CONCEPT
A Personalized Whale Watching Companion
ROLE
Product Designer
PROJECT YEAR
2025
TIMELINE
5 Weeks
BACKGROUND
The Magic of Whale Watching, Reimagined
For those unfamiliar: whale watching tours are guided excursions by boat where passengers observe marine life in their natural habitat. These tours are especially popular in coastal cities like Boston, where the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean offers a front-row seat to unforgettable encounters. After going on my first whale tour in Boston, I realized how fleeting those magical moments are, and how much richer they could be with thoughtful digital support.
Passengers gather to get a photo of a humpback whale, during a New England Aquarium Whale Watch. Photo Courtesy of Boston Harbor City Cruises.
THE PROBLEM
Magical moments happen fast and are easily missed.
Tours deliver awe, but details fade quickly. Passengers often worry about missing key moments or sightings as they happen. Children disengage during downtime, and meaningful learning opportunities are lost once the boat returns to shore. The challenge was to support presence in the moment and deepen connection to what passengers witness.
RESEARCH
Real experiences shaped the direction.
I interviewed past passengers, prospective visitors, and a marine-life expert to understand what lingers after the tour.
Conversation with Ted Cheeseman, an expedition guide and whale researcher. Consulting with a domain expert deepened my understanding of educational and ecological priorities.
🧠
Past passengers struggled to recall facts and stories after the tour ended.
👧🏻
Families with children expressed a need for educational and engaging tools to keep kids curious and involved.
🐳
Expert interview emphasized the importance of responsible wildlife education, and how digital tools could inspire ecological awareness.
🎁
Across all groups, there was strong enthusiasm for personalized souvenirs as ways to relive the experience after the tour.
JOURNEY MAP
From boarding to dock, the gaps became visible.
To uncover critical moments of tension and opportunity, I mapped out a typical whale watching journey from a passenger’s point of view. This led me one step closer to uncovering a key design opportunity.
Journey map for my persona, Naomi, highlighting where awe peaks, attention drifts, and memory fades.
FINAL DESIGNS
Fluke extends the experience beyond the boat.
Fluke aims to support curiosity in moments of downtime and reflection after the tour without competing with the real-world magic. It includes four key features: Recent Sightings, Our Whales, Media Gallery, and Custom Souvenirs to make learning and memory feel personal.
FEATURE 1: RECENT SIGHTINGS
Track where whales were spotted in real time and learn which species you’re seeing.
RESEARCH INSIGHT
Passengers worried about missing sightings and felt uncertain about what was happening when the boat was idle.
FEATURE 2: OUR WHALES
Get to know the whales by name, traits, and sightings. Build a connection, not just a memory.
RESEARCH INSIGHT
Ted emphasized that naming individual whales builds lasting emotional connection to conservation which directly shaped the 'Our Whales' feature giving each whale a profile and backstory.
FEATURE 3: MEDIA GALLERY
View curated photos, videos, and a personalized recap of your tour.
RESEARCH INSIGHT
Many passengers wanted to relive the moment by searching for images that remind of the amazing sightings.
FEATURE 4: CUSTOM SOUVENIR
Design keepsakes tied to your trip, like a T-shirt with the whale you saw.
RESEARCH INSIGHT
Users expressed strong interest in meaningful keepsakes tied specifically to their experience.
REFLECTION
Working with a domain expert brought both rigor and joy to the research. The key challenge was balancing education with wonder, enhancing the experience without interrupting it. Designing for families reinforced a simple truth: when something works for kids, it works for everyone.
Fluke also points to a broader opportunity for light-touch technology to enrich other real-world experiences, from safaris to stargazing, where presence matters most.
