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Backpackers

All-in-one travel planning app for a hassle-free vacation experience.

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Impact Projected

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Increased User Happiness

Seamless & Efficient
Task Completion

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User Retention

NOTE: Utilized the HEART framework—measuring Happiness, Engagement, Adoption, Retention, and Task Success—to assess the solution's effectiveness. Please view this case study on a computer for the best experience.

Project Overview: A travel planning app for a hassle-free vacation experience.

'Backpackers' is an all-in-one app that simplifies vacation planning with personalized itineraries, authentic insights, and trusted services.

Role

UX/UI Designer
UX Researcher

Timeline

4 months
(Jul 2019 to Oct 2019)

Team

4 UX/UI Designers and Researchers including myself

Challenge

Designing a solution for diverse target audience's needs

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Problem: Multiple sources with conflicting and outdated info

Finding the best travel deals on a budget is complex, involving numerous sources that may offer conflicting information and lack current updates on the destination.

Solution: All-in-one Travel Planning App

A platform offering tailored, authentic travel plans for budget-conscious explorers, enhanced by insights from fellow travelers and locals for better destination awareness. The slideshow below gives solution highlights.

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Home with vital travel services and a spotlight on popular cities.

Vital travel services

Popular Cities

Process: Okay, how did I get here?

Followed a 4-step process—Discover, Define, Ideate, and Design—as illustrated below to solve the problem.

PROBLEM

2. Defining User Needs

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4. Designing Solution that fulfills User Needs

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1. Discovering User Info

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3. Ideating Possible Solutions

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SOLUTION

NOTE: The slideshow presents the solution's detailed components.

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Empathy Map 1: Traveling with friends

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Design: How might we design a solution that meets the user needs?

Adapted a mobile-design strategy to ensure easy access for smartphone users and crafted a comprehensive travel planning app, catering to the diverse requirements of the target audience.

Below are feature iterations meeting the User Needs

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1. Authentic & low cost services

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Empowered budget and spontaneous travelers with authentic, low-cost ‘Services’ on the final Home screen design, surpassing the limited scope of ‘Nearby places’ in the Hi-Fi version.

2. Intuitive Trip-Finder

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Improved trip suggestions via the final iteration's intuitive and delightful filter, exceeding the hi-fi design's minimalism.

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3. Sightseeing, stay and deal recommendations

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Enhanced user options (sightseeing, stay, and deals) in the final design, instead of the hi-fi version's limited food and place suggestions.

4. Customizable Itinerary

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Streamlined user ability to customize travel itineraries effortlessly in the final design, departing from the note-taking approach of the hi-fi version.

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6. Easy Connect with peers

Improved connecting with travel buddies or previous visitors to intended locations in the final design, surpassing the hi-fi version.

5. Intuitive Peer-Finder

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Enhanced travel buddy suggestions through the fun and easy-to-use filter of the final iteration, exceeding the plainness of the hi-fi design.

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7. Additional screens

Additional screens in the mobile app, provided below, enhance the user experience by offering comprehensive travel planning capabilities within a single platform.

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Projected Impact: What will be the value-add?

The HEART (Happiness, Engagement, Adaption, Retention, and Task Completion) framework forecasts increased user happiness, task completion, and return visits for future vacation planning. This app facilitates seamless trip planning and vacation experiences, leading to user satisfaction and retention. That could be measured by App ratings & reviews, Net Promoter Score (NPS), Product Analytics (No. of returning users, reduced churn rate and, and efficient scheduling with fewer errors).

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Increased User Happiness

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User Retention

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Seamless & Efficient
Task Completion

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Reflections: What could be improved?

In an ideal situation, I would have:

Conducted concept testing with travelers from varied cultures and needs, to refine concept efficacy.
Improved accessibility of the app, adhering to WCAG 2.0 standards, integrating maps and navigation.
Made the app inclusive, by incorporating language translation and currency conversion tools

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