Dana SaltounLet’s talk

2026

Ben’s Way

A hiking app in memory of Maj. Ben Shelly

  • UX/UI
  • Branding

A trail that suits you, hikers to talk to on the way, and a quiet way to remember Ben.

  • MediumDigital
  • RoleUX/UI & Branding
  • ContextVolunteer, academic project
  • TeamFour people

About the project

Ben’s Way is a hiking app created in memory of Major Ben Shelly, who fell on 12 December 2023 during the Swords of Iron War. Ben loved hiking the trails of Israel, and the app invites hikers to follow in his footsteps: to find a trail that suits them, walk it, and connect with other hikers along the way.

The project began as a final-year project at Afeka College of Engineering, initiated by people close to Ben and supported by the association founded in his memory. I joined as a volunteer, as part of a small team of designers, a developer and a product manager.

My role: Another designer and I created the interface and the branding together, and most of the work was collaborative. My own focus was research and definition: I used Claude Code, Claude, ChatGPT and Figma Make to explore directions and create wireframes, built the app’s user flow, and created its icon language.

UX/UI & Branding · Volunteer Project · 2026

A Ben’s Way poster on a concrete wall, a white mountain shape on blue, a hiker with a backpack walking past it

The challenge

Existing hiking apps provide technical information but don’t adapt to the individual hiker. Inexperienced hikers struggle to choose a trail: they aren’t familiar with how the country divides into regions, and the information on each trail is extensive and scattered.

User flow

Home screen

  • Search for a trail
  • A trail matched to me
  • My trail
  • Near me
  • Ben’s favourites
  • Saved trails
  • Notifications
  • Profile
  • Link to the association

  1. Search

    1. A map and the first cardScroll down for the listScroll up for the map and its pins
    2. Choose a trailFrom a pin on the mapFrom the list
    3. Trail cardShort descriptionDifficulty, distance, time, costSave or show the trail
    4. Trail pagePhotos and attractionsWhat is nearbySave, or start navigatingSend a ready question to its chat

    Returns home

  2. Matched trail

    1. Step 1: region
    2. Step 2: trail typeDry or wetWhat I want to seeAttractions
    3. Step 3: difficultyWho is comingLimitations
    4. Step 4: lengthKilometresHours
    5. Search results
    6. Trail card

    Returns home

  3. My trail

    1. The trail on a mapLength and timeWhere I am against the trail
    2. Set out nowOr save it for later
    3. NavigationEnd time and distanceDirectionsBack to my locationCompass
    4. ChatOpens only near the trailReady questionsHow many are connected

    Returns home

  4. Saved

    1. Every trail I saved
    2. Choose a trail
    3. Navigation starts

    Returns home

  5. Notifications

    1. New messagesSystem messagesChanges to a saved trailAn answer to my question
    2. Opens the relevant chat

    Returns home

Wireframes

Home and search

Matched trail

Trail and navigation

Personal area

Key decisions

A map, not a list

Region selection takes place on a map of Israel. Hikers unfamiliar with the country’s regions find their bearings faster when they can see the area and understand where they’re heading.

The first step of the search: a map of Israel divided into regions from the Upper Galilee down to the Negev, the Lower Galilee chosen and filled blue
Step 1 of 4, choose a region: the map of Israel with the Lower Galilee chosen, and a Continue button

A four-step search

Region, trail type, difficulty and length. Four steps are enough for an accurate match without overwhelming the user.

Part of step 2: rounded options with small drawn icons under the question What do I want to see: mountains, a lookout, waterfalls, antiquities, caves, a spring and a stream, the stream chosen
Step 2 of 4, the trail type: wet or dry, what to see, and attractions, each as a rounded option with an icon

The four steps

  1. 01 Region
    Step 1 of 4: a map of Israel with one region chosen
  2. 02 Trail type
    Step 2 of 4: the type of trail and what to see along it
  3. 03 Difficulty
    Step 3 of 4: entry fee, difficulty and who is coming
  4. 04 Length
    Step 4 of 4: the length of the trail, in hours and kilometres
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Three matches

At the end of the search, the user receives just three results. Narrowing the options makes the decision easier, letting the user choose from a small selection that fits what they asked for.

  • The results screen under the heading The 3 best matches for you: the choices made as small blue tags, and three trail cards, each with a photograph, distance, time and a short description

The trail page

Atmosphere first, with a large image that can be swiped through almost full screen. Directly below it, on the same screen, come the practical details: opening hours, distance, walking time, rating, difficulty, cost and water availability.

  • The whole trail page for Nahal Hermon: a large photograph of a waterfall, then distance, time, the name, opening hours, rating and a Set out button, a map of the route, and tabs for information, points of interest and reviews

A two-mode chat

On the trail, an open chat connects everyone currently walking it. Off the trail, focused questions help users decide whether to go.

  • On the trail
    The chat on the trail: an open conversation between hikers, with a field to write in
  • Off the trail
    The chat off the trail: the earlier messages blurred, and over them a pale blue panel of five ready questions to send

Icon language

I wanted the icons to carry details that make the app distinctive, rather than the generic icons found in any app. Working with AI tools, I developed a set that speaks the language of hiking: the home screen is marked by a mountain instead of a house, the set includes a hiker figure, and the profile icon is an illustration of a male or female hiker.

The tab bar of the app: a hiker for Profile, a bell for Notifications, a route for Matched, a bookmark for Saved, and a blue mountain for Home
The tab bar: a mountain for Home, a hiker for Profile.

Ben, within the design

Ben is present through the app’s visual language, not its user flow. The logo was built from his handwriting, taken from a letter he wrote to his partner, and its shape draws on the outstretched arms that appear in many of his photos. The blue is his favourite colour, and the home screen features his favourite trails. A single tab links to the association’s page.

We deliberately chose not to include messages in his name or memories along the trail. Most users never knew Ben, and for his family, the app’s use is itself the remembrance.

A blue cap, a blue bottle and a card, each carrying the white Ben’s Way logo
  1. Ben’s name in his handwriting, in black on white

    His handwriting

  2. Ben standing on a rock above a turquoise mountain lake, his arms stretched wide

    The outstretched arms

  3. The Ben’s Way logo in white on blue: a dot over two flowing strokes, a figure with its arms open

    The logo

The branding carries the same approach beyond the app. The posters address each person by name, for example: “Shira, would you like to go hiking at Agamon HaHula today?” The whole app rests on emotion, and we wanted that personal address to come through in the branding too.

A poster: a tree by a stream in a green valley, and in Hebrew, Shira, would you like to go hiking at Agamon HaHula today?
A poster: a white mountain shape on blue, with the logo and a line in Hebrew inviting people to hike in Ben's way
The mountain poster in a bus shelter on a city street

From prototype to product

We started from an early prototype built by the project’s initiators. The trail page and the search screens went through many iterations: there was a great deal of information, and the challenge was to present it without overwhelming the user.

  1. Prototype
    The prototype map: a single pin on a street map, and a trail card with a photograph under it
    Final
    The final map search: a search field and filters over the map, one pin chosen and its trail card open

    The map search

  2. Prototype
    The prototype trail page: a photograph, a paragraph, photographs from hikers and a Start navigation button
    Final
    The final trail page, its top: a large photograph, the facts and a Set out button

    The trail page

  3. Prototype
    The prototype chat: empty speech bubbles under the title Group chat
    Final
    The final chat on the trail: messages from hikers and a field to write in

    The chat

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The initiators’ prototype alongside the final design.