Fluid — Water Quality Companion

Fluid was designed for recreational water users on the Hudson River who need quick, reliable, and understandable information before entering or interacting with the water. Swimmers, kayakers, paddlers, boaters, and fishers often face health risks from contaminated water, but existing tools can make water-quality information feel too technical, outdated, or difficult to interpret.

Instead of making users interpret scientific measurements on their own, Fluid gives them a clear status, relevant context, and guidance for safer decision-making.

The main problem was not just the lack of water-quality data — it was the way that data was communicated. Existing solutions often showed complex metrics, infrequent updates, or information that was difficult for non-experts to understand.

Design challenge

How might we help recreational water users easily access accurate, understandable, and actionable water-quality information to ensure their safety?

The research process included literature review, competitive analysis, user interviews, usability testing, and a field study. We focused on recreational users who interact with the Hudson River through swimming, paddling, boating, kayaking, and fishing.

Key insights

• •Users wanted a clear good / moderate / bad answer
• •Users wanted temperature, tides, and relevant river conditions
• •Users wanted detailed information only when needed
• •Users wanted to check conditions in advance and know how water was tested
• •Users wanted to report conditions and read other people's experiences
• •Users disliked jargon, outdated data, long text, and unclear navigation

Fluid is a location-based mobile app that helps users check water quality, understand current river conditions, and report local experiences. The app translates technical water-quality information into a clear visual status system supported by plain-language guidance.

Three key moments

• •Check status — immediately see whether the water is good, moderate, or unsafe
• •Understand details — view temperature, tides, forecast, testing info, and metrics
• •Contribute reports — post condition updates, photos, and experiences for the community

Core features

• •Color-coded water-quality status on the home screen
• •Good / Moderate / Bad safety state with plain-language advice
• •Water temperature and tide snapshot
• •Water-quality forecast for planning future activities
• •Details page for bacteria, WQI, turbidity, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll
• •"How Your Water Is Tested" section to build trust
• •Community report feature with activity filters and user posts
• •Report Condition flow with photo or video upload
• •History of water-quality information and bottom navigation

User journey

The user journey follows four major steps: tracking location, receiving updated data, checking water quality, and reporting personal experience.

After the first design iteration, we conducted usability testing to evaluate whether users could find pH levels, forecast information, and testing information. Testing revealed that some parts of the app were not intuitive enough, especially the forecast path, bottom navigation icons, and homepage hierarchy.

Second iteration improvements

• •Made the homepage easier to scan with a clearer water-quality meter
• •Improved color-coded safety advice and simplified bottom navigation
• •Added a dedicated forecast button with a calendar icon
• •Improved icon consistency, visibility, and access to key information

Field study

Later field testing showed that many users found the app intuitive and easy to navigate. Participants especially valued the community feature, forecast feature, water-quality meter, and simplified explanations.

The final outcome was a mobile app concept that makes water-quality information more accessible, understandable, and useful for Hudson River recreational users. Fluid supports safer decision-making by combining real-time status, environmental context, educational content, and community reporting.

Reflection

This project strengthened my ability to design for complex data communication, public safety, environmental awareness, and mobile usability. It taught me the importance of designing not only for information access, but for trust — users need to know what the data means, where it comes from, and how recently it was updated.