Lovely Locale
Project Overview: Lovely Locale is a travel planning app that offers personalized destination recommendations based on individual preferences, making trip planning stress-free and enjoyable.
Tools Used: Figma, Figjam, Trello, Canva, Adobe Color, Slack, Google Sheets, Google Drive, and Google Slides
Team Members: Jae Stephens, Niral Patel, Lore Crews, Alejandro Martinez, Daniel Noguez, Ayanna Poole
Timeline: 4 Weeks
My Roles and Responsibilities: As a project team member for Lovely Locale, I contributed to research, ideation, and prototype development. I focused on wireframing and incorporating user feedback. This effort played a crucial role in determining the project's direction, improving user experiences, and ultimately guaranteeing the project's success by meeting user needs and expectations.
The Problem: People are stressed, shift away from utilizing travel services to find the perfect travel destination, and depend on word of mouth and social media.
The Solution: Lovely Locale offers a stress-free and personalized way to choose a travel destination to plan a vacation.
User Research
Preface
The Problem: Nowadays, many people feel overwhelmed when trying to choose the ideal travel destination. They are relying less on travel agencies and more on friends' suggestions and what they see on social media.
Introducing Lovely Locale! We are here to make a difference. Our company provides a hassle-free and customized approach to assist you in selecting your ideal vacation destination. Finding the perfect destination is now easier and more personalized, without any hassle.
Interviews
““There are not a lot of tours offered, or things to do in the area we are planning on visiting. It’s not cartered to everything we want. Simple places with a lot of history. Things local people will tell you about. You have to search for it. That info does not pop up.”
”
““I wish there was an app where I could type in all the activities I wanted to do and then the app map if out for me. I would like to see the distance between everything I want to do, so that I can efficiently plan transportation. Being able to map out the itinerary would be helpful when planning. I want to map out my itinerary for the day and also map out the distance between each location.”
”
During the brainstorming session that our team had together, we decided that one of our primary research objectives should be to learn more about the decision-making process that travelers use when choosing their vacation spots. In order to do this, we took part in a total of six informative one-on-one interviews. What came as very evident was the general population's demand for a more individualized approach to the planning process. As people set out on their travel adventures, they are looking for a seamless combination of ease, cost, and security in their trips.
Affinity Diagram and Empathy Map
Demographic
Preference
Planning
After analyzing the data we collected, our team organized the research findings, thoughts, concerns, and ideas into different categories. Each of these categories was then given a specific label, including:
Demographics: Information about the participants' characteristics and backgrounds.
Travel Methods: Various methods and modes of transportation are taken into account for the journey.
Factors and considerations that influence the choice of a destination.
Planning: Strategies and considerations for successfully arranging the trip.
Booking Techniques: Different ways and strategies are utilized for making reservations.
Concerns: Worries and apprehensions about the travel experience.
Preferences are individual inclinations and likes that influence travel decisions.
Our empathy map includes four aspects in the context of the tourism industry: Says, Does, Thinks, and Feels. This framework offers a thorough understanding of user conduct and feelings, allowing us to design a better tailored travel experience:
Says: Users openly express their want to discover a variety of eating alternatives and express their confidence in personal recommendations. They express a desire for easygoing trips and novel experiences, frequently looking for unusual lodging on websites like Airbnb.
Does: Users aggressively seek out new experiences and cross-cultural interactions, with yearly international travel emerging as a common motif. They place a high value on cultural discovery and enjoy the excitement of experiencing something new. They heavily rely on word-of-mouth to influence their travel choices.
Thinks: The customized touch of organizing their own travel arrangements independently gives them a sense of connection with their vacation plans, they believe. They like becoming lost in the local culture and acknowledge the difficulty of complicated planning while appreciating the simplicity of air travel.
Feels: They strongly identify with the emotion of customization and believe that making their own travel arrangements would give them a closer connection to their adventure. Visiting new places and seeing loved ones again make people happy. They want app features that highlight local viewpoints and facilitate shared spending, as well as more accessible alternatives to conventional travel brokers.
With these considerations in mind, our goal is to develop a travel app that effortlessly satisfies their predilection for air travel, desire for deep exploration, and need for a personalized and cost-effective travel experience. The knowledge gained from this empathy map acts as a compass, pointing us in the direction of a travel encounter that genuinely connects with their needs and ambitions.
Definition and Synthesis
User Persona
Demographics
Location: Orlando, FL
Age: 29
Occupation: Marketing Manager
Education: MBA
Goals
To explore new cultures
Getting immersed in the culture of the locale
Experiencing new things (food, activities, etc.)
Interests
Spending time with family
Eating new foods
Exploring new places
Talking to strangers
Motivations
Relaxation
Visiting family
Spending time away with husband
Needs and Expectations
Flight is the preferred mode of travel
Streamlined planning process
Activities to do in the area
Influences
Social media
Word of mouth
Reviews from locals
User Insight and Problem Statement
While conducting our comprehensive study, we discovered a common issue: many people struggle to choose a destination when using travel apps. The challenge comes from the fact that there are too many options to choose from, and many of them don't have the personalized touch that people are looking for.
Because of this, we have noticed a clear trend of people moving away from traditional travel services. Instead, they are relying more on the advice of their friends, family, and the information available on social media to help them make their decision about where to go. This change emphasizes the importance of a user-centered approach to trip planning that is both efficient and meets the user's needs.
To create a thorough and balanced user insight, we each formed our own perspectives and then collaborated to develop a summary that captured the essence of our findings.
