PROJECT OVERVIEW
DURATION:
8 weeks
MY ROLE
Product Design
TOOLS USED
Figma, Adobe Illustrator,
Photoshop, XD
PLATFORM
IOS
THE TEAM
Independent Project
SKILLS
UX Research, UI Design,
Interaction Design
PROBLEM
Travelers find it challenging to build a pre-planned trip itinerary with the option of flexibility to make changes
to their travel plans.
SOLUTION
Introducing Sahara, a travel app that offers go-to solution for travelers seeking both structure and flexibility in their journeys.
PROCESS OVERVIEW
User Research
Interview • Affinity Diagram • Empathy Map • Survey •
User Persona
CHALLENGE
Despite the abundance of travel apps, users face difficulties in navigating and utilizing them effectively, particularly in building pre-planned trip itineraries and accommodating any changes in itinerary based on their interests, preferences, and constraints.
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH:
USER INTERVIEWS
Method:
In order to generate empathy and understand the travel challenges of the users, I interviewed 5 candidates of 55-65 years age group.
I followed the semi-structured interview technique and asked them 18 questions to understand their pain points, preferences,
and behaviors related to travel planning.
Interview Objectives:
What kind of travel habits do users (Senior traveler)s have?
What are their preferences for preplanned itineraries?
What are the level of flexibility users desire? Why?
AFFINITY DIAGRAM & EMPATHY MAP
Organized insights from interviews into affinity diagrams and empathy maps for deeper understanding of users pain point and preferences.
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH:
As the next step of my Research phase I gathered quantitative data by conducting a survey of 25 people of the same age range and found some valuable insights.
USER SURVEY
Key Findings:
Desire for Convenience: Senior travelers appreciate preplanned itineraries as they offer convenience and reduce decision-making stress.
Need for Flexibility: While seniors enjoy preplanned itineraries, they also value the flexibility to make adjustments based on personal interests, health considerations, and spontaneous opportunities.
Accessibility and Ease of Use: The app must feature intuitive navigation, clear instructions, and accessibility options to accommodate users with varying levels of technological proficiency.
Safety and Security: Seniors prioritize safety and may require features such as emergency assistance, real-time location tracking, and easy access to important contacts.
USER PERSONA
Developed 2 different user personas based on research findings. This is a refined version of our target user and helps me understand the thought process, travel decisions, influences etc pf different users in a more better way.
Empathize
User Insights • Problem Statement • Value Proposition • User Scenario • Journey Mapping
USER INSIGHT STATEMENT
“Mary needs a pre planned trip itinerary with an option of flexibility because she likes to have control over making changes to her itinerary - if needed, due to her liking of a
place or health or other factors.”
PROBLEM STATEMENT
HOW MIGHT WE design an app that empowers users to customize pre-planned itineraries according to their preferences and constraints?
FEATURE PRIORITIZATION MATRIX
After the Ideation phase, begins the UX Storytelling phase where I used different techniques to understand the user’s pain points, scenario, User Journey etc.
UX STORYTELLING
JOURNEY MAP
Ideate
Competitor Analysis • User Flow • Sketches • Low fi Prototype • User Testing
I thoroughly evaluated existing travel apps to identify their strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement, informing our design strategy.
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
USER FLOW (For Travel Assistance)
This is the User flow that I created for Travel Assistance. By mapping out the user journey from start to finish,
I pinpointed key touchpoints and interactions, ensuring a seamless experience for our users.
SKETCHES:
I created rough sketches to visualize initial design concepts and iterated on ideas to ensure the best possible solutions for our users.
LO-FI PROTOTYPE:
After initial paper sketched the next step is to develop low-fidelity prototypes which allowed me to test basic functionalities early on, gathering valuable feedback to refine my design approach.
Initial user testing sessions were conducted to validate design assumptions and identify areas for improvement, setting the stage for future refinement. Following were the goals for first round of user testing:
Goal #1: Evaluate how easily users can input key travel details and generate a full itinerary.
Goal #2: Test if users can clearly view, understand, and trust the generated itinerary.
Goal #3: Assess the visual comfort and accessibility for seniors
USER TESTING – Round 1
TASK ASSIGNED:
The testers were requested to perform the following tasks and share their experiences:
Create a Travel Plan from Start to Finish
Review and Understand the Itinerary
Provide Feedback on Visual Accessibility
FEEDBACK:
Positive Feedback:
Concept is very helpful for senior citizens.
Navigation was smooth and easy.
Visuals and colors were appreciated.
Pictures enhanced the user experience.
Suggestions for Improvement:
More accessibility features recommended (e.g., zoomed views, larger fonts on key screens).
Suggested future features include car rentals, porters, restroom finders, translators, etc.
Additional feature ideas like porter service were discussed.
Design
Moodboard • Style Guide • Hi-fidelity Prototype
STYLE GUIDE
HI-FI PROTOTYPE
A hi-fi (high-fidelity) prototype is created to closely simulate the final product in terms of design, functionality, and user interaction.
Test
User Test • Revisions • Reflections
USER TESTING – Round 2
User Testing Round Two is conducted to refine the design and functionality based on insights from the first round.
TASK ASSIGNED:
Task 1: Clarity of Information and Flow
Task 2: Modify an Existing Itinerary
Task 3: Simulate Booking Confirmation
FEEDBACK/ REVISIONS
Users found the overall flow intuitive, but some instructions could be more explicit.
Suggested adding short tooltips or icons to explain terms like “itinerary” or “round trip.”
Some found the navigation back to previous steps slightly unclear.
Suggested including total price, booking reference, and a print option.
In future rounds, I plan to include users with different tech comfort levels to gather more diverse feedback.
User feedback helped me prioritize accessibility features and emphasize readability in later iterations.
I realized that even simple interactions like date selection can cause confusion if not clearly guided, especially for older users.
