Kaustub
Adventurize
Bringing locals and tourists together
Being a passionate traveler, I wanted to find ways to enhance tourist experience.
An extensive research of the tourism industry was done to find out possible gaps where user experience can be enhanced.
Understanding the industry in detail
Researching about all the stakeholders and their relations with each other.
History of tourism and why people tend to do it, to understand the psychological reasons for the success of this industry.
Through mock interviews of frequent explorers and travel enthusiasts, these were a few key takeaways that I were worth noting
1
”Most of the information we gain is mostly through a tour guide”
2
“Tour websites are extremely commercialized and don't talk about niche spots”
3
“Some Public transport routes are often known just by the locals.”
Tourists face difficulties when navigating new cities due to the challenge of finding accurate and trustworthy local information. This hinders their ability to fully experience and explore their destinations.
Enhancing tourist experience
Adventurize - A thread that weaves locals and tourists together
Real-time information from locals
City-based communities
Sharing details about a city in exchange for gamified rewards.
Forums for specific queries
Structuring an intuitive forum-based platform
Understanding our target consumers
User Personas were formulated to figure out the behavioral traits of the target audience that would be using this app on a daily basis. User personas can be broadly divided into two categories: Locals who want to archive their memories of their city, and avid travelers who want to find niche spots to explore. I had formulated three personas to have a better diversity in the age categories and diverse demographic segmentation.
Stepping into the shoes of our Persona, Eren
Eren Giridharan, a software engineer who just shifted to Mumbai wants to explore the cuisines of the city.
Creating a UI for the researched task flows
Starting with low fidelity sketches
Why red for the UI?
Expresses enthusiasm to embark upon new adventures.
Symbolizes warmth and comfort, as the app stands for a friendly community formed between locals and tourists.
Visually stands out among its competing traveling apps which are mostly in the tones of blue or green.
Usability test to find out possible errors
Key Insights:
Tags which are not meant to be clicked are being mistaken for a CTA button due to the same color is the existing buttons.
The trending section on the explore page is overwhelming as the visual hierarchy is misguiding the user.
User intuitively wants to click on a profile picture to visit their profile, but that option is given on the hamburger icon next to the profile picture.
The badges on the profiles are illegible due to low contrast between white and the color being used.
Changes made on the final iteration:
Tags on posts have been given a neutral shade of grey clarify that there's no CTA.
Trending section cards have been rectified to have a better visual hierarchy, and fonts have been reduced where necessary.
Profile pictures directly navigate to their respective profiles. One can also navigate to the profiles through the hamburger option.
Badges have been rectified to have better contrast and visual understanding.
Overall balance of red on the app has been rectified to make it appealing and a comforting experience for the user.
Final App prototype
A final app iteration was made with better visual hierarchy and contrast, which were assessed during the user feedback. Please refresh the prototype on the right twice to have a seamless experience.
Why would Adventurize stand out?
Unlike other tourism apps that may offer one way information, generic travel guides or basic transportation assistance, Adventurize creates a collaborative and dynamic environment where tourists can access personalized, localized advice directly from locals.
The gamified element adds fun and credibility, rewarding locals for their contributions and ensuring tourists get the most relevant, up to date information.
Ensuring a win-win situation through gamification
The gamification system encourages engagement by awarding users with badges.
Motivates locals to provide valuable information
Also helps tourists identify trustworthy sources.