research,
Prototyping,
UX and Visual
Design
Deliverables:
Key Research
Insights,
Proposed
Redesign,
Working
Prototype
Deliverables:
Key Research
Insights,
Proposed
Redesign,
Working
Prototype
UCSD Recreation
UCSD Recreation
UCSD Recreation
This project was completed as part of DSGN 1 at UC San Diego, where my team and I redesigned the UCSD Recreation app to better support students’ needs around fitness, classes, and campus recreation. I served as a Researcher and Designer, guiding the design direction, synthesizing research insights, and creating the final interactive prototype.
While we were able to address the core usability issues during our short time on this
project, there are several opportunities to further validate our solution.
Expand Key User Flows with Additional Frames
High Fidelity Usability Testing
Accessibility and Compliance Review
3
No persistant login
or profile system for
users to save or remember
information
Too many symbols and
icons but not enough
information in the actual
app
2
Poor alignment between
the action a user expects
vs what action is
performed
1
01 - Research
02 - Problem, Pain Points, "How Might We?"
03 - Ideation
04 - Final Product
05 - Future Steps
06 - Why does this redesign matter?
Home Page
Profile Page
Notifications
Page
Group Class
Page
But, how did we get here?
The UCSD REC app is meant to help students book classes, check facility availability,
and engage in campus recreation. However, students consistently expressed
frustration with the app’s usability, especially its reliance on external browser
redirects, unclear navigation, and repeated log-ins.
Our goal was to redesign the app to feel like a real mobile experience, not just a web
wrapper, one that aligns with students’ mental models and allows them to complete
core tasks seamlessly within the app.
Students expect mobile apps to support their goals quickly and intuitively. Instead,
the UCSD REC app:
Redirects users to external websites for most actions
Makes it hard to find and book classes
Overwhelms users with too many categories and icons
Logs users out frequently with no persistent profile
Students felt confused, frustrated, and unsure why the app existed at all.
We conducted 18 interviews to better understand what users thought about the
current app
Our research methods included:
Semi-structured Interviews
Task-based usability observation
Likert-scale usability ratings
Qualitative behavioral notes/obervations
Quantitative Data Chart
Qualitative Data Chart
9/18 users were frustrated by constant redirection to Safari
9/18 users relied on website search & filters not available in the app
8/18 users ignored most app buttons due to overload
15/18 users liked the icons - but found them overwhelming
Users consistently experienced:
Rule-based mistakes (misunderstanding how the app works)
Knowledge-based mistakes (unclear categories)
Students want to quickly access recreation information and book activities, but the
UCSD REC app fails to support these core tasks within the app itself.
How might we redesign the UCSD REC app to reduce friction, align with students’ mental models, and allow users to complete core recreation tasks seamlessly within the app?
We grounded our Ideation to focus on four main themes:
Eliminate external browser dependency
Prioritize most-used features (busyness, booking, ID)
Reduce visual clutter without removing useful icons
Support personalization and filtering
We initially sketched out the designs for the key frames we wanted to include.
Since we only had 2 weeks to complete this redesign, we decided to focus on the
key frames that addressed the main problem and pain points regarding the UCSD
Rec App.
After making the initial sketches, we discussed as a team to see what we might want to change or implement in the design. From there, we made our Hi-Fi mockups.
The redesign transforms the app into a fully functional mobile experience that
supports students’ most common goals without leaving the app:
Live facility busyness displayed at the top of the home screen
Integrated class search & booking (no Safari redirects)
Persistent profile with saved member ID and upcoming classes
Filters & personalization to manage many recreation options
Notifications for class reminders and special events
The UCSD Rec App plays an important role in connecting students to campus wellness resources, yet usability issues can make accessing those resources unnecessarily difficult. When students struggle to find open facilities, understand availability, or book classes efficiently, engagement drops - regardless of how valuable the services are.
This project matters because it focuses on reducing friction in everyday student interactions. By prioritizing clarity, speed, and intuitive navigation, the redesign aims to make wellness more accessible and easier to integrate into student routines. Even small improvements in usability can have a meaningful impact when the product serves a large campus population.
Why the UCSD Rec App?
The Main Problem
User Research 🧐🧐
Key Takeaways 🔑🔑
‼️Problem‼️
Pain Points 😣 😣
"How Might We?"
Ideation Themes 🤔🤔
Lo-fi Wireframe Sketches
Hi-Fi Mockups
Timeline:
Nov 2025 -
Dec 2025
(2 weeks)
Deliverables:
Key Research
Insights,
Proposed
Redesign,
Working
Prototype
This project was completed as part of DSGN 1 at UC San Diego, where my team and
I redesigned the UCSD Recreation app to better support students’ needs around fitness, classes, and campus recreation. I served as a Researcher and Designer, guiding the design direction, synthesizing research insights, and creating the final interactive prototype.
This project was completed as part of DSGN 1 at UC San Diego, where my team and
I redesigned the UCSD Recreation app to better support students’ needs around fitness, classes, and campus recreation. I served as a Researcher and Designer, guiding the design direction, synthesizing research insights, and creating the final interactive prototype.
