What happens when the whole family collaborates prior to a family trip?
TakeOff
Empathize
In order to understand the potential user, a Facebook poll was performed within parents groups. 156 moms answered the poll and almost 70% of those who responded, responded positively to the question:
“In preparation for a family trip, do you investigate the country/city where you are going?
Facebook poll findings
Problem
When preparing for a trip kids are often left out of the decision-making process, which can have a negative impact on their interest to learn and engage with new cultures.
Solution
To create a product wherein parents and children alike can collaborate on their trip together, with options to plan, purchase and organize their trip together. From restaurants to museums, and everything in between.
Tools
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Miro
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Marvel
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Illustrator
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Adobe XD
My Role
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UX researcher
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Illustrator
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UI designer
Timeline
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Overall: 9 months
Design Process
User Interviews
With the poll results user interviews were conducted with parents who travel on a regular basis. Insights were separated by Education, Current Screen Usage, Discovery Patterns and Needs. Many of the design solutions I developed were based on these findings.
TripAdvisor
Visibility of system status
The user is informed of possible "next steps". Although it is not necessary to have an account, which, for informational purposes gives certain liberty to the user to navigate it.
★★★★★
Flexibility and efficiency of use
It provides shortcuts to next steps and instructions where they are needed for the user to continue with their journey successfully.
★★★★★
Aesthetic and minimalist design
Even though it has a lot of information, it is organized and delivers the necessary results to get to the final stage of the journey. It's not over saturated with information making the experiences enjoyable. The sections are well organized and their position throughout the screen makes sense.
★★★★☆
AirBnb
Visibility of system status
From the moment you are in the menu screen, you get a sense of what you can expect. It is not necessary to input the destination, and instead you can explore options to travel.
★★★★★
Flexibility and efficiency of use
A map to explore destinations is not immediately available. However, when scrolling down, the map is open and very easy to navigate. The log out process is very complicated. It is not clear where a user can log out.
★★★☆☆
Aesthetic and minimalist design
In general terms, the app is easy to understand, the UI design is clean and sleek, and it offers all the possibilities the user could need to have a smooth journey while navigating the product.
★★★★☆
SmartNomad
Visibility of system status
From the first screen the directions are very limited. The user needs to know their destination and the desired transportation. It’s not great, since there are users that go into the product searching for inspiration.
★☆☆☆☆
Flexibility and efficiency of use
Even though the design is very sparse , simple gestures make navigation easy to use and guide the user. However, it is very limited with regards to destinations offered.
★★★☆☆
Aesthetic and minimalist design
It is very maximalist and has a lot of information visually. The juxtaposition of text and photography makes it feel busy and somewhat tiresome.
★☆☆☆☆
Competitive Analysis
Let's find a solution!
Understanding of the users' goals, needs, experiences, and behaviors these observations and ideas were based on the perspectives of parents that were interviewed and participated in the research process.
Pains
He can spend more screen time, with game apps or streaming services that don't contribute much to their cultural development. "I'm going to be bored!"
Gains
Traveling and welcoming new cultures into his life can open a lifetime of inclusivity and self confidence.
Motivations
Benjamin enjoys traveling with his family, but also enjoys to spend time on his iPad. He likes drawing and finds architecture interesting.
Concerns
He finds it a little boring that they usually go to museums and other "grown up things" .
Secondary persona
Benjamin, son
Motivations
Tatiana is a traveller, whether within her country or internationally
Concerns
She usually spends more time that planned trying to find an activity for their trip and often has a hard time finding family friendly activities.
Pains
Kids will spend extra screen time watching streaming services, sometimes playing games and talking with strangers, and not having interest in learning about other cultures.
Gains
Parents will feel more comfortable by letting the kid using their screen. They will grow up to be inclusive and understanding of other cultures.
Primary persona
Tatiana, Mom
Information Architecture
In order to establish an organized and effective structure to my product, I created sitemaps, user flows, and sketches that would help users to complete the specific tasks.
User Flow
Sketches
The goal of this flow is to create and share the itinerary with the kid
The goal of this flow is to plan a trip and purchase tickets
Wireframes
When deciding the mid fidelity wireframes, the first thing I took into consideration was the heuristic evaluation and everything I consider is relevant to provide the user with a product that is easy to navigate.
Parent user - Low fidelity wireframes
Mid Fidelity Usability Testing
The main takeaway I wanted to have was to explore the product from the parent point of view,
the experience they have while designing their trip and sharing it with the kid.
Findings
•When asked to buy a ticket, users said that there was some confusion when buying. They expressed that it’d be more helpful to have a micro copy that reads “buy tickets to the best attractions”
•When asked to share the itinerary with their child, they didn’t really know which login to use. they mentioned it’d be better to put the child’s email, rather than a login name.
Tasks
Checkout
Buy 3 day tickets
to Disney paris
Design your itinerary
Share the
itinerary
Style Guide
For the visual inspiration I chose images that gave a sense of adventure and color. I wanted it to reflect the feeling one gets when traveling to their favorite destinations.
ecause TakeOff is an app for families, it had to be polished and kid-friendly fleshing this out with illustrations, because they inspire kids to delve deeper.
High Fidelity Wireframes
Tasks
Share itinerary
Create itinerary
Purchase tickets
Start planning
Select user
Usability Testing
For the TakeOff User Testing sessions
I interviewed candidates that fit into the target demographic (parents who travel for leisure with their families.) The interviews were conducted in person and remotely.
Each interview lasted about 30 minutes. I did two usability tests in the first round and two after iterating the issues that were identified.
Menu screen
Select user screen
Start planning screen
Feedback
Based on the tasks provided to the users, some common feedback included:
Calendar: “I wish I could drag my thumb over the days”, “I’m lacking the highlighted days in the calendar”
Selecting and buying tickets: “I'd like to see a filter for parents and kids' activities. I feel everything is mixed”
Payment experience: “When paying, the user should have the option to pay with credit or debit.” “ When choosing the cards, I was a little confused as to which one to select”
Create an itinerary: "When organizing the experiences, it doesn’t make sense having to slide the bar. I think it’s missing a CTA.” “I want to check the experiences first before I add them to the itinerary.”
Actions taken from the itinerary screen: “I need an error message that indicates that the day has been filled with activities, and attractions for the day.” “I need a time restriction for the different attractions.”
Calendar and itinerary: “Where can I reorganize my itinerary?” “I need to see where my selections are going.”
Improvements
Learnings
In the journey of designing this experience, it was interesting to see the complexities of a new software and the challenges and needs of the user. With my experience in illustration, I created a product that can relate with both parents and kids. Through meticulous user research, I discovered a new way to engage kids into new cultures while enjoying the planning part of a trip with the parents. Iterative user testings, coupled with prototypes, underscored the importance of responsive design, enhancing accessibility across the product.
Next Steps
I’d love to keep developing TakeOff. Being a collaborative app for families, I’d like to do develop user testing with kids. As a second phase of the product, I’d like to focus on the children’s journeys and develop those screens further.
Thank you for reading my case study!
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