Komoot Navigation Redesign
Reimagined the cycling and hiking navigation experience as part of a major platform rebuild
When
June 2024 - April 2025
Squad
Senior Product Designer (me - design lead)
iOS, Android and Backend engineers
Product Manager
Data Analyst
QA
UX writer
Results
Komoot was acquired and restructured in 2025, blocking the launch of this project
Test builds resulted in 30% more unobstructed map real estate and Improved turn-by-turn instructions
Positive feedback from extensive internal and external user testing
The Challenge
By 2025 Komoot reached 45 million users and became the top outdoor planning and navigation app in Europe. The platform had existed for over 10 years, which presented major challenges for scalability. New features, a/b tests or improvements were very costly due to underlying technical complexity. A number of UX issues had accumulated over time and there were big difference between iOS and Android apps.
I led the redesign of the navigation experience on iOS, Android and Garmin as part of the Navigation squad.
2. The user journey
Users usually plan a route on the web or save one on the phone from Collections or other users they follow >>>
>>> Then they save it to navigate on the phone OR send to the Komoot app on Garmin. The focus of this project was on the Navigation experience.
3. Understanding user needs
‘Regular enthusiasts’ was our target persona
This included a diverse range of monthly and weekly active users across multiple sport types (cyclists, hikers, mountain bikers, trail runners). Further dive into analytics and user interviews allowed to build deeper understanding and empathy.
User research
I started by reviewing previously conducted field studies. To quantify the key themes and understand the biggest UX issues with Komoot’s maps and navigation, I ran a survey and carried out user interviews.
Key insights:
Hikers and runners mostly keep the phone in the pocket or bag, while listening to audio instructions and glancing at their sports watch. This means the Komoot app is more of a companion experience and more focus needs to be on audio feedback.
Cyclists often have the phone in front of them on the handlebars and sometimes get confused by the maps or can’t find certain functions (while moving at fast speeds!). Maximising the map real estate, making visual instructions super clear and making stats glanceable is much more critical.
Analysis of field test recordings. Content hidden due to NDA.
Survey into key UX issues among existing users. Content hidden due to NDA.
4. Incremental design process
I worked closely with my squad colleagues to design new UI, test prototypes with users, refine and support delivery and QA. Gradually we built out complete flows for the new navigation and recording of routes.
Use case analysis
I led a workshop to identify elements and actions on the screen that are most and least important, and considering roadmap plans for each feature.
Design concepts and reviews
I explored and iterated through multiple design concepts in response to live feedback in Figma, design and tech reviews.
Note: detailed design flows are under NDA.
Planning stages with PMs
The project consisted of several stages. Each stage was released internally. I collaborated with Product Managers, and Navigation and Maps squads to align our roadmaps and review designs.
Major constraint:
It was not possible to release the new navigation experience to users in smaller chunks because the underlying technical architecture was being revamped. It was not feasible to run tests in the old navigation code.
How did we de-risk?
Regular internal testing and field testing with users
We prepared and were ready to launch a beta testing programme (identified around 100 representative users in first cohort). Komoot’s acquisition happened days before the beta programme was due to go live.
4. User testing “in the wild”
An important moment was testing builds with users in the real environment. We went to Kendal Mountain Festival in the Lake District in late 2024. I spoke to users at the Komoot stand and joined hiking events. These were perfect opportunities to show in-progress builds and get real use feedback.
Key learning
A clear view of the map was the most important thing for most users. Turn by turn instructions and stats are helpful to some, but the needs differed depending on context, so the ability to collapse-expand elements was evident.
Analysis
I’ve been integrating AI tools to streamline my research analysis process. At Kendal festival we gathered a lot of unstructured data, which I fed into Google’s Notebook LM and generated rapid insights, leading to fast design decisions.
5. Components detailed design
I carried forward the insight that users wanted to customise their map experience when working on the Turn by turn instruction and Activity notifications components. Through multiple design iterations I explored edge cases, various states of the panels, and associated interactions. We refined and improved messaging together with the UX writer (part-shared with other squads).
Specs handoff to developers
I worked closely with the engineers and the wider design team to specify these new components and add them to the Kompass design system.
Animations and transition
I created a ProtoPie interactive prototype and specifications (e.g. timings, curve) to communicated intended behaviour to the developers. We fine tuned the components together through feature builts.
6. Navigation Improvements on Garmin devices
Alongside mobile apps, I also supported improvements for navigation on Garmin cycling computers and watches. Users had been requesting the ability to add custom Points of Interest (POIs) like cafes or shops to their routes and see them pop up on screen while they are navigating.
I reviewed the existing POI experience across Komoot planner on the web and in the apps, and created various design directions reusing components and suggesting improvements. The key challenge was to make POIs appear clearly on small Garmin displays, without obstructing the route line.
Specs for the Garmin developer and QA detailing POI icon positioning and various states
Garmin public release with the POIs feature
7. Results
New navigation resulted in 30% more map visible while giving easy access to key stats and functionality
The POI feature on Garmin was rolled out successfully to thousands of Garmin users in April 2025
New components created and built for Komoot’s design system
Komoot was acquired by The Bending Spoons in March 2025 which resulted in a large scale restructure. The detailed design work is under NDA.
Key learnings:
Map and route line layers are very complex - require working with backend, routing engineers, and front end.
Localisation presented many challenges, e.g. very long labels for stats like “speed” (especially in German!)
Field testing with users in their environment is a very powerful source of deep insights and understanding tricky edge cases.