Wander About
Everything you need in one app to have a seamless, authentic, travel experience.
Overview
BACKGROUND
In this theoretical project, I was responsible for creating a digital travel aid that provides information and recommendations on where people can go and what to see in different cities around the world. I applied user research to determine the goal and features of the product and created a user-centered design that provides dependable recommendations that users can seamlessly add to a customizable, easy to access itinerary.
ROLE & DURATION
UX & UI Designer, 6 weeks
Discover & Define
Millennials love to travel but struggle to find a product that has all their needs in an oversaturated market.
Millennials, who make up the largest age group population in the US, have a desire to spend their money on meaningful experiences and to accumulate authentic moments rather than possessions. Technology companies should provide users with customizable experiences to help them realize these significant travel moments.
This age group is also accustomed to using their phones and mobile apps as a part of daily life and have come to expect the same accessibility while traveling. Over 50% of travelers use their mobile phones for travel-related information.
In looking at competitors, I noticed a gap in the market for a digital product geared towards millennials, who love to travel, that provides reliable travel recommendations and a customizable, organizable itinerary planner.
Meet Jason, Wander About's user persona. He's a millennial graphic designer, living in Richmond VA with his boyfriend, Marco.
I want to taste and see the flavors of a place, find that hole-in-the-wall gem, feel immersed - and have all planned out and accessible on my iPhone.
Jason, 32, Richmond VA
Goals
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Easily customize and access plan trips before, during and after a trip
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Interact with and get advice from locals
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Find hidden gems, off-the-beaten-path spots
Motivations
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Meet genuine people and make memorable connections
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Collect authentic and unique traveling experiences
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Feel personally connected to a city and it’s locals
Frustrations
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Overpriced tourist traps
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Unreliable information and reviews
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Non-personalized experiences
Ideation
In brainstorming solutions, I sketched out ideas to help users access trusted travel recommendations and be able to create and download an itinerary of plans easily. To form a solution to help connect users to locals for advice, I created a chat feature where the user can get in touch with a local and message each other. However, after assessing the feasibility of this feature and how likely locals would want to participate without compensation if this were to be a real product with an actual client, I decided to find more affordable ways to provide local recommendations to the user.
Wireframes
Visuals
In creating a visual story for the solution, I created 3 divergent mood boards, all in keeping with a millennial vibe and tone, but keeping it accessible to a range of users. Ultimately I chose #01 because it evokes the positive, bright and inspiring tone that users are seeking in a travel product.
01
OPTIMISTIC
CULTURAL
JOYFUL
HOPEFUL
02
EXPLORE
CALM
DOWN-TO-EARTH
03
VIBRANT
BOLD
CREATIVE
Style Tile
The Design Solution
Homepage
Users can search by what type of trip they're looking for, helping to narrow down their search. The visual design is bright and welcoming. Users can see high-quality photos to help envision where they want to go.
All city guides
Suggested places appear at the top of the page, based on users' customized preferences and saving activity. An alphabetized list of cities is available for the user who wants to scroll, with options to sort and filter as needed. I used a fair amount of whitespace to keep the visuals clean and simple, despite a lot of content.
City overview
The first tab includes an overview of the city, with helpful information that users can quickly scan and access while offline. There's a noticeable CTA so that users can easily create a trip and itinerary if they choose to do so. I created all the clickable items bright and noticeable, to help offset the inaccessibility of neomorphism, while still keeping with the modern and friendly theme of the app.
City recs
The second tab for the city guide includes personalized recommendations, as well as recommendations by experts and locals. This way, the user has multiple different pathways to get trusted advice, depending on their preferences.
Planned trips
The app has a devoted section to users' planned and past trips. Users can easily create, organize and view their trips.
City itinerary
An easy-to-read downloadable, customizable itinerary that users can access any time throughout their trip.
