Shangyu
Digital Transformation of the Fishing Industry
YEAR
Web Design
Project Length
17 Month
Platform
Mobile Application
Shangyu is my solo entrepreneurship mobile application for a fishing guide AI company. As the product designer of Aeyesky, I designed the mobile experience from 0 to 1 for the digital fishing community.
My Role
Product Designer, Brand Designer
Timeline
2024.05 - 2025.10
Team Member
1 Product Manager
1 Product Designer (Myself)
4 Front-end Developer
2 Full Stack Developer
Tools
Problem
Fragmented Fishing Community
Shangyu leverages AI to make every step of fishing smooth and effortless. By integrating fish detection, learning, social, and shopping features into one platform, we provide full-cycle support that helps everyone enjoy fishing. It will always be an intelligent companion that truly understands every angler.
The Reliance of Fishing Community
Although the younger generation relies on high-tech tools and digital platforms, fishing remains a deeply social and cultural activity, where connection and shared experience matter as much as skill.
Excessive Fragmented Information
There are so many different factors that might impact cause the failure of bait, the new anglers need to learn lots of information to master fishing,
Research & Insight
Understand What the Others Do in the Market
Competitive Analysis
I evaluate our potential market competitors using two key metrics: Dynamic: A modern, youthful feel that targets younger audienceStreamlined: Simplicity, efficiency, and minimalismGeneral: Include multiple service areasSpecialized: Focus on a specific service area
Research & Insight
The Younger Anglers are Reshaping the Need
Fishing Community Overview
These younger audiences are not only passionate about fishing but also enjoy sharing their experiences on social media.They showcase their fishing gear, outfits, and even create trends like “fishing-inspired fashion”. As fishing evolves from a static, older demographic activity into a youthful and dynamic lifestyle pursuit, the app must cater to both the seasoned 18-35 age group and the growing number of younger, style-conscious, and tech-savvy anglers.
Research Method: Questionnaire
There are 24 participants involved in this questionnaire. Anglers are seeking for a comprehensive tool or community prioritizing relaxation, social connection, and practical learning, seeking a minimalist app to enhance their fishing experiences through education, planning, and tracking.
Method: Empathy Map
Research & Insight
User Persona
01
The Beginner
Needs support for fishing knowledge including techniques and gears to support his trip with a group of friends.
02
The Advanced Angler
Needs practical and personalized suggestions for specific targets and to enhance fishing techniques.
03
Influencer/Fish Farm Owner/Retailer
Needs to explore more exciting and unique fishing experiences and find sponsors for such activities.
Insight
Through market and user research, we discovered opportunities for connecting user personal knowledge for community and foster better guidance
Personalized Guidance
Provide personalized fishing spot according to the real-time location and fish-species identification. The current solution only focus on providing information but not tied to user's personal request.
Data Collection
By establishing a stable fishing community and encourage user engagement, Shangyu is able to collect more fishing related data to optimize recommendation system, generate data analysis and reduce costs.
Process
A comprehensive and frictionless platform for all fishing enthusiasts
As an AI-powered app designed to create a comprehensive and frictionless platform for all fishing enthusiasts, a clear information architecture could streamline user interactions. Automating complex processes and providing intelligent recommendations enables users to access reliable and accurate information with minimal effort.
My Contribution
Introduced a value-feasibility matrix to prioritize ideas based on
user impact and development viabilityFacilitated the team
decision-making processto align features with core user needsStructured the features with an
information architecturefor seamless user experience (see below)
The process ensured we moved forward with the most meaningful and actionable features
Interactive Map
The interactive map helps users find and track fishing spots with real-time weather and water data in local pond or fish farm.
Fishing Community
Social media allows users to post photos of their catches, join regional rankings, connect with others through trip invites, group chats, and shared outings.
Online Marketplace
The online marketplace offer helps users make the best purchasing decision on guided preferences.
Fishing Knowledge
We provide guides on fish behavior, the best fishing times, and optimal bait usage.
Process
Balancing modern and vibrant expression with functional usability with scalability
We need to translate Shangyu’s modern, vibrant, minimalist, youthful brand identity into a functional design system — one that captured the energy of fishing and confidence of the new visual direction while maintaining accessibility, expertise, comprehension, and reliability, belonging and encouragement.
60+
Reusable Components
Improved design-dev collaboration
by aligning Figma Tokens Studio variables with code-level tokens in Github.
Solution
A fishing trip designed to feel intuitive and motivating—guiding users to prepare the process with clarity and confidence.
User Goal
Get Trustworthy Knowledge About Fishing
Need personalized fishing content to learn more about fishing, master new skills and get ready to plan for the next trip.
Business Goal
Foster a High-Engagement Data Ecosystem
Cultivate an active community where users are incentivized to document and share their fishing experiences.
TASK 1 - Gain Feedback from Users
Finding an Appropriate Fishing Spot
Hypothesis
User will try to find a spot around their current location.
Final Design
TASK 2 - Trade off with Dev Team
A Close Fishing Community
Painpoint
Design Strategy
The current social app has limitations on information sharing.
A full list of fishing details in the community
Ease the process of uploading with AI help
Can’t connect with the nearby anglers who shared interest.
A full workflow from discovering a fishing spot to getting ready to go to this place
Initial Design
Dev Feedback
Location Privacy Indicator
To support the "Near Me" feature, which updates users community activity, the system must access real-time GPS data. Technical requirements dictate that the user be clearly informed when their location data is active with a subtle indicator.
The Load Issue of Fishing Species Display
The current "Add Species" requirement for fishing uploads lacks a defined data-loading strategy, creating a risk of significant backend strain. Without a limit on how many species are loaded at once, users may experience slow response times.
Final Design
Reflection
Listening to users, observing carefully and discovering their needs
Before and after building a feature, we conducted thorough user research and testing to identify user needs and pain points. This process should be validate again when the features are actually developed. The prototype from design phrase are usually hypothesis but the usability tests are necessary with the key results in improvement.
Collaboration and communication
Throughout the whole design process, I shared my design ideas and plans with developers. The design decisions are never decided by designers solely but a combination of resource and work from the whole team under the deadline. I have to ensure that the key features can be shipped smoothly besides making "the best user experience".
Personal growth as a designer
Working as a co-founder and the sole designer in a team taught me to how to think comprehensively with understanding of the product development cycle. This experience allowed me to grow as a designer and a strategic thinker who could navigate various aspects of product creation.
