Team
Solo (Speculative Project)
Timeframe
80 hours
Role
User Research, Content Strategy, UX Design
Tools
Figma, FigJam, Photoshop, OpenStreetMap, Maputnik
Discover, document, and share the wonders around you with TourBuddies – the mobile app that redefines your journey through history and the world. With TourBuddies, your next adventure is a tap away.
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Bookmark & Explore: Pinpoint must-see sites and craft your personal tour wishlist.
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Connect & Uncover: Immerse yourself in the TourBuddies community, where exploration is a shared adventure. Unearth landmarks and hidden gems, recommended by a network of enthusiasts, and find companions ready to join you on your journey.
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Chronicle & Relive: Seamlessly record your footprints across cities and landscapes, creating a rich tapestry of your explorations to reminisce and share.
Problem Statement
People find existing walking tour apps lack engagement and struggle with user-friendliness, despite the increased demand for flexible, self-paced tours.
Existing app-based tours are failing to engage people because none facilitate group exploration.
Solution: Explore, Enlighten, Gather
To redefine the walking tour experience, TourBuddies will initially launch as a user-centric app focused on bookmarking sites and connecting explorers. Its intuitive design simplifies the discovery of sites and enhances real-world exploration, inviting users to join tours with like-minded adventurers.
The Pivot
My research shows people desire group exploration, but are also reluctant to meet with strangers.
For this reason Phase 1 focuses on bookmarking and sharing sites with a secondary focus on finding TourBuddies to join you. Pushing the guided tours feature to Phase 2 builds a solid foundation for the TourBuddies Community, which in turn helps guide the development of app-based tours.
TourBuddies Explore Page_Chronicle & Relive
TourBuddies defaults to sites closest to you.
Filter by site theme, select a city, explore sites to bookmark via a horizontal carousel.
To keep users safe who may be on the go the app uses colors sparingly making each task feel lightweight and intuitive. Blue is a primary brand color since it is often associated with trust and communication.
TourBuddies_Bookmark & Explore
Craft your personal tour wishlist or index sites from your explorations.
Sort by theme and switch view to see others' bookmarks.
TourBuddies uses color sparingly so that the user's focus is on the images of sites to explore.
TourBuddies Community_Connect & Uncover
Find friends to follow via your contacts, facebook, and TourBuddies suggestions.
Discover the TourBuddies Finder to join others traveling to similar sites or create a listing of your plans for others to find you.
The "TourBuddies Community" uses purple as it's a color that connotes empowerment and stimulation.
TourBuddies Map View
With the map view you can view your bookmark, find sites to explore, chronicle, or relive, while also easily toggling to your friends' bookmarks.
Navigation between the central "Explore" section of the app to your bookmarks, map view, and the TourBuddies Community is seamless and light-weight to ensure the app easily transitions to the Phase 2 guided & virtual tours feature.
TourBuddies Finder
Explore the TourBuddies Community: browse people with similar plans so you can explore together via the TourBuddies Finder!
Select a city, input your dates, and make your travel plans public so others can easily find you. Send and receive messages with others in the TourBuddies Community.
01_Research & Discover
03_Build & Iterate
04_Test & Refine
While my process is by no means linear I developed 4 stages for my design process drawing heavily on the design thinking framework.
Stages 3 and 4 will show a lot of back and forth between testing, incorporating feedback and iterating on the design and branding.
01_Research
I started by researching the tour guide system market, as well as people's motivations and experiences with in-person, app-based, and self-guided walking tours. This research included 6 semi-structured interviews and 2 surveys targeting different age groups. I also conducted a competitive analysis of walking tour apps, including Travel Storys, Autio, and Shaka Guide.
My market and user research were particularly useful in identifying a product-market fit for TourBuddies.
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People strongly prefer in-person guides, yet they also love the flexibility of self-guided tours.
90% of the 20 survey participants felt more engaged by tours with an in-person guide, and 83% of interview participants preferred tours with an in-person guide. Yet 92% of those surveyed also noted they enjoy the flexibility of self-guided tours.
