Travel Startup App
Design System, Research, Mobile UI
Client
Bunji Travel App
Timeline
12 months
My role
Design System, Interaction Design, UI Design
Tools
A travel app for helping travelers just go.
Planning a trip has become a stress with how much information is online. My team felt like there was so much to research and plan, but no resources to help travelers just start traveling.
This case study explores how I developed Bunji from a concept to a personalized travel app, using databases like GoogleMaps API.
The Challenge
How might we create a travel app that people can trust?
A user-friendly and personalized take on itinerary apps.
My team felt that the beauty of traveling had been lost to pretty photos with no substance. Travelers were going to Google or Instagram and needed a new tool they could trust.
Our solution was Bunji.
My role.
As a cofounder and designer, I was responsible for conducting market research and leading the app's design vision. I carried Bunji from concept, to wireframes, to Figma prototypes, all the way to investment.
RESEARCH
Design thinking and unexpected challenges.
Early discoveries with competitive analysis.
With a vision to help travelers, we set out to find how we could fit into each new trip.
Starting by conducting market research, I identified market gaps in the travel market to inform the design process before we had a solution in mind.
Competitive analysis (.IMG)
Users were overwhelmed with options.
During our research and interviews with travel content creators, we realized existing travel apps were burdening users with decision paralysis.
Users already felt frustrated sorting through low quality content and locations they had seen a hundred times, so we focused on identifying new methods to save everyone time and help users travel faster.
Competitive analysis findings (.IMG)
Learning what content was rewarded.
Users were relying on sites like Google, Instagram, and travel platforms to pick where they would travel.
From our interviews, we learned that Google was overburdening users with information, Instagram was rewarding beauty and popularity, and travel platforms encouraged the highest price point.
These models didn't encourage high-value content.
Value proposition (.IMG)
REFRAMING THE PROBLEM
Travel is competitive and confusing... it shouldn’t be.
The root of the problem.
Trust in the travel industry was plummeting because users can feel when they are being mislead. Travelers needed a platform which rewards insightful travel information and higher quality content.
We had an opportunity to rethink our challenge. Instead of asking how we could design a travel app that people can trust, we asked…
"How can we connect travelers with real locals who love the places they live?"
The future of travel.
We knew we could shape the future of travel, so we asked ourselves how we could reward content creators who are motivated to connect travelers with their culture.
WIREFRAMES
Identifying Pain Points through Wireframing.
Brainstorming.
Defining the factors critical to our startup's success, my design partner and I began designing user flows, initial sketches and wireframes for the app.
User flow (.IMG)
Sketches and low-fidelity wireframes (.IMG)
DESIGN SOLUTION
Making travel accessible, allowing anybody to feel like a local.
A community based on trust.
For travelers who value community over marketing and followers, Bunji helps you find quality places to visit. Bunji prioritizes engagement by bringing content based on your personal interests to you.
Recommend.
Personalized itineraries as you travel.
Bunji recommends ideas for spontaneous travelers away from home and larger plans for travelers who who want to do their research first.
Personalization means their is always relevant content .
Plan.
Connected itineraries you can adjust on the go.
Travelers with any experience level or budget can benefit from the app's prompting system, which creates personalized trips.
Switch between auto-populating trips and adding your own ideas to create a personal dream trip.
Share.
Build visual scrapbooks to remember every step of the journey
Create a vision of traveling, rooting users first in community and content.
Build lasting memories in app by sharing itineraries with friends and adding photos and comments as you travel
Connect.
Explore and connect with friends to learn about the world.
By building a community of travelers willing to offer advice and premium plans, Bunji creates a revenue flow in and out of Bunji.
Follow travel influencers or locals in places you are traveling to for a more unique and real expereince.
Develop and design in Bunji to release in market by the post-Covid travel boom so friends can really connect.
