As a Product Designer, I independently conceptualized and developed the Eco-Travel app, identifying key opportunities to promote sustainable travel by conducting comprehensive research, synthesizing insights to inform user-centric design decisions.
The eco-travel app was part of a course project where we were tasked with building a travel app.
I chose to focus on eco-friendly travel to meet the rising demand for sustainable tourism and to contribute to the global movement toward environmentally conscious living.
The app emphasizes green travel options, responsible tourism practices, and supporting local eco-initiatives.
People want to travel using eco-friendly modes of transport in efforts to protect the environment. The problem is that it's difficult to travel freely and easily without leaving behind a carbon footprint.
Create an app that is for the sole purpose sers to be able to plan their travels byeco-friendly & sustainable options.
According to research, in 2023, sustainable travel remains a priority for many, but challenges persist. A survey by Booking.com revealed that 76% of travelers want to embrace sustainable travel, yet they face obstacles like high costs and a lack of available sustainable options.
Additionally, 49% find sustainable travel too expensive, and 45% believe it’s important but not a primary consideration when planning trips. These barriers contribute to a sense of disillusionment, with 33% feeling that their efforts won’t make a significant impact and 28% weary of constant climate change discussions. Despite this, the desire for sustainability is strong, with 75% planning to travel more sustainably in 2024.
To ensure the development of the Eco-Travel app was both user-centric and competitive, I conducted thorough research on existing travel platforms such as Skyscanner and Expedia. This involved a detailed competitive analysis to understand their strengths, weaknesses, and the gaps in their offerings related to sustainable travel.
I analyzed Skyscanner's features, noting its user interface, ease of booking, and options for filtering eco-friendly flights.
I examined Expedia's extensive travel packages, accommodation options, and any existing sustainability features.
Through the surveys, I was able to collect some key insights on the participant's views regarding eco-friendly travel and what some of the short-comings were.
Through the surveys, I was able to collect some key insights on the participant's views regarding eco-friendly travel.
Users simply didn't have...
To gain insights into sustainable travel preferences, I conducted one-on-one interviews with 5 users. I explored their travel habits, challenges with sustainable travel, and desired app features.
The interviews revealed valuable themes and specific user needs, shaping the app's design and functionality. Notable trends and commonalities emerged across participants’ responses.
After completing the competitive analysis and user research, I proceeded to craft a user persona. This persona synthesized the insights gathered from real users, allowing me to visualize their needs, behaviors, and goals vividly.
By empathizing with their motivations and pain points, I ensured that every design decision in the app catered specifically to enhancing their experience and supporting their eco-friendly travel preferences.
How might we create an app centered around sustainable travel, that also provides users with information, so that they can successfully make empowered decisions based on the data we’ve collected so far?
After synthesizing insights from user research and competitive analysis, I translated these findings into a user journey map tailored specifically for Caroline. This map illuminated key touchpoints and interactions throughout her eco-friendly travel booking and planning process, highlighting opportunities to streamline and enhance her experience.
By visualizing Caroline's path—from initial awareness of sustainable travel options to booking and post-trip reflections—I ensured that the app effectively guided and supported her in making environmentally conscious travel choices at every stage. This approach aimed to make Caroline's journey seamless, informative, and empowering, reinforcing the app's commitment to sustainable travel practices.
After defining the problem and understanding Caroline's needs, I proceeded to create a user flow diagram. This diagram visually mapped out Caroline's journey within the app, illustrating step-by-step how she would interact with various features and functionalities.
By detailing each touchpoint from initial login to booking eco-friendly travel options, I ensured a smooth and intuitive user experience aligned with Caroline's goals. This user flow diagram served as a blueprint for designing seamless interactions and guiding Caroline towards achieving her sustainable travel objectives effectively.
In the prototype phase, I began by creating paper wireframes to quickly visualize and iterate on design concepts. These low-fidelity wireframes allowed me to sketch out the core structure and layout of the app's interfaces. Based on insights from user interviews, I made sure to include key features that addressed Caroline's needs and pain points, such as...
Using paper wireframes, I was able to rapidly prototype and refine these features, ensuring they aligned with user feedback and the app’s overarching goal of promoting eco-friendly travel. This process laid a solid foundation for developing more detailed digital prototypes in the subsequent stages.
After finalizing the paper wireframes, I transitioned to creating digital wireframes to add more detail and precision to the design. Using Figma, I translated the hand-drawn sketches into digital formats, ensuring consistency and clarity in the layout and design elements.
After finalizing the paper wireframes, I transitioned to creating digital wireframes to add more detail and precision to the design. Using Figma, I translated the hand-drawn sketches into digital formats, ensuring consistency and clarity in the layout and design elements.
In these wireframes...
After completing the digital wireframes, I created an interactive prototype to simulate user interactions and test the app's flow and functionality.
Usability testing with participants provided feedback, helping refine the design and address potential issues early.
This iterative process ensured a user-centered design aligned with user needs, leading to a more polished final product.
The objectives of the user test were to validate design decisions and ensure the prototype effectively met user needs and expectations, with a focus on to...
Based on the user tests, I compiled the data into a priority matrix to see what changes I would need to make, and what the effort-impact ratio would be.
From the data, I analyzed the insights and decided to focus on addressing a few of the remarks I gathered from users during testing.
Based on the user tests, I compiled the data into a priority matrix to see what changes I would need to make, and what the effort-impact ratio would be.
From the data, I analyzed the insights and decided to focus on addressing a few of the remarks I gathered from users during testing.
After testing and gathering feedback, I created the final app mockups. Due to time constraints, I skipped a detailed style guide and relied on design intuition to ensure cohesion.
The mockups incorporated feedback, such as increasing spacing, making text boxes clickable, improving eco-friendly information visibility, and separating sign-up and login pages. Despite the tight timeline, I maintained consistency in colors, typography, and layout to deliver a polished, user-friendly design.
Overall, this project reinforced my commitment to user-centered design, the value of iterative processes, and the need for flexibility in the face of challenges. It also highlighted the rewarding experience of designing solutions that have a positive impact on both users and the environment.
Working solo on this project as a personal case study allowed me to deeply engage with every aspect of the design process. However, there's always room for improvement. Here are the steps I would take next:
