College - Author 1
College of Liberal Arts
Department - Author 1
Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies Program
Degree Name - Author 1
BS in Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies
Date
3-2022
Primary Advisor
Michael Haungs, College of Liberal Arts, Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies Department
Additional Advisors
Matthew Harsh, College of Liberal Arts, Interdisciplinary Studies Department
Abstract/Summary
Surfing has a very special place in my heart—my dad taught me, my younger brother, and my younger sister at a young age. Since then, the sport has deeply enriched my appreciation for nature and allowed me to better connect with friends.
One late afternoon I was sitting in the water on my board with two of my best friends, watching the rich sunset colors melt into the water; a sea otter was floating on his back next to us, cracking a shell open on his stomach. Then, suddenly, a few feet away, we saw a pod of dolphins leap out of the water one after the other. Experiencing that beauty alongside my best friends brought me to tears. I was so thankful. Surfing constantly creates thrilling and joyful experiences—from being shot through a glassy barrel of water, to watching a beautiful sunset alongside friends as a pod of dolphins majestically bobs in and out of the water only a few feet away.
As I spent more time surfing and moments like these began to accumulate, I had a problem—the beautiful memories from each session blended together, and key details from each session were forgotten. I raised my problem to surfers across the Bay Area, San Luis Obispo, and online, hoping that someone had a solution. Some virtual surfing journal or website to capture my highlights from each session. I discovered many surfers had the same problem but were lacking a solution.
There are a handful of well-designed, useful surfing apps today. Although they serve the same customer, they address a different problem—these products are datadriven and primarily used to forecast surf reports rather than capture memories from surfing sessions.
This realization set me off on a path to developing Memory Surf—my app for the surfing community designed to capture beautiful surfing moments, encourage people to surf more often, and deepen each individual’s connection with the surfing community.
URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/laessp/71