The Wing RSPB App
Skills
Mobile App
UX Research
UI Design
Accessible Design
Industry
Education
Conservation
Client
Student Project*
Project
12 Weeks
*This app is a student project created for educational purposes and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
Goals
How can we inspire a diverse audience, from beginners to seasoned birdwatchers, to deepen their connection to nature?
A core objective to nurture a passion for British birdlife by encouraging users to log sightings and improve their identification skills. Another key goal is to enhance brand awareness and highlight the RSPB’s extensive expertise.
Adoption Rate Aim
Membership Goal
Donation Aim
Challenges
How might we enable nature enthusiasts with different levels of knowlege to more deeply engage with British bird life?
One key challenge was appealing to a broad user base, supporting the RSPB’s goal of attracting younger users (16–25) without alienating the existing demographic. Another challenge was working within limited resources, including small test sample sizes, restricted data access, and time constraints.
Outcomes
A companion app for logging sightings, identifying birds, and a deep reservoir of bird knowledge.
The Wing helps new users benefit from guided identification tools, while experienced birders can access detailed information and logbook features to deepen their knowledge. The platform encourages continuous learning and fosters a deeper connection with birdwatching and the RSPB over time.
Empathise
Google Product Development Lifecycle
As part of the Google UX Design Certificate, this project was modelled on Google's product design lifecycle. The process favours an iterative design process, encouraging designers to revisit and reflect upon the previous stages once new discoveries have been made. The circular process was a divergence from my usual ways of working but provided a reliable framework for the project.
Interviewing a Divided User Base
"I have my own spreadsheet for logging sightings but I'd like somewhere better to keep this. '
"I don't know what I don't know… it can be hard to identify new birds or know where to start."
Virtual interviews, guided by curated scripts, identified a divide in the user groups that would create many of the design conflicts through the project. Existing RSPB users wanted to log bird sightings, deepen their knowledge, and were familiar with the brand - while younger users were less aware of the RSPB and had an interest in growing their identification skills. This raised a key question for the next stage of the project;
How do we design for a group of users with conflicting needs? Is this an achievable goal?
Meaningful User Personas
When developing the personas, I prioritised core personality traits over demographic information. This creates usable archetypes, rather than stereotypes and supports an inclusive design approach by reducing bias. Referring back to the personas allowed me to re-connect to an empathetic and user-centred approach to the design.
The personas were developed from the research conducted in this phase and reflect the challenges of meeting the needs of both seasoned birdwatchers and the RSPB’s target audience of 16–24 year olds.
Key Findings from the Empathy Phase
01
Conflicting User Needs
Interviews identified a broad range of user needs based on the level of expertise and experience.
02
New Target User Group
The RSPB wants to engage more 16-24 year olds as part of ensuring their longevity and the continuation of their work.
03
RSPB Digital Rebrand
The RSPB's digital rebrand aligns with a strategic push into the mobile app space and supports the charity's digital ambitions.
04
Core App Features
A few core app features surfaced as the most important features to included and were widely regarded as essential.
Define
Competitor Landscape
There is a plethora of birdwatching apps on the market, with mixed feedback from users. Some were hailed as reliable and informative, while others have issues with location-specific terminology and poorly performing Sound ID features. This research informed future decisions on the choice of features for the MVP.
Clarifying the Project Goals
Business Goals
The RSPB’s core goals include enabling more, and more diverse people to act for nature, becoming more relevant to the world they’re trying to change and to improve engagement with 16 - 24 year-olds.
User Goals
User goals included learning about birds, improving their birdwatching skills, making notes, organise trips to the reserves, accessing information about birds, and connecting with other users and communities.
Ideate
In the meantime, please enjoy looking though another project while I'm working hard on finalising The Wing.