odo
With odo we developed a digital bicycle route planner that adapts to riders’ individual needs. Instead of simply suggesting the shortest or fastest path, it considers preferences and situational factors like terrain, weather, or time of day.
Problem
Existing route planners are functional but inflexible. They rarely account for what really matters to cyclists: surface, elevation, surroundings, or conditions on the road. Our guiding question: How can we design a route planner that feels truly personal and adaptable?
In collaboration with Luca Ziegler Félix
Process
1. Desktop Research & Deep Dive:
Explored navigation systems and bicycle culture to understand existing practices and pain points.
2. User Research:
Conducted interviews and polls with cyclists to gather real-world needs and expectations.
3. App Benchmarking:
Analyzed existing routing apps and identified their limitations in personalization and adaptability.
4. Concept Development:
Defined the 3 core usage moments – plan before, navigate during, reflect after.
5. Prototyping:
Built and tested interactive prototypes (route profiles, preview screens, detail views).
6. Iteration:
Collected user feedback, refined flows, and improved UI and map design through multiple test cycles.
Blue Ocean Strategy Canvas
For Odo, we created a Blue Ocean Strategy Canvas while developing the app’s core concept to test its unique strengths. The canvas shows where competitors focus and where new opportunities emerge. While others cluster around training or basic route planning, Odo stands out with intelligent context adaptation, personalized routing, and situational live navigation.
Solution
The main flow consists of just three screens. This compact structure makes the app particularly easy to use and allows all key information to be accessed with just a few taps.
1. Route profiles
Users can create multiple route profiles with settings like distance, elevation, or duration. The app instantly suggests matching routes, and a simple swipe switches between profiles.
2. Detailscreen
The detail screen stacks key info: header, map, and stats like distance, elevation, and speed. Extra hints on terrain, weather, and safety keep riders prepared.
3. Previewscreen
Routes are split into sections like “leaving the city,” each with distance, traffic, weather, and an elevation profile. Scrolling highlights the current section on the map.
Elevation
The elevation profile provides a quick overview of the route’s overall climb. Users can expand it to analyze individual segments, with key details such as difficulty, length, elevation gain, and average gradient displayed clearly and in our four gradient colors.
Terrain types
This view dynamically summarizes the route’s surface conditions. Sections are assigned to their respective ground types, so users can see exactly where each surface appears. A percentage breakdown gives a quick overview, while the legend adds precise distances and shares for every type.
Prepare
Another way we support users is by helping them prepare for their ride. In this section, we highlight the most important items to bring—tailored to the weather, route length, and intensity.
Wind
Wind plays a crucial role in cycling. The interface shows wind direction and speed along the route, while a line chart visualizes the effect: tailwind in green above the axis and headwind in red below, making it easy to spot supportive or challenging sections.
Interactions and navigation
The interface is designed with absolute clarity in mind—modern, clean, and functional. A minimalist header and navbar ensure a clear hierarchy without distracting from the information on screen. The navbar allows switching between detail and preview views on the left, while on the right a save button transforms into a bicycle icon when saving. From there, the route can be sent directly to a connected Garmin device for navigation.
With odo we developed a digital bicycle route planner that adapts to riders’ individual needs. Instead of simply suggesting the shortest or fastest path, it considers preferences and situational factors like terrain, weather, or time of day.
odo
In collaboration with Luca Ziegler Félix
Existing route planners are functional but inflexible. They rarely account for what really matters to cyclists: surface, elevation, surroundings, or conditions on the road. Our guiding question: How can we design a route planner that feels truly personal and adaptable?
Problem
1. Route profiles
Users can create multiple route profiles with settings like distance, elevation, or duration. The app instantly suggests matching routes, and a simple swipe switches between profiles.
2. Detailscreen
The detail screen stacks key info: header, map, and stats like distance, elevation, and speed. Extra hints on terrain, weather, and safety keep riders prepared.
3. Previewscreen
Routes are split into sections like “leaving the city,” each with distance, traffic, weather, and an elevation profile. Scrolling highlights the current section on the map.
Process
1. Desktop Research & Deep Dive:
Explored navigation systems and bicycle culture to understand existing practices and pain points.
2. User Research:
Conducted interviews and polls with cyclists to gather real-world needs and expectations.
3. App Benchmarking:
Analyzed existing routing apps and identified their limitations in personalization and adaptability.
4. Concept Development:
Defined the 3 core usage moments – plan before, navigate during, reflect after.
5. Prototyping:
Built and tested interactive prototypes (route profiles, preview screens, detail views).
6. Iteration:
Collected user feedback, refined flows, and improved UI and map design through multiple test cycles.
The main flow consists of just three screens. This compact structure makes the app particularly easy to use and allows all key information to be accessed with just a few taps.
Solution
