Ikon Pass
Elevating access to mountain adventure around the world.
01
Overview
I led the UX Design for the new Ikon Pass app from initial discovery through launch.
Alterra had grown into one of the largest networks in skiing — but its digital presence had grown the same way the network did: one resort, one app at a time. The result was 50+ disconnected products, each with its own maps, its own logic. A guest skiing three Ikon Pass destinations in a season faced three apps, three logins, and zero continuity. The most-used guest touchpoint in the network was also its most fragmented.
By the 25/26 season, the redesigned app would replace local apps at 14 named destinations — Winter Park, Steamboat, Deer Valley, Solitude, Mammoth, June Mountain, Big Bear, Palisades Tahoe, Crystal Mountain, Snowshoe, Sugarbush, Stratton, Blue Mountain, and Tremblant.
Led UX design from discovery → launch
I was responsible for leading UX Design, concepts and prototypes, and delivering product designs to production.
Designed the end-to-end user experience
I designed how 1.5 million guests discover, plan, get access, and experience 60+ global destinations across seasons.
Collaborated with strategic partners
I collaborated closely with a product managers, a strategist, designers, and developers.
Unified multiple apps into a single experience
I helped unify dozens of apps into a single app, with context-dependent features at 60+ global destinations.
02
Research & Strategy
I ensured the product experience, and supporting systems, are in service of people's needs.
The Ikon Pass is more than a tap and a scroll. It's a gateway to adventure, leisure, and discovery. And during the winter season, skiing on dreamy powder is the ultimate goal. Yet getting to the lift (or snowcat or helicopter) takes a lot of planning and steps.
Matching in-person contexts
Beyond mere translation, people expect the app to match the physical reality around them. This meant accounting for location-specific way-finding and unique taxonomies such as trail difficult ratings.
The app as one of many touchpoints
Guest interactions are often be extant to the app, and potentially spread across months. This meant designing with a service focus was key to maintaining appropriate context (e.g. planning, booking, kiosks, rentals, instructors, restaurants, end-of-season recaps, renewals, and more).
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Service Design Workshop
I prepared a workshop to map the service, aligning teams and stakeholders on the customer service and the app's role along it. Participants identified pain points, friction, and opportunities for the guest experience, internal actions and systems, and partners. This helped the team to align on the delta between the current state and potential future states.
UX Research & Strategy
From initial discovery through feature-optimization sprints, I led continuous UX research and facilitated strategic discussions to ensure design decisions were informed, intentional, and outcome-driven.
Flow-First Thinking
Starting with flows prior to moving into wireframes ensured every feature served users while keeping business and engineering constraints and opportunities in alignment.
03
Product Design
I designed prototypes through a narrative-driven approach, backed by user research and data.
The Ikon Pass app is a gateway to discovery, leisure, and adventure. During the winter season, skiing on dreamy powder is the ultimate goal. Yet the journey from home to the lift, snowcat, or helicopter, requires a lot of planning.
Narrative-driven design
I designed all features with a narrative approach, from user flows to interactive prototypes. This included stories with archetypes spanning solo, group, and family, each with a respresentative set of individual needs and preferences.
Continuous improvement
As core elements of the app began to solidify, I maintained a continuous discovery and ideation approach, pitching iterations and net-new features every week.
Touching (prototypes) is believing
Going the last mile beyond user flows, diagrams, and wireframes into high-fidelity interactive prototypes helped keep stakeholders aligned, as well as partners and testers.
Narrative-driven design
I designed all features with a narrative approach, from user flows to interactive prototypes. This included stories with archetypes spanning solo, group, and family, each with a respresentative set of individual needs and preferences.
04
Reflection
The Ikon Pass launched in time for the winter season with 1.5 million users across the world.
Launched with a 4.8 App Store Rating
The Ikon Pass App launched while successfully sunsetting dozens of older apps, and allowing people to manage everything in one place.
3D Maps
I intro maps
Set a Future Vision and Backlog
Each feature was approached from an ideal-state exploration, leaving behind artifacts for the evolution of the product with a backlog of design opportunities.
New Design System and UX Patterns
The new app is grounded by a fresh design system
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