Plan.It

Mobile App

A personalized travel planner that crafts custom itineraries tailored to your preferences and needs for your next destination.

Role: UI UX Designer

Duration: 5 Months

Scope: UI/UX, Wireframing, Prototyping, User Testing

Industry: Travel Industry

Problem:

As travel restrictions ease, many travelers struggle to plan itineraries that match their preferences, interests, and needs. Despite abundant online resources, the process remains time-consuming and stressful, involving countless websites, bookmarks, price comparisons, and assembling a cohesive plan.

Solution:

Plan.It aims to solve this issue with a personalized itinerary builder that creates custom travel plans, offering travelers a seamless and stress-free planning experience.

Design Process

Discover → Define → Ideate → Prototype → Test

Discovery

Research | User Interview | Persona

Research

My research aimed to uncover common pain points and gather insights into travelers' experiences when planning trips. With travel increasing post-pandemic, identifying these challenges was essential to inform my design process. Below are some key pain points I discovered through research

User Interview

Following my secondary research, I conducted five user interviews to gain deeper insights into how users plan their trips. The interviewees were selected based on specific criteria: they travel at least twice a year, are either Gen Z or Millennials, and actively prepare and plan for their trips.

Key Questions Explored:

  • Could you talk through you trip planning journey?

  • How do you usually plan your trips? Do you ask friends for suggestions or do you search online?

  • Can you share an experience where you encountered difficulties when trying to plan for a trip?

  • How would you describe your travel style?

Affinity Map

To analyze the responses from my user interviews, I created an affinity map to help me identify overlaps and observe common patterns among the interviewees. Each color-coded post-it represents a different user, allowing for easy visualization of recurring themes.

Pain Points:

Stress and Overwhelm: Overwhelmed by the amount of websites and resources they need to navigate and the process of coordinating logistics adds to their stress.

Time Consumption: Users expressed frustration with the amount of time spent comparing options and organizing details.

Uncertainty and Confusion: Not knowing how to allocate time across different locations.

Thoughts On The Planning Process:

Complexity: Often have to juggle multiple tasks and sources of information, which can be extremely stressful.

Lack of Streamlined Tools: Lack of tools to simplify the planning process and always have to go on different sites for different informations.

How Users Plan Their Trips:

Manual Organization: Many users use spreadsheets or notes to keep track of their plans.

Online Search: Some users typically do a lot of online searches to gather information and make decisions. This process involves visiting multiple websites, bookmarking attractions, and comparing prices.

Sam Cain- The Spontaneous Traveler

Marketing manager in New York who travels extensively for work and leisure.

Diana Spitz- The Detailed Traveler

An event planner based in California who travels abroad twice every year.

Personas

I developed two personas to represent the key user types for the app: the Spontaneous Traveler and the Detailed Traveler.

Creating these personas allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the diverse needs and preferences of potential users. By focusing on the distinct characteristics and pain points for each persona, I was able to identify key features and prioritize design elements.

Define

HMW Statement

How might we optimize the trip planning process to improve the overall experience for travelers? What are interventions or approaches that could be implemented to streamline planning, cater to individual preferences, and maximize satisfaction throughout the travel journey?

Ideation

User Story | Sketches | Low Fidelity

Route 1:

User Flow

Once I defined my MVPs and the features to include in the design, I created a user flow based on the critical "red routes" I identified. From this, I could visualize the user journey and understand the steps required to complete these key tasks and to sketch and develop my design.

Creating a Personalized Itinerary

User Story

After identifying the needs of my users, I developed user stories to capture their goals and expectations for the product. Key user stories that guided my design focus include:

  1. Centralized Space: An integrated platform to avoid jumping between multiple websites.

  2. Traveler Reviews: Access to other traveler’s reviews to make decisions quickly.

  3. Personalized Recommendations: Users want to specify their preferences to receive curated travel suggestions tailored to their needs.

Creating these user stories revealed key insights into user expectations and helped me identify and prioritize the most important features.

Route 2:

Exploring Destinations

Prototype

Site Map | Low Fidelity | Wireframe

Before going into creating my wireframe, I developed a site map to outline the app’s navigation. This step was to ensuring that the app layout aligned with user needs. By keeping the critical "red routes" in mind, I was able to plan the various user pathways starting from the home page, ensuring a logical and intuitive flow throughout the app.

Wireframes

Low to High Fidelity Screens

1. Home Page

During testing, users noted that the image sizes on the low-fi screens were too small and the provided categories were not very helpful for trip planning. Additionally, the users also mentioned that the navigation bars at the bottom were too small and not sufficiently visible.

2. Trip Detail

One of the main needs identified from users was the desire for a centralized space to access all their travel information in one place. The goal of my design is to allow users to easily manage and review their plans simultaneously.

3. Trip Itinerary

Many users said they often use tools like Google Docs or the notes apps to create charts for their itineraries. With this in mind, I designed the itinerary screen to make it easy for users to see and manage the time allocated for each location.

4. Explore Destination

This allows users to explore activities and add them to their existing itinerary. My goal was to create a space where users can find everything they need for trip planning. I also organized the bottom navigation to be more user-friendly and helpful when exploring a new city.

5. Community

This feature enables users to connect with other travelers. They can view other travelers' reviews and itineraries, gaining insights from real experiences. Many users wanted to see curated reviews from people they know, which inspired this feature.

Test

Usability Test

After developing my high-fidelity screens, I conducted two rounds of usability testing with five users in each round. Users were asked to navigate through the prototype to identify any usability issues or elements that felt off during the process.

Here are some of the most common issues identified, along with the solutions I implemented after the usability tests:

Added “Estimated Duration & Transportation Time” to the Itinerary Section

During testing, many users appreciated the original itinerary view but expressed a need for recommended time allocations at each location. They mentioned that when planning, they often struggle with deciding how much time to spend at each stop.

Additionally, users found it highly beneficial to include recommended transportation methods, as it would simplify their planning process.

Enhanced Profile Screens with Additional Information

In the original design, users felt the profile section lacked functionality, and suggested adding more personal information, such as follower count or posts.

So I re-designed the profile section to include dedicated areas for saved items, past reviews, and past itineraries. Additionally, I also added a new column displaying the number of likes, followers, and following to make the profile more informative.

View and Save Other Travelers' Public Itineraries

Users expressed a desire for more interactive features and found the idea of viewing other travelers' itineraries particularly appealing. Based on this feedback, I added the ability for users to not only view but also save public itineraries created by others, creating more interaction and inspiration within the community.

Style Guide & Mood Board

Reflection

Key Learnings

This was my first UI/UX project, and I’m really happy with how it turned out. Although the process took longer than expected, I gained valuable skills across research, wireframing, and final design, with user collaboration being the most rewarding part. One of the biggest challenges I faced was designing from my own perspective rather than focusing on user needs, reminding me that the design should always center around users. Usability testing also taught me the importance of having a structured guide to gather better insights and maintain a smooth flow during interviews.

Next Steps

In future projects, I hope to focus on the following areas for improvement:

  • Patience during iterations: Not every piece of feedback requires immediate action, but all suggestions should be considered valuable.

  • Attention to detail: Users rely on small details when navigating prototypes, so I’ll make sure to focus on those elements.

  • Accessibility and usability: Ensuring my designs are accessible in terms of color choices, text sizes, and image sizes will continue to be a priority.

This project allowed me to develop my skills in a variety of areas, including user research, wireframing, and interaction design. The final design addresses key user pain points, making the travel planning process easier and more enjoyable.

Let’s connect.

Have questions or want to collaborate? I'd love to hear from you!