PlanIt

A mobile app designed to simplify group trip planning and empower friends to effortlessly organize their trips and focus on what truly matters: enjoying the experience together.

Project Type

Proof of Concept

Tools

Figma

Duration

6 weeks (2024)

Project Overview

How Can Group Travel Be Made Less Stressful?

The objective of this project was to design an app that improves some aspect of the travel experience. Our goal was to target travel for friend groups and create a seamless and intuitive user experience that simplifies tasks such as itinerary planning and communication between friends.

Target Problem

Group travel can be a real headache. With so many people involved, it's tough to coordinate schedules, align on destinations, and manage everyone's preferences. Often, the planning burden falls on a few individuals, leading to stress and frustration.

The Solution

Our app features a recommendation engine to suggest ideal destinations, a collaborative itinerary planner to easily add locations and invite friends, and a real-time chat function to facilitate communication and decision-making. Additionally, the app cross-checks users' calendars to suggest optimal travel dates.

User Interviews

I interviewed three frequent flyers to learn about their experiences traveling.

More importantly, I wanted to learn about their processes, motivations, and needs when traveling.

Objectives for 1:1 Interviews

Understand user journey and emotional experiences during trip planning

Identify preferred tools and apps, and their shortcomings
Uncover user habits and behaviors related to travel planning
Explore common pain points and stressors during the planning process

Interview Takeaways

People rely on tools like Google Sheets and Notion to manage complex schedules and avoid conflicts, and while these programs are visually aesthetic, inputting all activities is very time consuming.

Overall, people feel that group travel often presents more challenges than solo travel, as it involves coordinating schedules, managing logistics, and accommodating diverse preferences.

Persona

I then condensed the key motivations and frustrations identified in the user research into a persona.

Ideation &

Design

Now comes the hardest part… bringing our ideas to life.

Low-Fidelity Wireframes

Add Trip

View and Edit Itinerary

Branding

To create a memorable brand identity, we opted for a bold color palette.

Rather than going with the traditional blues and greens often associated with travel, we aimed to create a distinctive brand identity that is both bold and calming. The vibrant orange adds a playful touch, while the deep blue-purple provides a sense of tranquility and ease of use.

High Fidelity Flows

First Iteration of High-Fidelity Flows.

Add Trip

Calendar

View and Edit Itinerary

User Testing

We conducted usability testing with five users to evaluate the navigation and clarity of our flows.

While the overall concept was well-received, several areas require refinement to enhance the user experience.

Firstly, users suggested adding clear labels to flows, especially the "Add Trip" flow, to improve understanding and orientation. The "Add Trip" flow was found to be particularly difficult to navigate, and users often felt lost during the process. Users also thought the navigation bar should be more intuitive, with clear labels for each section.

Finally, users highly valued the integration of friend calendars, however the integration of friend calendars into the "Add Dates" section was suggested for a more seamless user experience. The placement of the recommendation engine within the flow was questioned by users and requires further refinement to provide a more intuitive and informative experience.

Wireframes

We created new wireframes based on feedback, focusing on maintaining a cohesive design throughout our flows.