Safe Travels Case Study

Project Overview

Safe Travels is a travel planning mobile app that aims to help its users plan their travels efficiently while ensuring their health and safety. It is intended for avid travelers, who like to create their own detailed itinerary and enjoy adventuring outside of their hometown.

Timeline

May 2021 - October 2021

My Role

User research, analysis, ideation, branding, wireframes, mockups, and usability testing.

Research

Secondary research

Since the distribution of various COVID-19 vaccines, major U.S. airlines, such as United, Delta, and American airlines, implemented vaccine and COVID-19 test result verification systems into a traveler’s flight information. This way, people would be notified about areas that require vaccination records, test results, and protocols that they need to follow in order to proceed to their intended flight and destination. This sparked an idea for a mobile app that would enhance a user’s confidence in their health and safety when traveling.

References

1. 5 things to know about IATA’s travel pass app right now.
2. Travel & safety tips to know before you go.
3. Ready to travel in 2021?
4. Travel troubles: 4 problems you should always plan for before you hit the road.
5. Medical considerations before international travel.
6. Papers, please! Don’t let travel document problems ground your next vacation.
7. International travel document requirements (United Airlines)
8. Insights into international travel by students

Understanding the problem space through surveys and interviews

To better understand how I can design a mobile app that enhanced a user’s confidence in safety when traveling, I conducted a survey using Google Forms to search for avid travel planners.

I used Instagram, Facebook, and Linkedin to share my survey to my network. I was able to collect 45 survey entries.

I conducted 7 interviews, and my main findings were that the participants would like to have a travel planning tool that is accessible, reliable, secure, informative, and easy to use.

Compiling My Research Findings

Affinity maps: major categories identified

Empathy maps: understanding the users

Personas

Ideation

Now that I formulated my personas, I used five “How might we” questions to find major problem areas that the two personas would encounter while travel planning. By brainstorming some ideas and further analyzing common trends, I found that avid travel planners would like to have an accessible planner and understand precautions they need to take before traveling to a specific location.

How might we questions

1. How might we increase Toodle’s comfortability and dependability while she plans her next trip?
2. How might we help Diego feel more comfortable when he is planning to use public transportation while traveling and helping him understand how to get the appropriate tickets?
3. How might we reduce the amount of research Toodles need to plan her travels so that she doesn’t feel so overwhelmed?
4. How might we increase health and safety awareness for Diego while planning his next trip?
5. How might we help travelers find their ideal destinations and make sure they are vaccinated?

Solutions

1. Comfortability and dependability
2. Confidence in transportation
3. Stress-free research
4. Health and safety awareness
5. Travel and vaccination

Creating the blueprints with userflows

Heuristics

With the blueprints for the mobile app laid out, I took the time to look at three competitors, Tripsy, Tripit, and Tripscout, so that I could compare my intended design, as well as evaluate three heuristics: recognition rather than recall, visibility of system status, and user control and freedom. I focused on these three heuristics because these will affect my intended users' ability to remember UI elements, understand their place when creating a plan, and be able to access, exit, or cancel from certain pages.

Sketches

Guerrilla Usability Testing

Before translating my sketches into wireframes, I decided to conduct guerrilla usability testing to make sure that I was not missing a crucial element in my design or if I needed a page or button that users would like to have when using a mobile travel planner.

Participants mentioned that the “+” button needed to be redesigned to showcase its purpose better, and that a phone number section, when creating an account, would be helpful.

Wireframing

Edge Cases

Branding

Moodboard

Before implementing color into my wireframes, I used a moodboard to help me define the branding of my product. Safe Travels aimed to motivate, educate, and inspire travelers. The product would also strive to be user-friendly, intuitive, and minimal in design.

Styleguide

Mockups

Prototype Usability Testing

Soon after completing my mockup, I conducted usability testing to help me further iterate my design and better understand the users’ needs for this app. Overall, the participants provided me feedback regarding widget orgaization and color for the Upcoming page.

Based on the feedback, I iterated the corresponding adjustments for the Upcoming page.

Prototype

View prototype Watch video

Lessons Learned

Safe Travels was my first capstone project as a UI/UX Design student, and throughout the process, alongside my mentor’s guidance, I learned to understand, identify, and focus on my target audience. From the user research, data analyses, design, and usability testing, I never lost sight of my intended users, the avid travel planners. The purpose of Safe Travels is not only to ensure its users’ safety, but also to make sure the experience is comfortable, secure, inspiring and encouraging for future travels.

Next Steps

I created a clear mobile concept for Safe Travels. Now, I’d like to think about designing a desktop version so that my product could be accessible for two types of devices.

A Preview of the Desktop Version