TripSync

The Challenge
Group travel planning is notoriously complex. It requires juggling multiple schedules, preferences, and budgets, often leading to frustration and miscommunication. How can we simplify this process, making group travel a source of excitement rather than a logistical nightmare?

The Heart of
the Problem

While group travel is rewarding, it often leads to a logistical nightmare. This critical issue became the anchor for my design process. I asked myself:

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  1. How do groups currently make travel decisions?
  2. How can we identify the most critical bottlenecks in planning?
  3. How can we create personalized activity recommendations that delight groups?
  4. How can we create a seamless communication space for group trip planning?

Research Goals

To find answers, I embarked on a mission with clear research goals:

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  1. Explore existing apps and tools used for group trip planning
  2. Understand how groups currently share and discuss their trip ideas.
  3. Investigate how trip decisions get made within groups.
  4. Asses how groups currently find and research activities.
  5. Undercover the strengths and potential of existing tools.

Discovering the
Problems

My research journey was comprehensive. I dove into existing travel apps, observed group planning dynamics, and conducted user interviews. I aimed to grasp how groups share ideas, make decisions, and discover activities.

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Here’s what I found:

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Problem #1: Miscommunication

Planning a trip often involves fragmented communication across various platforms, leading to lost details, forgotten agreements, and last-minute confusion.

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Problem #2: Missed Connections

During the trip, changes in plans are hard to communicate swiftly, causing wasted time, missed experiences, and a sense of disconnection among travelers.

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Problem #3: Mid-Trip Crisis

When a flight is canceled or a museum unexpectedly closes, everyone scrambles to find out the same information individually.

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Problem: #4: Language Barrier

Travelers struggle to connect with locals, confidently order food, and understand important signage due to language differences.

Designing the
Solutions

With these insights, I designed solutions that would transform the group travel experience:

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Travel History & Plans

The Trips screen is your travel command center. View upcoming itineraries, revisit past trips, and easily access your saved destinations to fuel your wanderlust.

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Real-Time Communication

Integrated chat with group and individual messaging options streamlines communication and decision-making.

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Integrated Translation

This advanced feature enables users to speak in their native language and have it translated into the language of the other person in real-time, even in offline mode for emergencies or when internet access is limited.

Reflections

This project highlighted the importance of user research in identifying and addressing needs. By focusing on the users, we naturally arrived at effective solutions. Interviews and surveys offered diverse perspectives, which shaped impactful design decisions.

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Given more time, conducting additional user interviews would uncover deeper insights. Observing and interviewing users on both web and mobile platforms would enhance our understanding of cross-device needs.

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