Wanderflush

2025

Speculative Work

A way to find a restroom near you that fits your needs, fast, wherever you are in the world.

Role: UX/UI Designer

Length: 4 Months

Team: Solo Project

What is the problem that needs to be solved?

Everyone pees. So… why is it so stressful to find a public restroom?

Public Restrooms in the United States are increasingly rare and difficult to find. In fact, the lack of public restrooms in this country has been declared a public health crisis and a civic catastrophe.

The right to access public restrooms is a public health issue and a humanitarian issue. It affects the entire population, but disproportionately, it affects people who are suffering from medical conditions, unhoused individuals, pregnant individuals, the elderly, and more.

What is the problem that needs to be solved?

Everyone pees. So… why is it so stressful to find a public restroom?

What is the problem that needs to be solved?

Everyone pees. So… why is it so stressful to find a public restroom?

Research

In order to determine the best possible solution, I employed the following methodologies:

Competitive Analysis

I researched three apps that tried to address similar problem spaces: 1) Toilet Finder, 2) Flush, and 3) We Can’t Wait. I compared their mission statements, their target markets, their strengths, and their weaknesses. I also was careful to pay attention to if there were any features that were common among competitors, so I could identify any existing industry standards.

In general, I found that most of the existing apps on the market either had very specific target audiences (for example, people with Ulcerative Colitis) or were isolated to very specific areas. That left a niche to be filled for a more generalized solution.

User Interviews

I conducted user interviews with six different users to ask them about their experiences using public restrooms. The major findings were as follows:

POV Statements and Personas

With the information I had from my secondary research, competitive analysis, and user interviews— I began to understand the direction my solution should take in order to be the most effective.

Feel free to reference the point of view statements and personas I created below.

POV Statement #1

Insight

Users find it distressing to use an unclean public restroom.

POV Statement

People who are out in public and need to use the restroom need a way to find bathrooms that are clean, because otherwise they might avoid using the restroom altogether and risk potential health complications and discomfort.

POV Statement #2

Insight

Users find it inconvenient and stressful that most public restrooms have potential barriers to entry (i.e. a required purchase, a code, etc).

POV Statement

People who are out in public and need to use the restroom need a way to know whether or not a restroom will be accessible to them, because otherwise they might avoid using the restroom altogether in order to avoid the potential awkwardness of the situation.

POV Statement #3

Insight

Users will often try and locate familiar businesses/enterprises when looking for a public restroom to use.

POV Statement

People who are out in public and need to use the restroom need a way to find restrooms that are associated with well known business, because their familiarity with the business and the associated bathroom policies makes them feel that most potential complications can be avoided.

POV Statement #4

Insight

Users often feel unsure about how to locate public restrooms when abroad.

POV Statement

People who are traveling abroad and need to use the restroom need a way to find nearby public restrooms, because otherwise they might avoid using the restroom altogether and risk potential health complications and discomfort.

POV Statement #5

Insight

Users find it distressing to be in a public restroom that is understocked with supplies.

POV Statement

People who are out in public and need to use the restroom need a way to find bathrooms that are correctly stocked with supplies, because otherwise they might avoid using the restroom altogether and risk potential health complications and discomfort.

These interviews and my research gave me a clear direction for how I could improve the usability of the site moving forward.

Opportunities and Prioritization:

Create an app that allows users to find restrooms near them that fit their criteria through community sourcing and public data bases. Users will also be able to save restrooms for future reference, and add new restrooms that do not already exist within the data base.

Based off of my research and the priorities of the users I interviewed, all bathrooms will have to be sorted by these following criteria:

Opportunities and Prioritization:

Based off of my research and the priorities of the users I interviewed, all bathrooms would have to be sorted by the following criteria:

Ideation - what am I hoping to achieve with the product?

Now that I had identified the problem space and the potential users, it was time to set some goals and figure out what the solution would look like.

Project Goals

Before I started with any design work, I wanted to make sure I had a firm understanding of what the business, user, and technical goals should be.

Ideation - what am I hoping to achieve with the product?

Now that I had identified the problem space and the potential users, it was time to set some goals and figure out what the solution would look like.

Project Goals

Before I started with any design work, I wanted to make sure I had a firm understanding of what the business, user, and technical goals should be.

The Feature List

To keep the project focused and manageable, I also made sure to be thoughtful about what features would be neccessary to make an effective MVP.

The Feature List

To keep the project focused and manageable, I also made sure to be thoughtful about what features would be neccessary to make an effective MVP.

Wireframing and Prototyping

Now it was time to figure out how users would interact with the app.

User Flows and Task Flows

I created user flows and task flows for the most important activities users would complete within the app.

Featured below are the user flow for finding a restroom nearby, and the task flow for adding a restroom to the data base.

Wireframing and Prototyping

Now it was time to figure out how users would interact with the app.

User Flows and Task Flows

I created user flows and task flows for the most important activities users would complete within the app.

Featured below are the user flow for finding a restroom nearby, and the task flow for adding a restroom to the data base.

Low-Fidelity Mockup

High-Fidelity Mockup

Once I was satisfied with the low-fidelity wireframes, I created the first set of high-fidelity screens for user testing.

High-Fidelity Mockup

Once I was satisfied with the low-fidelity wireframes, I created the first set of high-fidelity screens for user testing.

Usability Testing

Next, it was time to verify that the product was working as intended. Did it actually solve the problem I wanted it to?

I prototyped the high-fidelity mockups in Figma and asked 6 different users to complete a series of tasks. This is what I found:

Usability Testing

Next, it was time to verify that the product was working as intended. Did it actually solve the problem I wanted it to?

I prototyped the High Fidelity Mockups in Figma and asked 6 different users to complete a series of tasks. This is what I found:

Opportunities and Prioritization:

Opportunities and Prioritization

Finalizing the Design

Now all there was left to do was to put all of the pieces together— and Wanderflush was finally born!

Versioning

Finalizing the Design

Now all there was left to do was to put all of the pieces together— and Wanderflush was finally born!

Versioning

Final Screens

The Protoype

In Conclusion

Finding a usable restroom near you, no matter where you are, is a basic human right we should all be afforded. I hope this product can serve as an informed, research based solution to a critical issue that we can all relate to.