For The Average Joe, Not Traveling Pro
Primo tells San Diego surfers where to paddle out, and when. Built solo, end to end.
My Role
Founder
Design
- Product design
- User experience
- User interface
- Interaction design
- Visual design
- Design system
- Data visualization
- Geospatial UX
- Prototyping
Engineering
- Front-end development
- Native iOS
- Backend & database
- Data pipelines
- Prediction modeling
- Automation & monitoring
Go to market
- Website
- Apple App Store
- User acquisition & retention
- Analytics & monitoring
Product Design
The result of countless conversations with average San Diego surfers
I listened, and learned a lot. Including that people are busy with life and want to squeeze in a session whenever they can. And they use multiple apps and websites to check the surf and figure out where it’s best to paddle out today and over the next few days. Primo is built for them, the average Joe.
Break Detail
Bodhi, our resident surf sherpa, gives the call right off the top. Followed by a very clean, simple, easy readout of the conditions. With all of the hard data available under the hood.
Beach Water Quality
Check if the water’s clean before getting wet. We use CA state official water sample data to rate quality, so San Diego surfers know what they’re getting into. Primo is the first surf report app to provide water quality reports.
The Lineup
All the favorite breaks at a glance, in order of distance from your location. Surfers can see what favs are working closest to them and spend less time scrolling and more time paddling.
Ocean Currents
Primo’s ocean current data helps surfers understand before jumping in if water conditions are gnarly, or no worries. A critical piece of intel that no one else in the market offers.
Geospatial UX
Primo covers approximately 70 miles of San Diego coastline and 77 surf breaks (more breaks across San Diego County than any other app). Data accuracy, ease-of-use, and responsiveness all play critical roles in providing surfers with immediate intel they can rely on.
Map
The view most surfers use to figure out where it’s working. And the two most critical factors are wave height and surf conditions. Primo’s map was designed to provide the most impactful data. Giving surfers only what they need in the moment. Adding additional value, surfers can switch to beach water quality station reports with a single tap.
Map Markers
Tapping on a location discloses the break name along with size and conditions in higher fidelity. If there’s a water quality station within a 1/2 mile radius of the break, that station’s rating also displays.
Location Marker
The surfer’s own position can also display on the map. Helping them get oriented and check distances between the closest breaks. Two one-of-a-kind features in Primo include using a surfer’s location to sort their favorites list by distance (Lineup tab). And 1-tap driving directions (break detail screen) through Apple Maps.
Search
Not every surfer needs a map. Some already know the break and just want the forecast. So Primo has search built right into the map. Two-character search terms generate results wicked fast.
Data Pipelines
Primo uses best-in-class data sources to fuel its proprietary prediction models for Wave Energy, Wave Height, Surf Conditions, and Beach Water Quality.
Weather, tide, and astronomy API calls execute on a scheduled cadence. The ingestion layer performs format conversions and normalization for use as display data and as the data source for the prediction models. Break-specific physics parameters and characteristics are critical for model calibration and tuning.
Prediction Modeling
Surf forecasting involves predicting weather and marine conditions, phenomena that are inherently unpredictable. So every forecast carries some margin of confidence. Primo mitigates that margin using break-specific calibration based on a trajectory of parameters describing beach features above and below the surface. On top of that sits an observational-based tuning layer. Enabling manual calibration overrides across multiple parameters per break.
App Store reviews mention forecasts as being “super accurate,” and “way better than Surfline (competitor).”
Website
The www.primo.surf website is the top of marketing funnel. Designed to deliver instant value to visitors at no cost with Bodhi’s current recommendations. Maximize search engine rankings through pre-rendered HTML and Search Console optimization. And directing visitors to Primo’s Apple App Store page, so they may download the iOS app for free.
Homepage
The page answers before it asks. Today’s best breaks are ranked on arrival, so the value lands immediately.
Break Detail Page
A true taste of Primo, minus the ability to favorite breaks, and only forecasts for the current day. Enough to provide value, and incentivize app download. These pages are search engine gold with rich per-break data, optimized metadata and URLs, and pre-rendered HTML.
Surfboard Guide
A foundational tool to help surfers identify their skill level, understand how different surfboard shapes perform, and which board(s) are best suited for them. This type of sought after information also helps boost search engine indexing and ranking.