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People desire group exploration, most are open to meeting strangers, but most also have reservations.
83% are open to meeting strangers to join them on their tours. Yet 80% of those open to this also noted strong reservations.
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A digital record of sites to see or already seen is strongly desired.
95% want a digital index of sites to see and 67% of interview participants would enjoy having a digital record of sites they see and
User Research Takeaways
I spoke with 6 participants, 5 women, and one man, ranging in age from 26-79, all of whom had some experience with guided tours. 5/6 were aged 26-44 and were either working or pursuing professional education while between jobs, and one woman was aged 79 and retired. 5/6 had experience with multiple types of tours. My interviews focused on their experiences with different kinds of tours with the goal of discovering what opportunities and weaknesses exist with tours without an in-person guide. I organized my interview findings using an affinity map to identify common themes that emerged.
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Explosive growth for virtual tours.
For comparison CAGR for industries such as construction, education, and healthcare range from 3-8% annually. The virtual tour market even surpasses the 25% CAGR of financial technology.
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Slower growth for in-person tours.
The growing popularity of virtual tours indicates TourBuddies would be wise to focus on both a Phase 2 virtual tour component and Phase 1 emphasis on users wanting to explore remotely, regardless if they plan to see the sites in person.
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User interactions and messaging boost retention and growth.
Building the TourBuddies Community in Phase 1 ensures user retention and engagement and in-turn long term sustainable growth.
Market Research Takeaways
02_Define & Prioritize
To synthesize my research I developed the following:
User personas, Point of View statements & How Might We questions, Project Goals, and a Feature Roadmap.
03_Build & Iterate
04_Test & Refine
My design process was particularly non-linear between these stages. One consistent element was the task flows I defined and user tested.
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Personas
To further ensure that TourBuddies meets well defined user needs and that I'm targeting the right features in the right order, I developed two personas based on my research. These personas help guide my understanding of the needs and mental models of my target audience, ensuring the app addresses their specific requirements effectively.
Project Goals
Using a Venn diagram, I honed in on the core aspects of my research to craft a clear strategy for TourBuddies, outlining my business goals, user goals, and technical considerations.
My research revealed a viable path to funding through data analysis, which led to the strategic decision to make the app available across multiple U.S. cities, rather than confining it to a single region. This broader scope is intended to gather a richer dataset on user preferences. Recognizing the extensive list of features I had planned for Phase 1, I decided to defer the actual guided tour functionality to Phase 2. Initially, TourBuddies will focus on collecting data about what users enjoy most, which will inform how I invest in content and assemble a team to develop curated walking and virtual tours.
The TourBuddies Finder is still available in Phase 1 so as to acclimate users to this feature, which many found potentially useful but somewhat daunting. By integrating this feature within the "Community" section, users can focus on exploring, recording, and discovering sites while also having this feature available.
Wireframes
I created wireframes for taskflows pertaining to onboarding, exploring via the map view, and the TourBuddies Finder, where users find others to join them.
After considering the use cases for TourBuddies, including those exploring on-the-go, those indexing sites they've explored or plan to explore, as well as the future Phase 2 plans for guided tours, I decided a horizontal carousel was superior to a vertical scroll pattern for the following reasons:
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Focused Exploration: A horizontal carousel limits content visibility, but this also means the content is explored a more focused frame-by-frame manner. This also adds a sense of distinction to the user experience of the "explore" section.
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Search Filters Engagement: As the exploration via a carousel is more focused, this also makes the change in results more apparent as users adjust filters.
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Navigation with Future Phase 2 Guided Tours: As users navigate between stops a carousel enables a more focused approach that's ideal for users on-the-go as well as for exploring the immersive tour content.
UI & Branding
Inspired by the brand values "Explore, Enlighten, and Gather," I designed a UI kit to serve as a foundational design system, emphasizing minimal color use to ensure images capture the user's attention and to support on-the-go usability. This consideration is crucial for an app that, while currently focusing on exploration, will evolve to offer guided tours in its next phase. A distinct purple, a color connoting empowerment, sets the "Community" section apart from the blue "Explore" areas, which emphasize safety and trust. The choice of serif fonts for headers imbues a sense of exploration and historical depth.
