INDUSTRY:
TOURISM / LOCATION BASED EXPERIENCE
ROLE
USER EXPERIENCE DESIGNER
SERVICE
USER RESEARCH, VISUAL RESEARCH, USER EXPERIENCE
TIMELINE
2021
Oude Noorden
Exploring hidden gems
about.
Oude Noorden is an interactive walking tour that lets users explore the historic neighborhood of Rotterdam's Oude Noorden through a curated digital and physical experience. It highlights landmarks, public art, and local businesses; blending the area’s past and present together. A physical postcard picked up at a local cafés give users discounts and lets them invite others, creating a personal, social, and location-connected journey.
challenge.
Craft an interface that felt inherently tied to the neighborhood’s textures, colors, and architectural character.
Balance two distinct exploration modes (curated tours vs. spontaneous walks) without creating cognitive overload.
Integrating a tangible product into a digital flow to drive recollection, engagement and organic sharing.
approach.
Visual Mapping
We mapped out the neighborhood by collecting textures, colors, and architectural elements directly from the streets of Oude Noorden. Each visual collage formed the basis of a unique design palette, representing sub-areas within the district—ranging from historic brick facades to vibrant murals and cozy cafés. These were translated into UI elements like map markers, screen headers, and backgrounds, ensuring a digital look and feel that stayed true to the real-world experience.
Route & Engagement Strategy
The Oude Noorden app is designed to spark discovery and create memorable moments for everyone exploring this Rotterdam neighborhood, from curious tourists to local wanderers seeking fresh perspectives. It offers curated routes highlighting the area's diverse attractions.
As the examples show, a route can weave together dining experiences, local bakeries, historic architecture, green spaces, and public art. Through user interviews we illustrated the narrative arc for this route. This potential emotional journey acknowledges that for each user, individual preferences will shape unique and personal experiences along the way.
This customer journey map below visualizes the intended user flow and emotional arc, from initial discovery sparked by a friend's postcard to the eventual sharing of their curated experience. It outlines key activities, user feelings, and needs at each stage: Reveal, Walk/Explore, Experience, Taste, Remember, and Share. The process focuses on creating a delightful and shareable exploration of Oude Noorden, blending digital guidance with physical takeaways to create a personal connection to the neighborhood.
Physical cards
One of the standout features of Oude Noorden is the way it combines the digital tour with a physical element. As users explore the neighborhood, they can pick up a special postcard at local cafés and bars. This isn’t just a keepsake—it also gives access to discounts at select spots along the route, making the experience even more rewarding.
After the tour, users can send the postcard to friends or family, inviting them to explore the area themselves. This small gesture helps share the experience and adds a personal touch. By mixing a digital tour with a physical item, the app creates a deeper connection to the place and encourages users to stay engaged.
results.
Navigating choices
The first screen you land on in the Oude Noorden app is all about getting users to choose intuitively. We put the main choices "Choose a Tour" (a guiding experience) and "Stroll Around" a spontaneous walk) right in the spotlight. The app is plain simple, which is why we put only these options as a simple choice as a first interaction.
When you tap "Choose a Tour," the next screen lays out your tour options, chosen by Oude Noorden. We included the estimated time, as well as contrasting pictures of sightings you might see along the route. This screen is about making that decision of starting your tour feel easy to act on.
Getting users ready
The ‘Tour description’ screen is where users get their first impression of a specific tour. The short description gives them the main points of what they'll see alongside an image to start this tour.
Once a user starts a tour, the Tour Route screen is easy to get around. The map shows them exactly where they are and where to go next, alongside highlights in the area. The list of stops helps them see what's coming up; which are interactable to view more information about this location. This screen keeps it simple and focused on navigation, so they can actually enjoy looking around without getting lost, distracted or confused by the app.
Showing what's special
When you tap on a stop along the route, like "Speck", a detail-text pops up to give you more details about this location. Users get a nice image to see what the place actually looks like, and then some interesting details; a bit of history or something unique about this place. This adds depth to the tour, giving users a reason to pause and learn a little more about the spots they're visiting, making the experience richer than just ticking off landmarks.
Sometimes, when you visit a location, you might see a coupon popping up on screen. This little extra perk is for users who are actually following the tour as guided, and are encouraged to visit local businesses to grab a coffee or a snack.
Once you've completed a tour, a last overview screen provides closure. A simple message ends the tour along the option to go back. Depending on the last highlight of the tour, we suggest users to visit the local business to keep the engagement going.
Independent discovery
The "Strolls" screen is designed for users who prefer a more free approach to exploring Oude Noorden. We present a map around the user’s current location as the central element. The prominent "start your own stroll" button acts as the sole action to start discovering the hidden gems. The overall design is intentionally open and less structured than the guided tours, catering to users who value flexibility and serendipitous discovery.
Once a user initiates a stroll, the "Highlights Near You" screen becomes their dynamic guide. The map continues to be the visual reference, showing their current location and nearby points of interest. The list below provides quick access to these highlights, including their names and estimated walking times. The stroll feature allows users to easily identify and navigate to nearby points of interest without a predefined route.
reflecting & outcome
The Oude Noorden app was designed from scratch to be a layered and meaningful walking experience. By combining visual field research with carefully designed tour logic and a physical entry point, we created a product that felt like it belonged to the neighborhood. From postcard to phone to street, every detail reinforced a sense of intentional exploration.
This project helped me deepen my skills in physical-digital service design, as well as in building fully new user flows that serve both locals and visitors alike. It proved that even a simple walking tour could be transformed into a rich, memorable journey when design is grounded in place and purpose.
