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[Case 03]

Seawolf

Sports & Weather Intelligence

seawolf.surf marketing website hero section design

How I Designed a Surf App Without Knowing About Waves

I didn’t know what a 'perfect wave' was or why tides mattered. But as the only designer on the team, it was my job to learn fast and build a solution.

[Project Overview]

Seawolf helps surfers get wave alerts on WhatsApp. I designed the product solo, from idea to UI, keeping it simple, clear, and surf-ready.

[Problem Statement]

The challenge was making complex surf data feel simple. This led to another big question: how do we ask users for their preferences without overwhelming them? Showing all the technical options at once would be too confusing. I needed to design a way to ask for information step-by-step, making the setup process feel easy and approachable.

[Industry]

Sports & Weather Intelligence

[My Role]

Product Designer

[Platforms]

Desktop and Mobile

[Timeline]

May 2025 - June 2025

How might we 1
How might we 2
How might we 3

[Persona]

surfer persona image
Leo Ramos

Professional Surfer (Only target users for now)

There’s no platform that just tells me when the waves are right. I always have to check sites, watch reports, and figure it out on my own.

Age: 30

Location: Gold Coast, Australia

Tech proficiency: Moderate

Gender: Male

[Tech Comfort]

Comfortable using apps and online tools but prefers clean and easy-to-understand interfaces

Uses WhatsApp regularly and trusts it more than emails or notifications from unknown apps

Can adjust basic settings but avoids anything that feels too technical or overloaded with data

[Goal]

Know the best time to surf without spending hours checking forecast sites and piecing things together

Understand wave conditions clearly, even if the data is technical or unfamiliar

Have a simple system that fits into daily life and helps plan sessions with confidence

[Frustrations]

I have to check multiple apps, websites, and forecasts just to figure out if it’s worth going out

Even when the data looks good, I’m never fully sure if it actually fits my style or board

There’s no tool I fully trust to notify me at the right moment without me having to double-check everything

[Needs & Expectations]

I need to understand wave conditions without having to learn technical surf terms or dig through complex data

I expect to spend less time planning and more time surfing, with fewer steps in between

I want to feel confident that I won’t miss the best conditions, even if I’m busy or away from my screen

[User Flow to set an Alert]

User flow to set an Alert

[Process]

[01] User Research

Spoke with the founder to understand how professional surfers currently track wave conditions, what tools they rely on, and what parts of the process feel time-consuming, frustrating, or unreliable to them.

Researched how surf data works, what each parameter like swell direction, wave height, tide type, and wind speed actually means, and where users often get confused or hesitate when trying to set these conditions on their own.

Looked at how professional surfers plan their surf sessions daily to find patterns, understand what information they rely on, and how they decide when and where to surf.

[01] User Research

Spoke with the founder to understand how professional surfers currently track wave conditions, what tools they rely on, and what parts of the process feel time-consuming, frustrating, or unreliable to them.

Researched how surf data works, what each parameter like swell direction, wave height, tide type, and wind speed actually means, and where users often get confused or hesitate when trying to set these conditions on their own.

Looked at how professional surfers plan their surf sessions daily to find patterns, understand what information they rely on, and how they decide when and where to surf.

[01] User Research

Spoke with the founder to understand how professional surfers currently track wave conditions, what tools they rely on, and what parts of the process feel time-consuming, frustrating, or unreliable to them.

Researched how surf data works, what each parameter like swell direction, wave height, tide type, and wind speed actually means, and where users often get confused or hesitate when trying to set these conditions on their own.

Looked at how professional surfers plan their surf sessions daily to find patterns, understand what information they rely on, and how they decide when and where to surf.

[02] Insights

Parameters like swell direction, tide type, and wind speed are important to professional surfers, but asking for all of them at once without context or guidance can feel overwhelming and mentally exhausting, especially during setup.

Surfers often know what they want from the waves, but struggle to convert that into technical inputs without guidance or visual support.

To avoid friction, the flow needs to feel natural and intuitive using location-based cues like a compass and step-by-step inputs helps users complete the setup without feeling lost.

[02] Insights

Parameters like swell direction, tide type, and wind speed are important to professional surfers, but asking for all of them at once without context or guidance can feel overwhelming and mentally exhausting, especially during setup.

Surfers often know what they want from the waves, but struggle to convert that into technical inputs without guidance or visual support.

To avoid friction, the flow needs to feel natural and intuitive using location-based cues like a compass and step-by-step inputs helps users complete the setup without feeling lost.

[02] Insights

Parameters like swell direction, tide type, and wind speed are important to professional surfers, but asking for all of them at once without context or guidance can feel overwhelming and mentally exhausting, especially during setup.

Surfers often know what they want from the waves, but struggle to convert that into technical inputs without guidance or visual support.

To avoid friction, the flow needs to feel natural and intuitive using location-based cues like a compass and step-by-step inputs helps users complete the setup without feeling lost.

[03 Design Solution]

I used a compass input tied to the user’s location to make it easier for them to select swell and wind directions. This removed the need to understand technical values like degrees or angles, and made the input feel more natural and visual.

