Outdoor Climbing Service

Climb Oslo is a service and UX design project aimed at helping indoor climbers - specifically boulderers - transition into outdoor bouldering. I led every stage of the design process in collaboration with two climbing organizations: Gryttr and Klatreverket.

The majority of indoor climbers never experience outdoor bouldering. This disconnect limits access to the original spirit of the sport — nature, adventure, and exploration. Many climbers feel unprepared, unsafe, or unwelcome outdoors, and existing resources often reinforce that perception.

A retail poster glorifies elite outdoor climbing — highlighting how unwelcoming and intimidating the outdoor climbing scene can feel for newcomers.

Research & Insights

The Indoor-to-Outdoor Climbing Gap

This project involved extensive research, including:

• Field and digital surveys

• 3 climbing workshops and follow-up interviews

• 18 academic articles reviewed

• 14 in-depth interviews with climbing experts

Key findings:

• Misrepresentation of outdoor bouldering in marketing

• Lack of awareness around safety and etiquette

• Barriers in planning and accessibility (gear, locations, skills)

• A belief that you need to be “good enough” to climb outdoors

Conducting user research through surveys and interviews with indoor climbers to better understand barriers to transitioning outdoors.

Ideation & Design

Co-Creation Workshop to Prototype

I facilitated an ideation workshop with climbers and stakeholders. From the ideas generated, I refined concepts and pitched them to both climbing companies. Together, we selected four service concepts based on feasibility and impact.

I then developed these concepts further, focusing on the mobile planning tool as the core digital product. Using Figma, I created a clickable prototype that would help users:

• Choose suitable outdoor locations.

• Understand safety basics.

• Plan gear and logistics.

Running an ideation workshop’s with users to generate ideas, prioritize features, and collaboratively define the service direction.

Testing & Iteration

Card Sorting, Usability, and Branding

I tested the concepts using a variety of methods:

• Card sorting with 15 climbers

• Usability testing of the mobile prototype with 12 climbers. 

• Mapping workshop to explore GPS functionality

• Brand values workshop to align visuals with climber identity

Based on the feedback, I identified the most critical features and refined the brand tone and campaign visuals. The process also revealed how important tone and trust were in encouraging newcomers.

Final Result

Service for New Outdoor Climbers

The final service included:

• A mobile planning tool for choosing outdoor bouldering locations

• An affordable indoor “starter” workshop for beginners

• A rental gear starter pack

• A brand and marketing campaign that reflected climbers' actual values. 

I presented the full project to a diploma jury and an external audience.

The Climb Oslo campaign was launched in gyms to promote the service and gather feedback from real climbers. The mobile platform guides users through the entire outdoor bouldering journey—from discovering and exploring areas to finding, navigating, and climbing routes with confidence.

Reflection

This was a large and complex project, and I’m proud of the outcome. I managed my time well and benefited from using a variety of tailored, experimental methods.

Biggest challenge: project scoping. If I could go back, I’d initiate stakeholder collaboration earlier to define clearer constraints. One highlight was receiving postive feedback from Norwegian climbing icon Magnus Midtbø. He pointed out the importance of addressing outdoor ethics like Leave No Trace, which I would explore further if I had more time.

“The concept is really cool, I like that you’re getting more people outside… and the visuals are really high quality.”

Magnus Mitbo

Professional Climber

Next Project →