Young Life: Camp Mode
Helping campers stay connected to camp while unplugging from the outside world.
Social Enterprise
Workflow Design
Role
UX/UI Designer
Timeline
8 weeks
team
Independent Student Project
platform
Figma
The Real Problem
Young Life camps are intentionally designed to help students unplug from everyday distractions so they can build relationships, experience community, and grow in their faith. But in today's world, phones are still a big part of teenagers' lives. Campers often want quick access to things like schedules, announcements, camp maps, and emergency contacts, but unlimited phone use can easily pull their attention away from what makes camp so impactful.
As I talked with former campers and Young Life leaders, I noticed a common theme: campers wanted to stay informed without feeling connected to the outside world. Leaders wanted a way to communicate important information without encouraging students to spend more time on their phones.
That led me to ask a simple question:
Could a phone actually help campers be more present instead of more distracted?
Finding the Fix
As I organized my research, a few patterns kept coming up.
People wanted important information like schedules, maps, and announcements to be easy to find without digging through multiple screens.
Leaders also emphasized that the app shouldn't become another distraction. It needed to support campers being present instead of constantly checking their phones.
From there, I focused on three core features:
Camp Mode, which helps reduce distractions by limiting access to unnecessary apps while keeping emergency features available.
A simple home screen with schedules, announcements, maps, and camp updates all in one place.
Faith tools like journaling, club notes, devotionals, and prayer requests that encourage campers to reflect on what they're learning throughout the week.
Every decision came back to one question:
"Does this help campers be more present?"
What Actually Happened
Once my first prototype was complete, I tested it with three people who had firsthand experience with Young Life camps, including former campers and current leaders. Rather than asking whether they liked the app, I asked them to complete common tasks, like finding the camp schedule, locating the camp map, and navigating through the faith tools, while I observed how they interacted with the prototype.
Overall, users understood the purpose of the app right away and felt it aligned well with Young Life's mission of helping campers be present and engaged throughout the week. However, the testing also revealed several areas that could be improved.
The biggest takeaway was that the most important features needed to be easier to find. Users consistently wanted the camp schedule, emergency contacts, and camp map closer to the top of the home screen. They also suggested making Camp Mode more prominent and replacing the daily Bible verse with reflections connected to the club talk or message.
Testing confirmed that the overall concept resonated with users while also giving me clear direction for improving the next iteration of the design.
What Changed
Testing the prototype gave me a much clearer understanding of what campers and leaders actually needed. While everyone liked the overall concept, their feedback showed me several ways to make the app more intuitive.
One of the biggest changes was reorganizing the home screen. Users wanted the most important features—like the camp schedule, emergency contacts, and camp map—to be easier to access without scrolling. I also learned that Camp Mode should be more visible so campers immediately understand the purpose of the app.
Another insight came from the faith features. Rather than displaying a random Bible verse each day, users suggested connecting the content directly to the club talk or daily message. This would make the app feel more intentional and encourage campers to continue reflecting on what they were learning throughout the week.
Overall, the testing reinforced that the concept was strong, but also showed me that simplifying navigation and prioritizing the most important information would create a better experience for both campers and leaders.
What I Had to Work With
Since this was a conceptual project, I couldn't test the app during an actual week of Young Life camp. Instead, I relied on interviews and feedback from former campers, current Young Life leaders, and staff members to better understand what the camp experience is really like.
One of the biggest challenges was balancing two goals that seemed to compete with each other. Campers need quick access to things like schedules, maps, announcements, and emergency contacts, but the app couldn't become another reason to stay on their phones. Every feature had to support the purpose of camp, not distract from it.
I also had to design for a wide range of users. Campers, leaders, and staff all have different needs, but the experience needed to feel simple and intuitive for everyone.
Those constraints helped shape the direction of the project. Instead of trying to build an app that did everything, I focused on creating one that helped campers stay informed while encouraging them to be present throughout the week.
What I'd Do Differently
If I continued working on this project, the biggest thing I'd want is the opportunity to test it during an actual week of Young Life camp. While feedback from former campers and leaders was incredibly valuable, nothing replaces seeing people interact with a product in the environment it was designed for. Watching campers naturally use the app would likely uncover usability issues and opportunities that interviews alone can't reveal.
I'd also expand my research to include more perspectives. Parents, camp staff, and work crew members all experience camp differently, and their feedback could help shape future features. Finally, I'd create a higher-fidelity prototype with more interactions to better test navigation, usability, and how campers move through the app in real time.
What I Learned
This project completely changed the way I think about technology. Going into it, I assumed the goal was simply to reduce phone use at camp. Through research and user testing, I realized the real challenge wasn't limiting technology. It was designing technology that helps people be present.
I also learned that some of the smallest design decisions can have the biggest impact. Moving the emergency button higher on the screen, making the camp map easier to access, or replacing a random daily Bible verse with reflections tied to the club talk all came directly from user feedback. Those changes made the experience feel more intentional and useful.
Most importantly, I learned that good UX starts with empathy. The best ideas didn't come from my first design—they came from listening to users, testing assumptions, and being willing to change my original ideas. That's a mindset I'll carry into every project I work on in the future.
