PARTNER
We made climbing less judgmental and more playful
How might we encourage more playfulness in indoor climbing gyms? In 2015 The North Face challenged my team at the Stanford d.school to explore this question. Here’s how we went about addressing this challenge:
01. Empathize
My team interviewed over 60 climbers of all levels and discovered two key findings:
Beginners fear of judgment, which holds them back from wanting to attempt problems.
Most climbers are driven by self-competition.
02. Define
We used our key learnings and chose to focus on beginner climbers. We came up point of view that adhered to North Face's brand and met the needs of people getting into climbing: "It would make a difference if Juliet, a beginner rock climber, could start her journey into climbing by being immersed in a non-judgmental, self-competitive, playful space."
03. Ideate, Prototype, and Test
We used these insights as the basis of our design and The ZenPro was born. The ZenPro allows climbers to use GoPros to videotape themselves as they attempt a problem. The footage from their climb is then sent to them along with a personal record tracking their progress.
Additionally, the footage becomes part of a photomontage that can be displayed at local gyms. If ZenPro is carried out in all gyms across the nation, this project has the potential to create a the biggest photomontage of people: a photomontage of a creative, non-judgmental climbing experience. We prototyped these ideas and gathered feedback from our target audience. We then presented our prototype to North Face.
Learnings
While the ZenPro challenge did not come to fruition in partnership with the The North Face, in the subsequent years, the most popular climbing app (Mountain Project) was developed. This app leverages similar findings to ours and allows newcomers to the sport to track their progress. Seeing a similar app come to fruition years later showed me how powerful human-centered design can be. And while part of me wishes we took the time to build out this app in a more comprehensive way, I fully believe if we can get more people outside, encourage them to “never stop exploring,” and promote safe, non-judgmental spaces, the world will be a better place.
#rockclimbing #designthinking # thenorthface #neverstopexploring #prototyping #beginnerclimber #empathy #nojudgment