Chanuka Botheju

The Wisconsin Rut Report App helps whitetail hunters in Wisconsin share their experiences and get updates on hunting conditions. It provides hunting reports, weather updates, and allows users to filter information based on their hunting region, so they can stay up to date and plan their hunts effectively.

Client: Internal Project
Role: UI/UX Designer

The Problem

Hunters didn’t have a single place to get real-time updates about hunting conditions and weather, which made it hard to plan their hunts and stay informed about the rut (the breeding season of deer). Information was scattered across different platforms, and not specific to their location.

The Objectives

We wanted to build an app where hunters could easily share their reports and access up-to-date, region-specific hunting information. The app also needed to show weather updates and details about the rut to help hunters make better decisions.

Design Process

1. Empathize

We talked to hunters in Wisconsin to understand their challenges. They told us they wanted better ways to access hunting reports, and specific information based on where they hunt. We created two main user types: hunters looking for reports and those wanting to share their experiences.

2. Define

Based on what we learned, we focused on:

• Making it easy for hunters to share and read field reports.
• Adding a filter that shows updates for the hunter’s specific region.
• Giving hunters access to weather and rut updates in real-time.

3. Ideate

We brainstormed ideas, focusing on:

1. A simple forum for hunters to post and read reports.
2. Filters to tailor content to different regions in Wisconsin.
3. Adding features like weather updates and rut tracking.

After sketching out our ideas, we worked with stakeholders and hunters to make sure the designs met their needs.