Problem
“How can I plan a unique trip to less-known destinations?”
Hidden Gems
Hidden Gems curates personalized trips to destinations off the beaten path as a way to combat the effects of overtourism. They want to reignite the joy of discovery in taking new journeys through their app. Their users should be able to customize the kind of trip that they want to experience.
Project details:
My Role: UX/UI Designer and Researcher
Tools: Figma, Pen&Paper, Google Forms
Deliverables: UX Research process and results, Process presentation, Wireframes & Prototypes
Explore the prototype here.
How travelers decide on their destination?
I read Booking.com’ sustainable travel report, and then ran surveys and did competitive analysis to understand what would be needed to build this app. My key takeaways are that potential users:
care about over-tourism and are interested in exploring less-known destinations
would like more information about activities at destinations rather than just the accommodations
need to have additional information around health and safety such as potable water, or crime rate and local tips, in order to feel more confident to book the trip
want to discover attractions nearby and be able to navigate to them in-app
want an app where they can read reviews, rate, and also navigate in that destination
User personas guide the prioritization of features
Based on gathered data from the user research (surveys, and interviews with travellers and expats in Bangkok) as well as existing user data the start-up already had, I developed two distinct user personas that summarised the type of audience we should target. Once we had defined these two personas and their distinct needs, we were able to prioritise features and content that they needed such as adding practical information about the destination, creating a button that would randomly pick a place for the user, and separating activities from destinations.
Wireframing a solution
User personas, business needs, and the limited engineering resources helped us prioritise features we could deliver in our MVP. I then created wireframes and iterated based on feedback gathered through asynchronous messaging with research participants. What became clear is that this app should encourage discovery and a sense of excitement by improving important content such as photo layout.
Working smarter not harder
Since I was pulled into this project from the start, I had the opportunity to help build the brand. I also knew that the project would involve multiple iterations that needed to be released quickly so I wanted to cut the time down in my design process by already having the start of a design system in mind.
Validate prototype’s usability
Once the prototype was ready, I ran some usability testing by approaching potential users in a cafe and asking for their feedback.
Key takeaways were:
users preferred to discover destinations through their interest in a particular activity as opposed to a destination
they had trouble looking at the photos and text that had a green overlay which made is less accessible
they wanted to be able to book restaurant reservations, rent motorcycles on one app (in addition to activities)
Iteration and Improved Flow
Based on the feedback, I was able to convince my stakeholders to let me restructure the flow before we built the app. I adjusted and simplified the user flow to allow for trips to be suggested around certain activities the user chooses. I then improved the photo clarity and text legibility since users were more attracted by posts that had colourful photos and legible text.
Learnings & Challenges
My agile way of working was put to the test: multiple iterations were made as feedback was collected at different stages of the process.
What I found the most challenging was working without the feedback from stakeholders such as developers since they had not been recruited yet.