Quick-fire question; what is the single most important and widely used feature in a phone — asides from texting and instant messaging friends, coworkers and family? Maybe you guessed right, perhaps this feature is so integrated into your life that you didn’t even think about it — either way, it is your phone’s GPS. It is reasonable to say that GPS technology has changed society’s lives in ways we never could’ve imagined. Gone are the days of using physically printed maps and almanacks, when we now have smartphones with navigation apps. Since the launch of the iPhone and the App Store, consumers have been able to use different apps for their personal navigation needs. Everyone has a preference, and apps have come out to try and address every need.

With iOS 13, which was revealed during WWDC19, the Apple Maps experience gets much better. Apple released new, more detailed maps, rebuilt from the ground up. Along with this release came a redesigned navigation panel, easy access to ‘go-to’ and ‘must-see’ destinations, real-time transit information, ETA sharing, Collections, Look Around (3D preview experience), Flyover, Flight status and more. All these features bring Maps closer to being a suited replacement to Google Maps, but still, Apple Maps isn’t quite there just yet. Everyone knows they can, and will, get there, it’s just a matter of time.

Massive kudos to the Apple Maps team for working hard on all the newly-released features; it’s certainly made my experience a lot better using the app. After doing a lot of research about what goes into building a product at a scale as large as Apple, my key takeaway was this; it’s hard. Like, really, really, absurdly hard. I must have second-guessed myself a million times before deciding on the designs you will see below.

As a huge Apple user, I’ve always been fascinated by how the company focuses on design in every single product and service they offer to their customers. I credit my beginning in learning about the importance of user experience design to Apple, and I now know that it is a crucial and necessary step in developing any product or service. There aren’t many companies out there that focus nearly as intensely on design as Apple does. From what I’ve seen, Apple embraces design and focuses on every detail imaginable like no other. Apple isn’t perfect, but they are one of the world leaders in design, and they come pretty damn close to perfect.

I’ve been using Apple Maps as my daily navigator since the iOS 13 public beta came out, and started taking notes of what I would change, improve, and add to Apple Maps. Why did I do this? Because Apple Maps still isn’t doing enough for a lot of users. A simple search of “Apple Maps” on Google search will reveal a plethora of articles stating it’s not a true replacement yet. Going through the comments sections of many Reddit posts will also reveal the vast list of feature requests that users have. Instead of waiting for Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC20) to see what Apple Maps will look like and what features will be added, I decided to redesign Apple Maps based on the data I collected through different forms of primary and secondary research.

This blog post was made to guide you through my design process in a detailed manner (something I consciously excluded from the case study) and to use storytelling to deliver the full perspective and understanding of this project. Before you continue reading this story, I would highly recommend you visit the product launch landing page and case study.

Here’s a sneak peek of what you can expect to see: