TravFi

Providing users access to their travel plans online or offline.

TIMELINE

1 Month

PEOPLE

Solo Project

MOBILE APP

Design Growth

OPPORTUNITY

Is accessing travel plans without cellular service still needed?

In 2019, as a university student, I researched and designed a travel app based on the need for consumers to access their travel plans without cellular data service or relying on public wifi networks. Since then, the travel app marketplace (specifically IOS), consumers’ travel habits, and the cost of data plans have changed how users expect travel apps to function. Using my research and designs from five years ago as a base, I asked questions, made assumptions, created design iterations, and validated my assumptions with data.

RESEARCH

Did my validation research substantiate a need for an offline travel app?

In short, yes. Some of the many questions I asked:

  • Is it possible to understand if users need an offline travel application in the current IOS marketplace? I assumed most users would pay to access data or Wi-Fi while traveling. Is there any data available to validate this?

  • Can I clearly define who this application would be for? Who are my users? Are there any users? Would my persona from 2019 still hold value?

  • Would users want to download another app to their phones? Is there still a need to download multiple applications when traveling for offline use?

2019 DESIGNS

What were the designs I that iterated and on what improvements did I focus?

Beyond re-imagining the user flow, and validating the 2019 research, iterations of the design included:

  • Color, typography, contrast, and accessibility testing

  • Spacing, padding, and screen size changes for modern phones

  • Meeting user expectations through common design formats.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

What areas of growth happened?

  1. Compared to my initial research years ago, there is a lot more data publicly available based on users' travel habits and phone app usage to make data-driven decisions.

  1. Accessibility not only improves the targeted user groups' ability to use digital media, but it also impacts the end design for all application users. This includes improved font sizes and better color contrast on smaller devices, like phones, where this application would be the primary use case.

  1. Daily practice over the past five years has improved my knowledge of UX design, but also my understanding and appreciation of how impactful good design can be. People usually do NOT notice good UX design, as it works in the background, allowing them to quickly accomplish their task. However, as digital products impact more of our everyday lives, people do notice imperfect design when it hinders their ability to complete their task.