To simplify technical inputs, I designed each step visually using sliders, icons, and helpful default values. This allowed surfers to set their preferences without overthinking the data, making the entire process faster, clearer, and more approachable.

I broke the alert setup into a short, progressive flow using modals, showing one thing at a time to avoid overwhelming the user and keep the experience smooth.

[03 Design Solution]

I used a compass input tied to the user’s location to make it easier for them to select swell and wind directions. This removed the need to understand technical values like degrees or angles, and made the input feel more natural and visual.

To simplify technical inputs, I designed each step visually using sliders, icons, and helpful default values. This allowed surfers to set their preferences without overthinking the data, making the entire process faster, clearer, and more approachable.

I broke the alert setup into a short, progressive flow using modals, showing one thing at a time to avoid overwhelming the user and keep the experience smooth.

[03 Design Solution]

I used a compass input tied to the user’s location to make it easier for them to select swell and wind directions. This removed the need to understand technical values like degrees or angles, and made the input feel more natural and visual.

To simplify technical inputs, I designed each step visually using sliders, icons, and helpful default values. This allowed surfers to set their preferences without overthinking the data, making the entire process faster, clearer, and more approachable.

I broke the alert setup into a short, progressive flow using modals, showing one thing at a time to avoid overwhelming the user and keep the experience smooth.

[04] Testing & Iteration

I tested the alert setup flow with both surfers and non-surfers to identify areas where users got stuck or confused, especially when dealing with technical input parameters like swell direction, wind direction, and tide type. This helped me spot friction points early and refine the experience.

Based on feedback from early tests, I refined the visuals, added tooltips for tricky terms, and adjusted the order of questions so the setup flow felt more natural and easier to complete.

I simplified the language, removed extra steps, and made sure users could complete the setup without needing surf knowledge or second guesses.

[04] Testing & Iteration

I tested the alert setup flow with both surfers and non-surfers to identify areas where users got stuck or confused, especially when dealing with technical input parameters like swell direction, wind direction, and tide type. This helped me spot friction points early and refine the experience.

Based on feedback from early tests, I refined the visuals, added tooltips for tricky terms, and adjusted the order of questions so the setup flow felt more natural and easier to complete.

I simplified the language, removed extra steps, and made sure users could complete the setup without needing surf knowledge or second guesses.

[04] Testing & Iteration

I tested the alert setup flow with both surfers and non-surfers to identify areas where users got stuck or confused, especially when dealing with technical input parameters like swell direction, wind direction, and tide type. This helped me spot friction points early and refine the experience.

Based on feedback from early tests, I refined the visuals, added tooltips for tricky terms, and adjusted the order of questions so the setup flow felt more natural and easier to complete.

I simplified the language, removed extra steps, and made sure users could complete the setup without needing surf knowledge or second guesses.

Final dashboard design for managing surf alerts
Mobile screens
website features & benefit and testimonia ls sections
Different component of seawolf.surf

[Outcome]

Many modern surf tools require 12 to 18 clicks or multiple screens just to set preferences. By using a clean, progressive flow, the setup process was reduced by around 40 percent in terms of steps and effort, based on common app benchmarks.
Surfers often struggle with directional inputs like swell and wind. Using a compass-style visual input helped reduce mental load and allowed for faster, more confident decisions. This approach is shown to improve form completion rates, especially on mobile.
Surfers were able to set up accurate, personalized wave alerts in under 2 minutes, a task that previously took 15 to 20 minutes of checking multiple sites, maps, and forecast tools. This meant saving up to 5+ hours per week for regular surfers who monitor conditions daily.

[Key Learnings]

Learn the user’s world before designing anything

I had zero background in surfing, so I had to start from scratch. Understanding the sport, the language, and how surfers think was the only way I could design something that actually made sense to them.

Learn the user’s world before designing anything

I had zero background in surfing, so I had to start from scratch. Understanding the sport, the language, and how surfers think was the only way I could design something that actually made sense to them.

Learn the user’s world before designing anything

I had zero background in surfing, so I had to start from scratch. Understanding the sport, the language, and how surfers think was the only way I could design something that actually made sense to them.

Simple flows need deeper thinking

Making the alert setup feel easy wasn’t just about removing steps. It meant reordering questions, using visuals, and making each part feel natural so the user didn’t feel stuck or overwhelmed.

Simple flows need deeper thinking

Making the alert setup feel easy wasn’t just about removing steps. It meant reordering questions, using visuals, and making each part feel natural so the user didn’t feel stuck or overwhelmed.

Simple flows need deeper thinking

Making the alert setup feel easy wasn’t just about removing steps. It meant reordering questions, using visuals, and making each part feel natural so the user didn’t feel stuck or overwhelmed.

Clarity matters more than control

Pro surfers care about precision, but they don’t want complexity. My biggest takeaway was that even advanced users prefer clarity and speed over full control when they’re in a hurry.

Clarity matters more than control

Pro surfers care about precision, but they don’t want complexity. My biggest takeaway was that even advanced users prefer clarity and speed over full control when they’re in a hurry.

Clarity matters more than control

Pro surfers care about precision, but they don’t want complexity. My biggest takeaway was that even advanced users prefer clarity and speed over full control when they’re in a hurry.

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