This project was completed as part of DSGN 1 at UC San Diego, where my team and
I redesigned the UCSD Recreation app to better support students’ needs around fitness, classes, and campus recreation. I served as a Researcher and Designer, guiding the design direction, synthesizing research insights, and creating the final interactive prototype.
Home Page
Notifications Page
Group Class Page
Profile Page
No persistant login
or profile system for
users to save or remember
information
3
Too many symbols and
icons but not enough
information in the actual
app
2
Poor alignment between
the action a user expects
vs what action is
performed
1
Qualitative Data Chart
Quantitative Data Chart
01 - Research
02 - Problem, Pain Points, "How Might We?"
03 - Ideation
04 - Final Product
05 - Future Steps
06 - Why does this redesign matter?
But, how did we get here?
The Main Problem
User Research 🧐🧐
Key Takeaways 🔑🔑
‼️Problem‼️
Pain Points 😣 😣
"How Might We?"
Ideation Themes 🤔🤔
Lo-fi Wireframe Sketches
Hi-Fi Mockups
Expand Key User Flows with Additional Frames
High Fidelity Usability Testing
Accessibility and Compliance Review
We grounded our Ideation to focus on four main themes:
Eliminate external browser dependency
Prioritize most-used features (busyness, booking, ID)
Reduce visual clutter without removing useful icons
Support personalization and filtering
How might we redesign the UCSD REC app to reduce friction, align with students’ mental models, and allow users to complete core recreation tasks seamlessly within the app?
We initially sketched out the designs for the key frames we wanted to include.
Since we only had 2 weeks to complete this redesign, we decided to focus on the
key frames that addressed the main problem and pain points regarding the UCSD
Rec App.
After making the initial sketches, we discussed as a team to see what we might want to change or implement in the design. From there, we made our Hi-Fi mockups.
The redesign transforms the app into a fully functional mobile experience that
supports students’ most common goals without leaving the app:
Live facility busyness displayed at the top of the home screen
Integrated class search & booking (no Safari redirects)
Persistent profile with saved member ID and upcoming classes
Filters & personalization to manage many recreation options
Notifications for class reminders and special events
While we were able to address the core usability issues during our short time on this
project, there are several opportunities to further validate our solution.
Due to the two-week project timeline, the design focused on core screens rather than
fully fleshed-out end-to-end flows. A key next step would be to create additional frames
to cover:
Complete class booking and cancellation flows
First-time user onboarding and permissions
Accessibility states (focus, contrast, dynamic text)
With more time, expanded frames would enable usability testing across entire tasks
rather than isolated screens. This would allow us to validate:
User confidence during multi-step actions
Points of friction not visible in single screens
An expanded set of frames would support a thorough accessibility audit, ensuring
consistency across states and interactions and aligning the design with WCAG
standards.
The UCSD Rec App plays an important role in connecting students to campus wellness resources, yet usability issues can make accessing those resources unnecessarily difficult. When students struggle to find open facilities, understand availability, or book classes efficiently, engagement drops - regardless of how valuable the services are.
This project matters because it focuses on reducing friction in everyday student interactions. By prioritizing clarity, speed, and intuitive navigation, the redesign aims to make wellness more accessible and easier to integrate into student routines. Even small improvements in usability can have a meaningful impact when the product serves a large campus population.
Students want to quickly access recreation information and book activities, but the
UCSD REC app fails to support these core tasks within the app itself.
9/18 users were frustrated by constant redirection to Safari
9/18 users relied on website search & filters not available in the app
8/18 users ignored most app buttons due to overload
15/18 users liked the icons - but found them overwhelming
Users consistently experienced:
Rule-based mistakes (misunderstanding how the app works)
Knowledge-based mistakes (unclear categories)
We conducted 18 interviews to better understand what users thought about the
current app
Our research methods included:
Semi-structured Interviews
Task-based usability observation
Likert-scale usability ratings
Qualitative behavioral notes/obervations
Students expect mobile apps to support their goals quickly and intuitively. Instead,
the UCSD REC app:
Redirects users to external websites for most actions
Makes it hard to find and book classes
Overwhelms users with too many categories and icons
Logs users out frequently with no persistent profile
Students felt confused, frustrated, and unsure why the app existed at all.
The UCSD REC app is meant to help students book classes, check facility availability,
and engage in campus recreation. However, students consistently expressed
frustration with the app’s usability, especially its reliance on external browser
redirects, unclear navigation, and repeated log-ins.
Our goal was to redesign the app to feel like a real mobile experience, not just a web
wrapper, one that aligns with students’ mental models and allows them to complete
core tasks seamlessly within the app.
Why the UCSD Rec App?
Timeline:
Nov 2025 -
Dec 2025
(2 weeks)
Why the UCSD Rec App?
Team:
6 UX Designers
& Researchers
Skills:
UX Research,
Prototyping,
UX and Visual
Design
Deliverables:
Key Research
Insights,
Proposed
Redesign,
Working
Prototype
Timeline:
Nov 2025 -
Dec 2025
(2 weeks)
The Main Problem
User Research 🧐🧐
Key Takeaways 🔑🔑
‼️Problem‼️
Pain Points 😣 😣
"How Might We?"
