Let's Travel the World Together
Bon Voyage is a new app concept designed to provide information and recommendations on where people should travel and what they should see around the globe. Their target audience is working professionals with a travel itch looking for authentic experiences.
CHALLENGE
Design a new travel app for young professionals that helps them stay organized so they can make the most of their vacation time and budget.
APPROACH
Find ways to engage users beyond just itinerary building.
SOLUTIONS
Add personality and encourage engagement through refined visual design and gamification.
OUTCOMES
An intuitive and powerful tool for travelers that is a joy to use.
MY ROLE
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UI/UX designer
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Brand designer
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Logo designer
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Project manager
DELIVERABLES
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Domain research and competitive analysis
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Personas + problem statements
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Information architecture
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Wireframes
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Branding
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Complete set of hi-fi designs
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Working prototype
TOOLS
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Illustrator
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Miro
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Sketch
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InVision
RESEARCH
A Look at the Competition
Through market research I learned that many top travel apps lack sleek designs. A simple and inviting interface with intuitive functionality would stand out amongst the giants like TripAdvisor and Yelp.
Companies included in competitive analysis and domain research report.
PERSONAS
Getting to Know Our Users
Though I wasn't able to directly speak to users, I was provided with transcripts from three user interviews. This served as a great basis for understanding the goals, motivations, pain points, and habits of the target user. After going through all the interviews, I created an affinity map to identify common patterns. From here, I was able to draft a problem statement, user stories, and a persona.
UX CHALLENGE
Beginner to Expert in Less Than Two Minutes
Our users are busy and well-organized, so I focused on simplicity and familiarity in the UX. My goal was to create a design that would leave users feeling like Bon Voyage experts within minutes of signing up.
I started on paper and sketched out multiple ideas for each screen as well as the bottom navigation and then moved onto low-fidelity wireframes.
BRANDING
Designing the Visual Experiences
Through branding, I brought the Bon Voyage personality to life. The color palette establishes the brand as reliable, fun, and approachable, and I used imagery to speak to the adventurous spirit of our users.
Three style tiles exploring different themes for the brand. The right most tile was selected as it most accurately represented the brand and spoke to the users.
GAMIFICATION
Not Your Grandparent's Stamp Collection
With well-established services like Trip Advisor and Yelp dominating the marketplace, I knew that good UX and exciting branding weren’t going to be enough. I created a “Bon Voyage Passport” where users can collect stamps for different countries they visit. This encourages them to use the app while traveling (not just for research at home) and also allows for some friendly competition between friends.
Mockups for the empty state (left) and a passport with a few stamps (right).
UI DESIGN
Bringing It All Together
As I applied my initial visual elements and ideas to the wireframes, the interface felt heavy and cluttered. I removed the gradient background and evaluated each screen to eliminate anything nonessential.
First iteration of high-fidelity mockups.
Final design for the key app screens.
Walkthrough of mobile prototype
REFLECTION
Simple ≠ Easy
Dieter Rams said it best: designers should strive for “less, but better.”
This philosophy applied to all aspects of this project: developing the UX so it would feel immediately familiar, focusing on a design aesthetic that felt streamlined and welcoming, and adding in the passport feature which is simple in function and powerful in practice.
Simple solutions require a bit more creativity and thoughtfulness, but the payoff for the users is well worth the energy.
Want to see more? Check out my other projects or connect with me on LinkedIn.