Designing a Location-Based Alarm for Commuters
SnoozeStop is a mobile app that wakes commuters on time with GPS tracking and customizable alerts, making naps during transit worry-free.
Role:
Team:
UI/UX designer
Independent
Duration:
Tools:
5 weeks (2024)
Figma, Procreate
Overview
The What:
Imagine a mobile app that lets you nap during your commute without worrying about missing your stop. ‘SnoozeStop’ uses GPS tracking to wake you up at just the right time, so you can rest easy. Commuters can set their destination, customize alerts, and enjoy a stress-free journey, knowing they’ll wake up exactly when they need to.
The Why:
Many commuters struggle with exhaustion and use their travel time to catch up on rest. However, the fear of missing their stop often prevents them from truly relaxing. ‘SnoozeStop’ was created to eliminate this stress by providing a reliable, automated wake-up system that ensures a seamless and worry-free commute.
The How:
This project was developed as an independent case study for a class, focusing on creating a solution for commuters who want to nap without missing their stop. The process began with identifying common pain points through personal observations and secondary research on commuting habits. Using these insights, the app was designed to provide GPS-based wake-up alerts with customizable settings. The final prototype offers a user-friendly solution for a stress-free and restful commute.
A Problem Worth Waking Up To
Picture this: a 7 AM train, packed with college students headed to class. Heads nod against the window, earbuds in, eyes squeezed shut – that desperate, delicious nap. But the anxiety looms: will they miss their stop? How do they know when to wake up? A blaring alarm set for a specific station? A location-based reminder, fingers crossed it's accurate? Or just a jolt of panic, snapping them awake at the last second? This daily gamble with sleep and schedules highlights a real problem: the need for a reliable, stress-free way to wake up on the train.
And just how big of a problem is this? Well, let's take a look at these statistics:
57%
of college students get insufficient sleep on 4 nights per week or more
61%
of college students reported experiencing daytime tiredness
70%
of commuters reported at least moderate napping during their commute
Your Peaceful Commute, Solved
Now, imagine this: it’s early morning, your eyes are heavy, and the rhythmic hum of the train lulls you into a nap. You drift off knowing that you’ve already set your destination in SnoozeStop. No more jolting awake in panic, no more checking maps every few minutes. As your stop approaches, a gentle alert wakes you up—calm, timely, and reliable. That’s the peace of mind SnoozeStop offers. In the video above, you can see how the app makes this experience possible, turning daily commutes into moments of rest, not stress.
Early Explorations: Ideas to Wireframes
I like to start my process by rapidly exploring ideas through Crazy 8s, a fast-paced sketching method that helped me unlock a variety of design directions. From there, I refined the most promising concepts into low-fidelity wireframes, focusing on the essential flows commuters would rely on. This stage of the process was all about experimentation and structure; creating a strong UX foundation before moving into polished visuals.
Refining the Experience
In this mid-fidelity phase, I explored multiple layout options to test usability and flow. Focusing on structure over visuals helped me refine the user journey and ensure the app felt intuitive before moving on to high-fidelity design.
As the app evolved into high-fidelity, I focused on creating a visual language that felt relaxing yet dependable. I chose soothing colors, rounded elements, and simple typography to reflect the restful nature of SnoozeStop. Every screen was designed to feel intuitive at a glance—because when users are half-asleep, simplicity becomes essential.
Testing the Tracks
Afterwards, I conducted an in-depth usability testing session to thoroughly evaluate the app’s user interface and core functionality. This process helped uncover navigation pain points, assess the design’s intuitiveness, and identify opportunities for improvement to ensure a more seamless experience.
Key takeaways:
Intuitive navigation
Users completed tasks easily and understood the flow.
Confusing Wording
Some terms weren't immediately clear and led to hesitation.
Unclear Train Line
Users struggled to locate or understand the train line section.
What I Changed—And Why
Following usability testing, I made several targeted changes to enhance clarity, streamline navigation, and improve overall user experience. From UI tweaks to new features, every update was directly informed by user feedback and testing insights.
Here’s a breakdown of the key improvements I implemented:
UI Refinements
Redesigned sliders and dropdowns for improved clarity
Improved Navigation
Replaced dropdowns with a map-based flow for destination selection
Optimized Content
Removed redundancy, added clearer location context
New Features
Introduced profile and service selection options
Confirmation Screens
Added feedback for alarm settings and account creation
Permission Updates
Clarified audio/location permissions for smoother onboarding
Key Refinements In Depth
Before
After
During the usability study, the term 'route' caused some confusion among users. To improve clarity, I decided to replace the term and include a brief description.
Before
After
To address the issue of users struggling to locate the 'line information,' I repositioned it directly next to the line selection area.
Before
After
Another pain point was the need for users to scroll through a lengthy list of station names to select their destination. To address this, I implemented an interactive map, allowing users to simply click on their desired destination.
Before
After
Additionally, feedback highlighted an opportunity to improve this page by replacing the up-and-down clicking method with a scrolling option for setting the timer.
What I Learned Along the Ride
Designing SnoozeStop pushed me to think deeply about how users interact with an app when they’re not fully alert — literally designing for people who are half-asleep! Here’s what stood out the most:
Simplicity is everything.
Commuters don’t want to fiddle with options; they just want to nap. The more intuitive the setup, the better.
Real user feedback is gold.
Usability testing uncovered things I hadn’t considered, like confusion around stop selection and permission clarity.
Iteration makes magic.
Some of the most successful features like the map-based stop selection only came to life after testing and refining.