Sport Gear E-commerce
Campera App
UX/UI DESIGN
A modern e-commerce mobile app designed to simplify the way people discover, and prepare for outdoor adventures. Campera caters to a diverse range of campers, from seasoned backpackers to first-time glampers, offering curated camping gear, personalized recommendations, and a seamless shopping experience.
Most camping gear apps and websites are either too technical for beginners or too generic to serve serious outdoor enthusiasts. Users often struggle with overwhelming product choices, unclear specifications, and uninspiring shopping experiences. The core challenge was to design a platform that speaks to both seasoned adventurers and casual campers, making it easy to find the right gear without sacrificing performance, style, or usability.
Design Challenge
My role:
Solo practice project
Tools used:
Our project aims to make discovering the right camping gear easy, engaging, and accessible for all types of outdoor users.
For whom: Casual campers and seasoned outdoor enthusiasts
Need: A clear, engaging shopping experience that simplifies complex product choices and helps users find gear that fits their needs and experience level.
Design Process
DOUBLE DIAMOND
Methodology:
Double Diamond
Why:
because it feels intuitive and clear to me as a graphic designer.
I decided to use the Double Diamond methodology for this project for a very simple reason. I’m a graphic designer, and the first time I saw the Double Diamond illustration, it just stayed in my head. Visually, it feels very clear and easy to understand for me. In a way, it’s more intuitive than Design Thinking, even though I know that Design Thinking and Double Diamond are actually very similar, almost the same thing.
What really speaks to me in Double Diamond is the idea of divergence and convergence. I believe this way of thinking is important in any design process, no matter the project. When there is a problem to solve, I strongly feel that you first need a phase of exploring, opening up, and looking at the problem from many angles. Only after you understand the full spectrum of the problem does it make sense to narrow things down and focus on specific solutions.
Gear Up. Get Out. Make Memories.
Discover
UX RESEARCH
IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS
Research Goals
Goal 1: Understand how users discover and select camping gear
Goal 2: Identify ways to make gear discovery engaging, intuitive, and accessible
Research Questions
What makes discovering camping gear engaging? (expectations)
What are users’ habits and experiences when exploring gear?
How and with whom do users research or shop for gear? What tools do they use?
What would an ideal gear discovery experience look like? (expectations)
What frustrations or barriers do users face when choosing gear?
What motivates users to go camping and select gear? (emotions, attitudes)
What are users’ recent experiences with exploring or buying camping gear?
Recruitment criteria for the group of 10 respondents
The participant has actively shopped for or explored camping gear within the last 6 months, and preferably gone camping (*At least 3 participants with no camping experience, but planning to go)
Age 18-50 years
The participant has used apps, websites, or social media at least once to find information about camping or outdoor gear
At least 3 participants are parents with children under 12 years old
Research report
Users treat camping as valuable but limited free time, so both preparation and shopping must feel efficient, safe, and worth the effort. They want to enjoy the experience without stress, mistakes, or over-research.
Across all clusters, one strong theme appears:
Users are not looking for “more options”, they are looking for clarity, reassurance, and confidence.
Must have
Clear product categorization
Filtering and sorting
Product description + images
Add to cart & online checkout
Secure payment options
Order tracking
Nice to have
Product recommendations / bundles
Community features
Inspiration and educational content
Eco filters
Define
Personas
User Journey Map
User Story
As a young outdoor enthusiast and frequent backpacker,
I want to quickly find lightweight, high-performance gear that's been reviewed and recommended by experts,
so that I can confidently prepare for last-minute weekend trips without wasting time or risking poor-quality equipment.
-
Nicole Sandman
Age: 38 years
Profession: Teacher
Location: Glasgow
Status: Married with 2 kidsPersona bio Nicole is a 38-year-old elementary school teacher and mother of two living in a suburban neighborhood. A few times a year, she plans short camping trips with her husband and kids as a way to unplug, bond as a family, and introduce her children to nature.
While she enjoys the outdoors, Nicole doesn't consider herself an expert camper. For her, camping is about comfort, safety, and making lasting family memories, not braving the wilderness. She values practical, easy-to-use gear, and prefers products that are quick to set up, safe for kids, and affordable.
Nicole often shops online during her limited free time and appreciates bundled gear deals and clear product descriptions that help her make decisions without needing to do extensive research. She also looks for reliable customer support and flexible return policies in case something isn’t quite right.
Camping Style Family-Friendly Car Camping
Needs
+ Family friendly products (large tents, comfy sleeping bags)
+ Budget friendly deals & bundles
+ Easy returns & customer support
+ Safety focused gear (first aid kits, lanterns, etc.)Frustrations
- Hard to find reliable product recommendations for families
- Complicated setup instructions
- Doesn’t want to spend too much time researching“I just want to make sure my family is comfortable and safe, without spending hours researching on gear we’ll only use a few times a year.”
