TravFi
Providing users access to their travel plans both on and offline.
OBJECTIVE
Reimaging my senior college UX project 5 years into my professional career to understand my knowledge growth and industry changes.
MY ROLE
Brainstorming Concept Ideation
Research
Brand Design
Wireframing
Prototyping
TOOLS
Adobe XD
Figma
Paper & Pen
Whiteboard
Solo Project
DURATION
4 Weeks
The Challenge
Would my 2019 University Case Study still be relevant in 2025's IOS app marketplace?
As a university student, I researched and designed a travel app to help consumers access their travel plans without cellular data or public Wi-Fi. Since then, the iOS travel app marketplace, consumer travel habits, and data plan costs have changed how users expect travel apps to function. Using my research and designs from over 5 years ago as a base, I asked questions, made assumptions, researched new data, sketched, wireframed, analyzed UX patterns, iterated on designs, and validated assumptions to improve upon the initial idea.
What changes in the market and growth as a UX designer resulted in changes from the orginal 2019 design to the 2025 revamp?
The Solution
From university designs to reevaluating the current market, redesigning wireframes, and fully prototyping the final result, this approach created a streamlined flow with new visual designs and better UX pattern implementation.
Key Details
Research
Guiding Questions
Since my initial research and idea generation 5+ years ago, many aspects of the travel industry have changed. User expectations are different, industry standards are more robust, and my skills as a designer have improved. Due to time constraints, two key areas guided my analysis of the new travel app marketplace.
Do users still need an offline travel app that focuses on an iOS-only marketplace? If so, is there data readily available to support this? My assumptions in the initial design included the hypothesis that most travel users would pay for data or Wi-Fi access while travelling.
Given that application download fatigue is a barrier to app adoption, would the differences in this design be sufficient to convince users to download the app?
View Sources
Offline App Need
While most users expect to pay for data when travelling, reducing the amount of data apps use is necessary. In fact, most travel guides recommend downloading an offline map.
App Download Fatigue
As app download rates fall and users become more selective about what stays on their phones, strong UX becomes one of the most important factors in retaining them.
View Sources
Takeaways
Publicly Available Data
Compared to 2019, the amount of data now available to me on users' travel habits and phone usage allows me to make more data-driven decisions.
Understanding of Accessability
While learning about design in college, accessibility was mentioned, but it wasn't a focus of design. All designs are now checked against accessibility standards before moving to production.
Growth
Over multiple years of daily UX practice, I have improved my skills in user research, analysis, design patterns, visual design, and component libraries. Users notice bad UX, but good UX goes silent, and I'm working towards that ability.
Reflection
Design for Mobile Apps
As I've grown over the past few years as a designer, consultant, and technology user, the expectations I have for seamless, high-quality UX have also grown. With most of my focus on enterprise-level responsive design, delving into mobile app design changed my perspective on how to design at that level in my everyday work, ensuring that what I create for desktop can seamlessly translate to future mobile designs. After reviewing my old designs, it's now obvious to me how much I didn't know or understand about visual design, mobile app UX patterns, and best practices. Accessibility, readability, font sizes, color theory, and brand coherence are all foundational to a great mobile app, yet they're among the first things to be underestimated or ignored.
Personal Trip Planning Experience
Since graduating from college, I've had the opportunity to plan multiple trips for various purposes, from business travel to vacations. Reviewing this design after my travel experience shaped the new design changes to focus on quickly finding information, navigating without confusion, pulling up directions, and staying flexible when travel plans shift.
Next Steps
Learn more about UX design in mobile apps; what works, what hinders mobile users, and how AI has changed the landscape.
Improving the visual design through feedback sessions with users that are easily accessible to me.
The idea that a travel app should work offline in 2019 wasn't new, but the market wasn't as saturated as it is today. For users whose current needs aren't being met by existing apps, leveraging research conducted over the last four weeks could better position TravFi in the iOS App Store.
