Booking platform
I envisioned a grounbreaking initiative to transform the landscape of solo female travel. S.T.E.P.S. is dedicated to serving the needs of the solo female traveler, providing safe, affordable, and personalized travel options that allow women to explore the world with confidence and ease.
Timeline
From explorations to final designs in 3 weeks
Background
The travel industry has experienced significant growth in recent years, and mobile apps have become an essential part of the travel experience. However, young solo female travelers feel unsafe & unsupported when traveling alone and they struggle to find affordable safe options.
We need to develop new ways of thinking if we want to design better solutions, services and experiences that solve our current problems.
Empathize
In this stage it is important to set aside assumptions to gain insights into the users and their needs. I did this with user interviews to exam the user experience while booking travel to gain insights into the usability of the product and potential pain points that could begin guiding hte design process.
Define
This phase is all about bringing clarity and focus to the design space—to make sense of the vast array of information gathered about the users to understand which meaningful design challenge you should address.
Items completed: Competitive Analysis, User Persona, Empathy Map, and a Problem Statement.
Ideate
Generating ideas is one of the most important steps in this phase to come up with creative ideas that address the users' problems by looking beyond the usual methods. Go wide or go home!
Items completed: Brainstorming sessions, Journey Map, Storyboarding, User Flows, Wireframes, and Value Proposition.
Prototype
This step makes thinking tangible; it provides other people with a view into your thinking so they can contribute to it; prototypes show what you know and what you don’t know, allowing for an iterative process to continue to refine a solution.
Items completed: Wireframes, Mid-Fidelity Prototype, Hi-Fidelity Prototype.
Testing & Delivery
Insights into the usability of your product through more testing can be gained to make iterations to the design to further meet the users' needs. This process can save time and money down the road. Once testing and additional ideations are completed the project can be delivered.
Items completed: Guerilla Testing, 3 Major Improvements to the design, Deliverables.
S.T.E.P.S. is an innovative travel app designed to empower young solo female travelers to solve concerns about booking safe and affordable travel so they can explore the world with confidence.
Safe Affordable Travel
Solve the concerns about booking safe and affordable travel by providing reviews, offering trips that cater to each person’s needs, and gathering information on different options to weigh the pros and cons.
Community Forum
Assist female travelers in making meaningful connections with other travelers. Provide practical advice and tips for traveling to specific destinations. Offer emotional support and encouragement.
Connect Travelers
Take the opportunity to meet new people and expand your social network. This will not only help gain confidence but also enhance the overall travel experience by ensuring that it is safe and enjoyable.
This was my first project in boot camp and I learned so much! This project provided the structure and roadmap I lacked as a freelance designer. My love for UX Research and UI Design was clear!
User Research is the Foundation
As the project progressed, research played a crucial role in helping me understand the user's needs better. Conducting user testing on the wireframes proved to be highly beneficial as it provided fresh perspectives and uncovered details I had missed.
Follow the Flow Chart!
Although it appeared simple at first, I strayed from my flowchart and paper prototype, assuming I required more than necessary. Consequently, I became perplexed and wasted precious time attempting to rectify a multitude of frames. This lesson was reinforced when my users also became bewildered during the prototype testing.
Toss-Iterate-Repeat:
I discovered the significance of avoiding fixation on a specific concept. If something wasn't effective, I had to be open to promptly changing direction to improve the project. I acknowledged the importance of frequently referencing the UX research to guide my efforts. Cheers to iteration!