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.
My role
I worked as part of a team of three designers, where we focused on creating a cohesive design system. Collaboration was key as we worked together on both wireframes and high-fidelity designs. I took on the edit itinerary flow in both the high-fidelity stage and final flow.
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.
I then condensed the key motivations and frustrations identified in the user research into a persona.
Now comes the hardest part… bringing our ideas to life.
Home Page Iterations
Add Trip
View and Edit Itinerary Iterations
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.
First Iteration of High-Fidelity Flows.
Add Trip
Calendar
View and Edit Itinerary
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 required refinement to enhance the user experience.
Key Findings
- Users suggested adding clear labels to each flow, 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 thought the navigation bar should be more intuitive, with clear labels for each section.
- 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.
We created new wireframes based on feedback, focusing on maintaining a cohesive design throughout our flows.
Final Design
Recommendations
Our recommendation engine suggests personalized destinations based on user preferences, travel history, and group dynamics. Users can browse curated recommendations and get detailed information about each location to help them make informed decisions. Recommendations are also based on best time to visit, and users can add their location to see nearby trips as well.
Start A New Trip - Add Locations
The streamlined trip creation process guides users through adding destinations, with an intuitive interface that makes it easy to search, select, and organize locations. The flow includes adding start location, stops, and the end location.
Start A New Trip - Add Friends And Check Calendar
Users can invite friends and seamlessly integrate calendar data to find optimal travel dates. The availability check can be viewed in two ways: a time check feature that shows written availability, or a visual chart that displays differently for single day vs multiple day checks.
Start A New Trip - Confirm Dates
The date confirmation process presents users with a clear overview of selected dates and allows for easy adjustments. Here is where users name their trip. Once dates are confirmed, the trip itinerary is complete with an overview of stops, friends, and dates.
View and Edit Itinerary - Established Itinerary
My agenda page - itinerary management interface provides a comprehensive view of planned activities with easy editing capabilities. Click into an itinerary to see what is for that day (swipe to see more activities on other days), make real-time updates that sync across all participants, and live chat with friends. Edit trip easily, drag and drop activities to reorder for that day, and easily change dates and participants.
View and Edit Itinerary - New Itinerary
For newly created itineraries, the interface provides a clean slate with intuitive tools to build the perfect trip.
My Calendar
The calendar integration provides a comprehensive view of all travel plans and personal commitments. Users can see upcoming trips and activities and integrate outside calendars. Two views: written out schedule, or a visual look.
Conclusion
PlanIt is a fun and functional app that helps groups plan trips by aligning on dates, destinations, and activities.
While the design system gave us a strong foundation, I quickly realized how tricky it is to maintain visual consistency, especially when not everyone sticks to agreed-upon styles. This project challenged me to stay organized, communicate clearly, and step up when things needed extra care. If we did it again, I'd make sure we clarified roles earlier, and set up the design system in a way that made it easier for everyone to follow.
I'd also love to explore how we could bring in more communication tools between friends earlier in the flow, since collaboration is such a big part of trip planning. Overall, I'm proud of what we built together and how much I grew through the process.