User Insight: Lisa requires a travel destination selection process that aligns with her need for a stress-free and personalized experience, considering her propensity to become easily stressed and her limited availability of time.
After analyzing the information we gathered from our users, we then created our "How Might We" questions. This required describing the precise issues or locations of discomfort we had discovered as well as articulating the intended effects. We then condensed these into brief "How Might We" questions that captured the core of our challenges. We created a viewpoint statement by combining important elements: the product, user, need, and insight. This gave us a complete understanding of the situation. Afterward, we refined our problem statement to clearly summarize the main issue we were tackling. We participated in group conversations to produce ideas and clarify our knowledge. By bouncing ideas off one another, we were able to create a problem statement that was precise in expressing our objectives and insights.
Problem Statement: Lisa requires a travel destination selection process that aligns with her need for a stress-free and personalized experience, considering her propensity to become easily stressed and her limited availability of time.
Competitor Analysis
Trip Advisor
thrives on its unmatched user-generated ratings and extensive travel information, helping travelers make educated selections.
Airbnb
Offering unique and personalized lodging experiences in a diverse range of locations, fosters a sense of belonging for travelers.
Booking.com
A superb mobile experience with easy booking. Over 27 million lodging properties in each area, with clear pricing and no hidden costs.
Kayak
The brand is well-known and has many affiliations with various other booking sites.
Expedia
Offering a wide range of travel services and accommodations under one platform, providing convenience and choice to travelers.
Our team conducted a thorough analysis of both direct and indirect competitors like Expedia, TripAdvisor, Booking.com, Airbnb, and Kayak. To do this, we employed Usability Heuristics and SWOT Analysis techniques. This combined approach allowed us to uncover the strengths and weaknesses of our competitors, helping us gain a competitive edge. Some of the advantages we identified include:
Streamlined on boarding process for users.
Ability to stay updated on current travel trends.
Utilizing surveys to tailor vacation options to individual preferences.
Offering a single app for booking accommodations, flights, and adventures.
Feature Priority Matrix
In order to determine which aspects of our product were most important, our group collaborated and used the MoSCoW technique. Our key objective was to remain faithful to the idea that we are here to help our consumers build the ideal holiday of their dreams. We made it a point to ensure that the essential features included not only industry-standard functionality, such as the capability to sort destination ratings, but also our one-of-a-kind selling factors, such as the personality questionnaire, which is what truly sets our app apart from the competition.
Value Proposition
Choosing a vacation spot doesn't have to be that difficult thanks to Lovely Locale, a state-of-the-art travel matching software. Our dedication to serving each customer's specific requirements is what makes us distinct. We've earned their trust by taking on the role of conventional travel agents in planning their ideal getaway.
The value proposition of Lovely Locale is the driving reason behind the success of our travel app. It clarifies our app's goal and the value it gives in simplifying destination choices for users. In a competitive market, our distinct features set us apart, and our customer-centric strategy leads product development and marketing activities. Finally, Lovely Locale's value proposition is key to our aim of reinventing and improving the travel experience for all users.
Storyboard
Lisa needs to plan a surprise trip for her husband on short notice and doesn’t know where they should go.
Lisa already knows that she wants to go to a new city to explore the culture, which has live concerts and new foods she and her spouse haven’t tried before. But there are so many options that Lisa doesn’t know which is best for her vacation.
Lisa answers a few quick questions in the app to find the perfect place for their trip.
Lisa hears about an app called Lovely Locale that can help her with her upcoming trip and downloads it.
She found the perfect surprise vacation spot that met all the criteria she needed to fill.
After we were satisfied with our value proposition, we moved on to the next step of developing our app, Lovely Locale, by writing a detailed narrative that provides an accurate representation of the app's user experience.
Ideation
User Flow
Lovely Locale's user flow has been designed to align with our core value proposition and enhance the user experience. When users arrive on our platform, they are presented with two brief introduction screens to give them context. You are then given two options: either create an account to access all features or start our unique destination-matching quiz right away.
Users have the option to retake the quiz after receiving their initial results in order to explore different travel options. If they are ready to start their personalized travel journey, they can easily move on to the account signup process. Our design is user-friendly, which shows our dedication to providing a smooth and enjoyable experience. This also highlights our focus on putting the customer first.
Prototyping
Low-Fidelity Prototyping
High-Fidelity Prototyping
Our team worked together to create wireframes, focusing on a specific aspect of our project. Later, we worked together to evaluate these wireframes as a group. After carefully considering all aspects, we chose to combine different elements from each wireframe. Our goal is to create a simple and user-friendly design.
Improving user convenience has been a major focus of our project. We have added various navigation options to our app so that users can quickly sign up and participate in our quiz. This focus on the user ensures a seamless and pleasant experience for everyone. The examples shown here demonstrate parts of the survey and the results page, giving you a preview of our dedication to providing a project that is easy to use.
User Testing and Outcomes
In order to obtain insight into how users would interact with the prototype of our app, we carried out individual user tests. The results of these user tests presented us with a concrete illustration of how a client may react when they first encounter our product. Through this procedure, we were able to view our app from the point of view of the user. The feedback for the app was generally positive, and it worked as intended. We were advised to use language that is inclusive and add a share button to the results page.
Conclusion and Recent Updates
Conclusion
To enhance this prototype, we would expand the search options available within the app. We will continue researching various locations to discover the popular local spots. This will help us create a trustworthy list of destination options based on the survey results. This would enable us to create a list of activities to do at each destination in our survey. All the features in the app would be clickable. We would have many destinations to choose from and create manual trip planning options. Additionally, we offer travel deals and packages that our users can take advantage of.