User Story
As a busy mom planning occasional family camping trips,
I want to quickly find affordable, family-friendly gear bundles that are safe and easy to use,
so that I can make sure my family is comfortable and prepared, without spending hours researching or worrying about complicated setups. -
Emily Clarkson
Age: 29 years
Profession: Marketing Manager
Location: Geneva
Status: SinglePersona bio Emily is a busy marketing professional who loves traveling, weekend getaways, and trying new experiences. She lives in the city and enjoys escaping to nature but isn’t an experienced camper. Instead of roughing it in the wild, she prefers comfortable, aesthetically pleasing, and beginner-friendly camping experiences—often opting for glamping or car camping.
Emily is also eco-conscious and prefers sustainable products when possible. Since she doesn’t camp often, she doesn’t want to invest in bulky, heavy-duty gear she might never use again. Instead, she looks for multi-purpose items that can be used for outdoor trips as well as in her daily life.
She loves convenience and efficiency, so she appreciates curated shopping experiences, pre-packed gear bundles, and beginner-friendly guidance. She’s also very active on social media and enjoys capturing beautiful outdoor moments for Instagram.Camping Style Occasional Camper & Glamping Enthusiast
Needs
+ Find stylish and comfortable camping gear that fits her aesthetic
+ Buy sustainable, eco-friendly products
+ Make camping easy with beginner-friendly gear
+ Discover unique outdoor experiences that aren’t too extremeFrustrations
- Finds most camping gear too bulky, rugged, or not visually appealing
- Overwhelmed by technical product specs she doesn’t understand
- Struggles to know what to buy as a beginner camper
- Doesn't want to spend money on expensive gear for rare trips“I love the idea of being in nature. I want gear that looks good, works well, and doesn’t feel like I’m prepping for Everest.”
User Story
As an occasional camper who values style, simplicity, and sustainability,
I want to discover curated, beginner-friendly camping gear that’s both eco-conscious and aesthetically pleasing,
so that I can enjoy nature comfortably and confidently—without feeling overwhelmed or investing in gear I’ll barely use.
Takeways
Necessary Utilities
Clear product categorization
Filtering and sorting
By weight, season, ocassion (ex. weekend trip, family safety), eco
Visible return policy
Order tracking
Ordered, in progress, order and return history
Recommended
Real photos of users
Community features
Inspiration and educational content
PACK PLANNER
Personalized gear checklist
Design decision
Pack Planner - the standout feature of Campera
One of the key elements that sets Campera apart from other outdoor gear apps is the Pack Planner — a smart, user-guided tool designed to simplify the packing and shopping process for every kind of camper. Unlike typical shopping platforms that leave users scrolling through endless product lists, the Pack Planner invites them to answer a few quick questions about their trip — destination, duration, weather, season, and experience level.
Based on their answers, Campera automatically generates a personalized gear checklist with curated product suggestions, which users can review, save, or purchase directly in the app. This feature turns Campera from just a gear store into a practical planning assistant, providing confidence, convenience, and a tailored experience that speaks directly to the user’s needs.
The Pack Planner not only helps beginners who feel unsure about what to pack but also saves time for experienced campers who want a quick, ready-to-go setup. It’s a distinctive touch that positions Campera as more than just a marketplace — it becomes a trusted partner in every outdoor adventure.
Develop
Information achitecture
Wireframes, First Lo-fi Prototype and First Testing and First changes
As the prototype came together and users began testing it, some clear gaps and initial flaws in the app started to surface. Here are the most critical insights.
During the assembly of the low-fidelity prototype and the first animation testing, one major issue became immediately clear: the bottom navigation bar. Having it split into five separate floating buttons didn’t work visually or functionally. It lacked structure, felt disjointed, and was confusing for users. This was obvious even during prototype building, and later user testing only confirmed it.
2.
1.
While evaluating the Explore screen, another problem became clear: it was boring and lacked real purpose. It didn’t address user needs, especially for beginners or time-pressed campers, who, as our early interviews showed, were looking for quick solutions, recommendations, and direction, not just an open-ended scroll zone.
After a solo brainstorming session (yes, it was a one-person storm), I concluded that Explore needed to be reimagined from scratch. That’s when the idea for the Pack Planner was born.
Time for first prototype
Light mode
Dark mode
Deliver
Design System
Creating the Design System
Instances properities
Instances & Properities
While building the design system for the Campera App, I focused on creating a scalable and well-organized component structure in Figma. The process involved advanced component building with nested structures, Auto Layout logic, and flexible variants.
A key part of this work was setting up and managing component properties, which turned out to be one of the most powerful and time-saving tools. I applied different property types such as:
Boolean properties
Instance swap properties
Text properties
Variant properties
Design Tokens
What I’ve learned
Designing the Campera Sport Gear E-comerce turned out to be a highly time-consuming and iterative process. The project required countless rounds of refinements and adjustments — every stage revealed new opportunities to improve the experience, which meant constantly revisiting earlier ideas and implementing changes.
I worked on this project over a long period of time, and it’s still evolving. I expect further iterations will continue to shape the app as it grows and adapts to user needs.
This ongoing process taught me a lot — not only about building scalable design systems and user flows, but also about the value of flexibility, patience, and continuous learning in UX design.