About

The National Park Service (NPS) is a U. S. federal government organization that manages all of USA’s national parks and several national monuments. As a service, it invites explorers to connect with nature's wonders. The National Park Service app serves as a digital platform to get to know about all of the parks’ offerings.

With this sound-focused enhancement of the NPS app, my goal was to create a more engaging visitor experience, both within and beyond national parks, emphasizing branding and user experience through the use of sound interaction design.

Opportunities: Immersion and Education

1. Nature provides a deep, multi-sensory experience; an outdoor exploration app using only visuals lacks immersion.

2. Sound can significantly improve educational access. Recordings of wildlife sounds, park ambience, informative narrations, and personal experiences, would be a rich educational source.

1. Onboarding sound

Elements: Air, water, landscape (trees, ground), and wildlife (animals, birds, and insects)
Tone: Calm and relaxing, adventurous and exciting
Sound quality: Ambient, low, textured

BRANDING

2. Parkshare

Multimedia hub to discover photos, videos, webcams, and audio files covering diverse park topics. Additionally, contribute your own park experiences by submitting audio and video recordings, enriching the park’s expanding library with unique moments captured within the park.

ENGAGEMENT AND CONNECTION

3. Parktracks

Featured audio tracks for each park to virtually transport you to it. These soundscapes capture the essence of each park through signature sounds such as local wildlife, birdsongs, and natural features like marshes, waterfalls, and creeks, spanning various seasons.

BRANDING

Glacier National Park
Elements: Flowing water in a creek, birds (Stellar’s Jay, Osprey, American Dipper, ducks), chipmunks and crickets

Everglades National Park
Elements: Soft breeze, birds (Eastern Screech Owl , ducks), frogs (Southern Leopard, Anhinga) and crickets

I faced challenges sourcing audio recordings for certain unique birds and frogs while creating these sample tracks. However, I received assistance from the Macaulay Library and NPS's sound library, which reinforced the value of my ParkShare proposition in building an active and engaged library.

4. Name That Tune

Interactive quizzes to help you learn about a park’s wildlife and unique sounds using sounds from the NPS’s sound library.

EDUCATION | GAMIFICATION