Can a mobile app encourage urban exploration? That’s premise of Scott Kendall’s app quadstreaker, a location-based iOS app that creates a colorful, easy to follow visual history of a user’s movement over time. The app divides the world into ‘Quads’ – small square units that fill in with colors as users explore new areas – encouraging users to get out of their comfort zones and traverse unfamiliar surroundings.
The app aims to gamify a user’s commute by rewarding them with points and digital accessories for their in-app avatar when they explore a new area.
“The biggest differentiator is the psychology behind it. quadstreaker doubles-down on giving you a sense of progress and a sense of completion as you move around, not on navigation, people discovery, or providing recommendations like the many location apps focused on those things. It breaks exploration into achievable goals that can start in your neighborhood and expand across the globe. The big enabler of this is the Quad — a square area that colors in on your map as you move around. It’s a simple, universal unit that quantifies your progress as you explore anywhere in the world. Seeing a new Quad color in on your map feels like you’re checking it off a list — and gives you a strong sense of completion.”
Scott Kendall was a featured speaker at our PSFK SEATTLE event last month and spoke about what inspired him to create quadstreaker. Check out his presentation below:
quadstreaker
Article source: http://www.psfk.com/2013/06/scott-kendall-quadstreaker-psfk-seattle-2.html
