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Case Study

Try Prototype

Try Prototype

Try Prototype

Perry

Perry

Perry

Personalising and enriching the solo travel experience.

Timeline:
Aug 2024 - Oct 2024

Role:
Entire product design, from research to conceptualisation to testing.

Role:
Entire product design, from research to conceptualisation to testing.

Role:
Entire product design, from research to conceptualisation to testing.

Tools:
Figma, Adobe Illustrator

Introduction

Context

In 2023, I spent the best 2 weeks exploring Japan's Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. It felt like a dream!

While unforgettable memories were made, there was some disappointment when trending spots did not live up to Instagram's hype, homesickness and deviations from my itinerary due to unexpected fatigue and sickness.

Returning home, I wondered: how can I make future solo travel even more fulfilling?

The Challenge

The solo travel community needs a platform that improves the travel process, by preventing misinformation, echo chambers and filter bubbles in solo travel information and improving the trip-planning process.

Design Impact

Perry is a mobile application (app) that combats these issues in the solo-travelling community and fosters companionship between the user and the app's Arctic Tern bird mascot of the same name.

Learning From Fellow Solo Travellers

User Research

User Research

User Research

To deepen my understanding of the types of solo travellers and their preferences in the community, I interviewed 5 people that uncovered:

Key Insights From Solo Travellers

Key Insights Persona-fied

Personas were created to represent the two types of solo travellers - new and experienced - and their needs, which I uncovered during the insights.

Exploring the Market

Key Market Research Findings

Key Market Research Findings

Key Market Research Findings

I researched websites and apps mentioned by my participants, which had both travelling and solo-travelling information and features.

During my research, I realised that video games like Genshin Impact had an interesting concept of a solo traveller and their companion, which was a refreshing idea I could further explore in my design.

Framing the Challenge

Problem Statements and Questions

Problem Statements and Questions

Problem Statements and Questions

I developed problem statements to understand the ideal experiences of my primary personas. This understanding helped clarify the focus on creating solutions that address the community issues of misinformation, echo chamber, filter bubbles and a tedious trip-planning process.

Ideation

Wireframes

The questions helped guide the development of ideas, which turned into wireframes. The wireframes have been tested on the same solo travellers I interviewed previously.

Ideas:

Ideas:

Ideas:

Facilitate a moderated forum, where questions are answered promptly, by travellers whose experiences are proven through in-app location-tracking.

Provide categories of tavel information and resources that redirects user to the respective links.

Facilitate a moderated forum, where questions are answered promptly, by travellers whose experiences are proven through in-app location-tracking.

Provide categories of tavel information and resources that redirects user to the respective links.

Facilitate a moderated forum, where questions are answered promptly, by travellers whose experiences are proven through in-app location-tracking.

Provide categories of tavel information and resources that redirects user to the respective links.

Interface tested on participants.

Idea:

Idea:

Idea:

Feature for planning the entire trip and on the day. Users can add locations saved in-app and on other platforms.

Feature for planning the entire trip and on the day. Users can add locations saved in-app and on other platforms.

Feature for planning the entire trip and on the day. Users can add locations saved in-app and on other platforms.

Interface tested on participants.

Idea:

Idea:

Idea:

Real-time location-based map that shows navigation to nearby tourist-filled spots or hidden local places.

Real-time location-based map that shows navigation to nearby tourist-filled spots or hidden local places.

Real-time location-based map that shows navigation to nearby tourist-filled spots or hidden local places.

Interface tested on participants.

Additional Validation Results

User Flow

I created a user flow with the features that will achieve the ideal experience for my personas.

Concept

Inspired by the real-life concept of a travel companion and tour guide, Perry offers both real-time companionship and guiding experience.

By tracking location, Perry moves when the user moves and stops when the user stops, with life-like animations.

Whether it is before, during or after, Perry offers support throughout:

  • Itinerary plans

  • Information and advice

  • Nearby tourist and local recommendations

  • Stay safe

  • Customisation

  • Perry offers real-time companionship, learning and guiding experience

How might we improve the process of planning for a trip?

How might we improve the process of planning for a trip?

How might we improve the process of planning for a trip?

Before embarking on the trip, users can add events to their itinerary from in-app and cross-platform. This increases the efficiency of planning for a trip.

During the trip, users can view their plans for the day at a glance. They can edit their plans if they change their mind or edit their entire itinerary.

How might we ensure information is unbiased and from a credible source?

How might we ensure information is unbiased and from a credible source?

How might we ensure information is unbiased and from a credible source?

The app provides a moderated forum where all answers to user questions and travel information are clear and concise, referenced and can be redirected to the source.

How might we create a space that is safe and trusted for solo travellers?

How might we create a space that is safe and trusted for solo travellers?

How might we create a space that is safe and trusted for solo travellers?

The facilitated forum is full of legitimate solo travellers with experience proven by travelling with the app’s location services turned on. Their privacy is protected throughout the use of the app.

How might we measure and determine the authenticity of a place?

How might we measure and determine the authenticity of a place?

How might we measure and determine the authenticity of a place?

Both tourist spot and hidden gem options are offered in the map feature, to cater to both types of solo travellers.

Prototype

Prototype

Prototype

Style Guide

Primary Colours

96D3FF

359CE7

005C9E

FFF6C7

FFF6C7

FFF6C7

FEFEFD

FEFEFD

FEFEFD

Saturated gradients of blue, yellow and white, to refer to how the Arctic Tern bird, Perry flies and travels through the sky.

FFCCCC

EBC9FF

AFFFBC

AFFFBC

AFFFBC

FF2F2F

FF2F2F

FF2F2F

FFCCCC

EBC9FF

AFFFBC

FF2F2F

Secondary Colours

Pink, purple and green are used as tags to classify items, and red is used for stopping navigation.

96D3FF

359CE7

005C9E

FFF6C7

FEFEFD

Typography

The font Lilita One has a whimsical style with its curved ears, used for the headings. It is complemented by the Magra font's curved stems, which is used for the subheadings, body and buttons.

Illustrations

Perry is illustrated with a flat and simplified style to create a sense of playfulness and approachability. His design aims to balance the information and app features.

Reflection

Reflection

Reflection

Over 3 months, I had the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge about the solo-travelling community. It was interesting to hear first-hand about the diverse types of solo travellers - their preferences, frustrations and travel approaches, which informed my user research. I was able to focus on designing a solution that aims to foster meaningful interactions within the community.

Next time, I would improve my design process to spend more time on making iterations. Moving forward, the next steps would be to conduct further design testings and iterations and additional research on long-term user engagement, so that I can improve the app further.

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Paw & Footprints

Paw & Footprints

Paw & Footprints

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