UX / UI / Product Design
Offering pilots the ability to customize their ownship icon marker in the ForeFlight app
Situation
ForeFlight pilots rely heavily on the Ownship icon as a primary spatial reference during flight planning and navigation. While the app supported limited customization, user research revealed the feature was difficult to discover, poorly named, and visually insufficient across different chart types.
The customization entry point was buried four levels deep in Settings and labeled in a way that did not align with pilot terminology. Additionally, the single available color (ForeFlight Blue) often lacked sufficient contrast when pilots loaded multiple chart layers, impacting visibility in high-information map views.
Task
As the designer responsible for this experience, I was tasked with:
- Improving feature discoverability (baseline: buried 4 levels deep)
- Aligning terminology and interaction patterns with pilot mental models
- Increasing icon visibility and contrast across common chart combinations
- Delivering a scalable solution for both iPad Mini and iPhone, the two most used form factors
Action
I conducted and synthesized findings from pilot interviews (n = 5), which confirmed two recurring pain points:
- Difficulty locating Ownship customization settings
- Insufficient contrast on certain chart types and lighting conditions
Based on this input, I defined success criteria focused on discoverability, clarity, and in-context validation.
I introduced an initial set of six pilot-recommended colors and pressure-tested them across a representative range of aviation charts, including sectional, IFR, and satellite-based layers.
These explorations helped identify:
Iterative adjustments were made based on these findings before moving into interaction design.
Iterative Design & Validation
I explored two initial design directions within existing ForeFlight UI paradigms:
Version 1
Version 2
Both versions introduced a map preview that allowed pilots to test icon changes against predefined chart types. Usability testing showed strong qualitative feedback (80% task success), but surfaced a critical limitation: the preview maps did not reflect the pilot’s actual active charts and layers.
Strategic Pivot to Contextual Customization
To address this gap, I proposed a shift from a settings-based model to a contextual, map-based customization experience.
I reused ForeFlight’s established side drawer UI pattern, enabling customization directly from the map by tapping the Ownship icon. This approach:
The solution was designed responsively:
Additional color options and refinements were introduced during this phase based on follow-up testing and feedback.
Result
The final MVP delivered a context-aware Ownship customization experience that:
The solution established a scalable pattern for future map-level personalization features while minimizing engineering complexity by reusing existing UI paradigms.