Ideation Themes 🤔🤔
Lo-fi Wireframe Sketches
Hi-Fi Mockups
Expand Key User Flows with Additional Frames
High Fidelity Usability Testing
Accessibility and Compliance Review
But, how did we get here?
01 - Research
02 - Problem, Pain Points, "How Might We?"
03 - Ideation
04 - Final Product
05 - Future Steps
06 - Why does this redesign matter?
Students expect mobile apps to support their goals quickly and intuitively. Instead,
the UCSD REC app:
Redirects users to external websites for most actions
Makes it hard to find and book classes
Overwhelms users with too many categories and icons
Logs users out frequently with no persistent profile
Students felt confused, frustrated, and unsure why the app existed at all.
We conducted 18 interviews to better understand what users thought about the
current app
Our research methods included:
Semi-structured Interviews
Task-based usability observation
Likert-scale usability ratings
Qualitative behavioral notes/obervations
9/18 users were frustrated by constant redirection to Safari
9/18 users relied on website search & filters not available in the app
8/18 users ignored most app buttons due to overload
15/18 users liked the icons - but found them overwhelming
Users consistently experienced:
Rule-based mistakes (misunderstanding how the app works)
Knowledge-based mistakes (unclear categories)
The UCSD REC app is meant to help students book classes, check facility availability,
and engage in campus recreation. However, students consistently expressed
frustration with the app’s usability, especially its reliance on external browser
redirects, unclear navigation, and repeated log-ins.
Our goal was to redesign the app to feel like a real mobile experience, not just a web
wrapper, one that aligns with students’ mental models and allows them to complete
core tasks seamlessly within the app.
Qualitative Data Chart
Quantitative Data Chart
Poor alignment between
the action a user expects
vs what action is
performed
1
Too many symbols and
icons but not enough
information in the actual
app
2
No persistant login
or profile system for
users to save or remember
information
3
Students want to quickly access recreation information and book activities, but the
UCSD REC app fails to support these core tasks within the app itself.
How might we redesign the UCSD REC app to reduce friction, align with students’ mental models, and allow users to complete core recreation tasks seamlessly within the app?
Since we only had 2 weeks to complete this redesign, we decided to focus on the
key frames that addressed the main problem and pain points regarding the UCSD
Rec App.
The redesign transforms the app into a fully functional mobile experience that
supports students’ most common goals without leaving the app:
Live facility busyness displayed at the top of the home screen
Integrated class search & booking (no Safari redirects)
Persistent profile with saved member ID and upcoming classes
Filters & personalization to manage many recreation options
Notifications for class reminders and special events
While we were able to address the core usability issues during our short time on this
project, there are several opportunities to further validate our solution.
Due to the two-week project timeline, the design focused on core screens rather than
fully fleshed-out end-to-end flows. A key next step would be to create additional frames
to cover:
Complete class booking and cancellation flows
First-time user onboarding and permissions
Accessibility states (focus, contrast, dynamic text)
Home Page
Profile Page
Notifications Page
Group Class Page
After making the initial sketches, we discussed as a team to see what we might want to change or implement in the design. From there, we made our Hi-Fi mockups.
We initially sketched out the designs for the key frames we wanted to include.
We grounded our Ideation to focus on four main themes:
Eliminate external browser dependency
Prioritize most-used features (busyness, booking, ID)
Reduce visual clutter without removing useful icons
Support personalization and filtering
An expanded set of frames would support a thorough accessibility audit, ensuring
consistency across states and interactions and aligning the design with WCAG
standards.
The UCSD Rec App plays an important role in connecting students to campus wellness resources, yet usability issues can make accessing those resources unnecessarily difficult. When students struggle to find open facilities, understand availability, or book classes efficiently, engagement drops - regardless of how valuable the services are.
This project matters because it focuses on reducing friction in everyday student interactions. By prioritizing clarity, speed, and intuitive navigation, the redesign aims to make wellness more accessible and easier to integrate into student routines. Even small improvements in usability can have a meaningful impact when the product serves a large campus population.
With more time, expanded frames would enable usability testing across entire tasks
rather than isolated screens. This would allow us to validate:
User confidence during multi-step actions
Points of friction not visible in single screens
But, how did we get here?
The Main Problem
Students expect mobile apps to support their goals quickly and intuitively. Instead,
the UCSD REC app:
Redirects users to external websites for most actions
Makes it hard to find and book classes
Overwhelms users with too many categories and icons
Logs users out frequently with no persistent profile
Students felt confused, frustrated, and unsure why the app existed at all.
The UCSD REC app is meant to help students book classes, check facility availability,
and engage in campus recreation. However, students consistently expressed
frustration with the app’s usability, especially its reliance on external browser
redirects, unclear navigation, and repeated log-ins.
Our goal was to redesign the app to feel like a real mobile experience, not just a web
wrapper, one that aligns with students’ mental models and allows them to complete
core tasks seamlessly within the app.
Why the UCSD Rec App?