With this prototype, we took learning about Travel Manitoba’s Master Angler Program to a new, interactive level.

The Master Angler Program recognizes anglers who catch exceptionally-sized fish from Manitoba’s lakes. The angler is entered in the record book and, when they reel in a certain number of qualifying fish, awarded a badge. We happened to have about 30 of these badges at the office after completing a project with Travel Manitoba so, in typical Pattern fashion, we mocked up a prototype with them! Our Master Angler panel interfaces hardware with a native iOS app over a wireless connection.

Four Master Angler badges are now buttons on the panel. When a button is pushed, it lights up and at the same time (thanks to communication via Bluetooth), the Master Angler app displays information about what fish are required for that badge and the anglers who have achieved it. This kind of tactile element excites and engages users because their touch is making stuff happen.

Not only does the panel control what appears on the app, but it goes the other way as well. As the user browses fish, lake and angler information on the app, the panel lights up to provide visual confirmation. Two-way communication for the win!

The best part of this prototype is that the data is pulled directly from the Master Angler website, so any updates made on the website will automatically be made pushed to the panel without having to update any programming.