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5/5 wanted to see a color distinction for friends' bookmarks vs their own & more contrast on nav. bar.
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4/5 felt the TourBuddies finder CTA was too subtle and needed more color contrast.
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4/5 wanted a more clear orientation within the onboarding as to what the product provides.
User Testing Takeaways
Using 3 task flows, I tested my prototype originally on 5 users ranging in age from 24-79. I organized the feedback from my participants using an affinity map to refine feedback for guiding my design iterations.
Although users met the established task completion times, their feedback highlighted a need for better product orientation and a more cohesive experience. This led me to include an onboarding flow and also overhaul the design system and branding with the aim of creating a more cohesive experience. I tested this revamped version on both the original interviewees and 3 additional user testers.
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Iterations
My user testing showed people not only wanted more of an orientation on the app's core functionality, but also felt the app prototype wasn't creating a cohesive experience. Nonverbal cues along with the references to needing orientation suggested a misalignment with the app's experience and its intended ethos of "explore, enlighten, and gather." This inspired me to conduct a 3rd round of iterations.
'Explore' Screen
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Updated the logo to provide a more engaging experience that stronger communicates the brand identity
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Increased sub header text size for clarity & improved legibility of map icon & arrow to expanded view
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Updated active states so they do not look disabled and used color to distinguish "Explore" site pages
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Improved default and active states of all nav. elements
Additional Task Flows
User Onboarding
My user testing revealed users wanted an orientation to app's core features so I added user onboarding to the prototype.
I kept the onboarding simple so users could quickly dive in and explore the app. The swiping required by the onboarding also reinforces the learnability of the app as it acts as a preface to the horizontal carousel in the "Explore" section of the app.
The first few screens display a blue and purple gradient that pulsates as the app loads.
Account Creation
After the onboarding users are free to explore the app without an account.
I kept the onboarding simple so users could quickly dive in and explore the app. The swiping required by the onboarding also reinforces the learnability of the app as it acts as a preface to the horizontal carousel in the "Explore" section of the app.
Next Steps
Considering the shift in the project's direction towards a bookmarking-centric approach, revisiting and expanding the competitive analysis to encompass more digital products with a focus on site bookmarking would be valuable. This expanded analysis could offer critical insights for enhancing the TourBuddies app, particularly in refining how users interact with and experience the bookmarking features.
I would also be thrilled to build and test the app-guided tour feature, which I'm imagining would support both virtual and in-person tours.
The Bushfire Theatre of Performing Arts
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Testimonials
What my clients say
Scott was amazing to work with. He was incredibly helpful and made himself available for our many questions. I hope we have the opportunity to work together again.
Al & Susan, Bushfire Theatre of Performing Arts
Scott consistently demonstrated diligence and a proactive approach to his work, consistently exceeding expectations. His innate curiosity drove him to consistently over-deliver on projects. A self-starter who actively sought and welcomed feedback, Scott maximised every mentoring session to its fullest potential. It's clear to see the significant growth he has achieved throughout our sessions together. Any company would be fortunate to have such a dedicated and continuously improving team member like Scott.
Filipe Fernandes, Design Engineer/Mentor for Designers
Scott gracefully jumped in to our whirlwind project and built us a UX demo on a startlingly fast timeline. His process forced us to answer questions we hadn't yet considered, and got us thinking about the user experience of our product in a way we just hadn't before. I would strongly recommend bringing Scott in if you've got a project that could benefit from a fresh set of eyes.
Peter Kunhardt, CEO
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'TourBuddies Community' Screen
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Increased white space for legibility and to allow users to either follow or click to view profile, & updated default button state for following
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Made TourBuddies Finder stand out with more white space and the use of purple to distinguish between the "Explore" and "Community" pages, & updated default button state