An AR-enabled educational mobile game from start to finish.
Role
UX/UI Designer
Duration
30 weeks
When
Winter - Spring 2026
where
San Luis Obispo, CA
Project Overview
Meet The Creek is an AR-enabled educational mobile game created in collaboration with Creek Lands Conservation. The experience connects people exploring San Luis Obispo’s creek with the wildlife, history, and ecosystems around them, turning a walk outdoors into an opportunity to learn through play.
Within the team, I was responsible for designing and incorporating a digital field journal into the experience. I also collaborated with another teammate on one of the game’s four species narratives: Bingo the Belted Kingfisher. Together, we structured Bingo’s journey, missions, and the core species featured along that narrative, connecting the game’s educational goals with a guided experience of discovery.
Process
Research & Discovery
We kicked off with user interviews, pilot surveys, and research into local wildlife. Affinity mapping helped connect audience needs with Creek Lands Conservation’s educational goals, while competitor analysis highlighted ways environmentally focused games encourage exploration and learning.
These insights shaped a narrative-led experience in which visitors could choose their own path along the creek, encountering wildlife and educational missions through physical signage. The guiding question was how to help the SLO community learn about its local environment in a way that inspires curiosity and stewardship.
Designing the Digital Field Journal
Recognizing the importance of field journaling to environmentalists, I wanted to bring that practice into the game’s digital experience. I was responsible for the design and incorporation of the digital field journal, introducing a familiar environmental practice into an approachable, play-based learning context. My intent was to connect exploration with the thoughtful attention to nature that field journaling encourages.
Alongside the journal, I collaborated on the journey, missions, and core species associated with Bingo the Belted Kingfisher, considering how these elements could come together as a coherent learning experience. This work connected the broader team’s narrative-led direction with the details of an individual species journey. Below is the Steelhead Trout user journey, one of the most vital species in Central California.
Testing & Refinement
Guerrilla usability testing provided a fresh perspective on the prototype, revealing how people naturally navigated the experience and where interactions needed clarification. Observing taps, swipes, and moments of hesitation helped the team evaluate the flow beyond what looked clear in a design file.
The physical signage was also tested using Tobii Pro eye tracking to understand what drew attention and how visitors might discover the game. A visit to the creek added real-world context, helping connect the digital experience to the setting in which people would encounter it. These activities informed further refinements to the signage, interactions, and shared components.
Reflection
Designing the digital field journal taught me to look beyond familiar app patterns and draw from the practices of the community we were designing for. Bringing field journaling into the game was an opportunity to connect digital play with a more thoughtful approach to observing nature.
Collaborating on Bingo’s journey reinforced the importance of designing content and interactions together. Shaping the missions and species narrative with a teammate meant thinking beyond individual screens to create a cohesive learning experience grounded in shared goals, open feedback, and a willingness to iter8 :)
