An application providing detailed information on leisure destinations, selecting attractions based on user interests, building routes, and incorporating them into familiar paths. It offers extensive narration as desired. Additionally, it helps choose dining places that meet user requirements, integrates them into the itinerary, and makes table reservations.
I often travel and face challenges I realize could be solved with my UX/UI design knowledge. So, I started my own project with innovative ideas and tested them with users. As tourists, we all face problems: where to go, where to eat, wanting a safe dining experience or trying local cuisine, fitting famous places into one trip, creating a well-structured itinerary, avoiding crowded and unimpressive locations, and learning about buildings without extensive Googling. My application is designed to solve these problems and more.
I conducted a survey with 169 respondents from 16 countries, and the raw data is available upon request. Here are the key insights from the survey:
Several problem areas can be prioritized and will guide feature selection for the value proposition:
Direction and Accommodation Selection: Addressing challenges in choosing travel destinations and accommodations.
Value of Time: Providing efficient solutions to save travelers time.
Routes and Transportation: Enhancing the planning experience for routes and transportation.
Acquiring Current Information: Ensuring access to up-to-date and relevant travel information.
Desire to Save: Offering cost-saving options.
The companies were not listed; respondents recalled the names themselves, reflecting the true popularity of various applications. These apps will help us understand common industry patterns and will be included in the competitive audit in the next stages.
The last question provided a significant list of potential competitors. Although the application has no direct competitors in the market, I also looked for applications in three related areas where it is mentioned. I explored their architecture and identified some common patterns.
I created a User Journey Map to highlight the key stages a customer experiences from the moment a need arises, through planning and purchasing a tour, to the trip itself and after. Understanding the user’s emotions and issues during product usage is essential.
To empathize with the user and create a user-centered design, I developed several personas. Throughout the design process, I frequently referred to them, considering questions like, "Which option would be more understandable for Jared Smith?" or "What design would Eline Hansen prefer?"
To better understand user pain points and needs, I used User Stories and their results to write the Problem Statement. To construct them effectively, I used the 5W’s and H framework, answering questions like Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How.
I then developed Hypothesis Statements to describe what I expect from the app and how it can solve user problems. I created 8-10 of each framework but will show a few examples to demonstrate their outcomes and implementation.
After formulating the Value Propositions (next chapter), I created the final 6 Goal Statements. Based on these statements, I set objectives for my work and outlined how to measure effectiveness.
With the defined list of features, I created a User Flow and organized the features into a logical structure, establishing relationships between pages. During this process, three main entities and one auxiliary entity were identified.
At this stage, I worked on different states of inputs and buttons based on user actions, developed the registration flow and onboarding process, and created password recovery scenarios for situations when users forget their passwords.
In this section, I showcased screens of the main application homepage and the 'Wish' tab, which curates and stores information about places the user has selected to visit.
On the third tab of the main page, there's a section called 'Make a Trip,' dedicated to customizing and generating a route in the user's current city or a city they've chosen. Route creation is based on data from the 'Wish' tab and the interests the user indicated during onboarding.
On the detailed page for a specific establishment or landmark, there's a review section where users can leave feedback. Additionally, users can request the app to generate a narrative about visited landmarks of various lengths as part of a generated route or during a leisurely walk within the application.
The third main section, "Guide mode", focuses on route planning on-site and leisurely walks where users can autonomously decide where to go and what to listen to.
Create a couple of marketing videos featuring application mockups to learn After Effects.
Refine the transitions between screens. While a basic prototype has been created, I aim to dedicate more time to this aspect.
Develop a business presentation about the project using the Tilda website builder. This presentation will inform potential investors about the feasibility of bringing such an application to life.
I will be glad to any cooperation
What’s on
Skills
Prototyping
Wireframing
3D
Competitive Audit
User Research
Design Thinking Process
iOS/Android Guidelines