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escape
mobile application

mockup white.png

0. overview.

the brief

Escape is a travel boutique based in the heart of Beirut known for its bespoke and personalized travel itineraries. Since launching in 2010, Escape has successfully planned and booked hundreds of personalized trips for its clients, with a portfolio of destinations that spread across the globe; from Asia to Africa, Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East. 

Over the last few years, Escape has been treading the line between keeping a highly personalized and customized approach, while still being able to deliver itineraries and requests in a timely manner. This is why the idea of a native app came about.

 

This app will give both the business and the clients more control and autonomy during the travel planning process, without losing the personalized touch that Escape has always been known for, while saving both Escape and its clients time and resources.

problems

  • Manually preparing personalized packs takes time, costing Escape business, money, and resources

  • Clients are sometimes not responsive and undecided, meaning the planning efforts go to waste

  • Cross-checking the rates quoted and versus the best available is time consuming and tedious

proposed solutions

  • Creating a native app that will give the users the ability to purchase itineraries recommended to them based on their preferences

  • The assistance and guidance of a Personal Travel Advisor offered with the purchase of the itineraries

  • Giving the users the autonomy to make changes and upgrades to the itinerary and view the updated totals within the app

my role

For this project, I was working on my own.
I fulfilled the following roles while conducting research, developing the brand, and designing the app:

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  • User Experience (UX) Researcher

  • User Experience (UX) Designer

  • User Interface (UI) Designer

  • Interaction (IxD) Designer

  • Visual Designer

deliverables

  • Interviews

  • Surveys

  • Competitive Analysis

  • Persona Development

  • Project Goals

  • Feature Roadmap

  • User Journey Map

  • Usability Testing & Analysis

  • High-Fidelity Interactive Prototype

project specs

  • date: July 2022

  • duration: 2 weeks

  • tools: Figma, Figjam, Illustrator, Useberry

0. overview

1. empathizing.

1. empathizing

methodologies

Primary Research | User Surveys

Participants:

  • individuals who travel

  • individuals who plan their own travels

  • individuals who have booked with travel agents

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Primary Research | Interview with Cybelle, owner of Escape

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Secondary Research | Competitive Analysis

Brands:

  • Intrepid

  • Audley

  • Scott Dunn

research goals

& objectives

  • Analyze how other successful businesses deal with bespoke requests

  • Find ways to efficiently keep the bespoke aspect while also saving time and cost

  • Discover how to establish enough trust with new clients to drive them to purchase

  • Find a way to efficiently provide best rates in the market

User survey affinity map
Competitor Analysis - Intrepid
Competitor Analysis - Audley
Competitor Analysis - Scott Dunn

research summary

There were 14 participants in this research effort. The participants were all individuals who have traveled - whether by planning their own trips or getting help with the planning and booking.

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(11/14) - choose the location first and then coordinate the details afterwards
(8/14) - have previously booked directly through the provider’s website
(7/14) - would book their trip with an agent for convenience
(6/14) - book their trips through platforms like airbnb, orbitz, skyscanner, etc..
(5/14) - rely on travel blogs or travel guidebooks to plan their trips
(5/14) - coordinating the details and booking everything is their least favorite part
(5/14) - finding and booking the activities is their most favorite part of the planning
(4/14) - booking the accommodation is their most favorite part of the planning
(4/14) - would prefer to plan their own trips and be self sufficient in the process
(3/14) - booking the accommodation is their least favorite part of the planning
(3/14) - figuring out the transportation is their least favorite part of the planning
(3/14) - have booked with a travel agent before
(2/14) - keeping an eye on changing prices is their least favorite part
(2/14) - would not book through a travel agent because of the cost

findings

Shared goals:

  • Do exciting activities during the trip

  • Enjoy good accommodation

  • Best deals on everything

  • Go to places that match expectations and style


Shared pains:

  • Working with agents is costly

  • Coordinating schedules and logistics of all aspects

  • Changing costs of flights and accommodations

  • Planning is time consuming

  • Not enough knowledge to make the most of destination


Shared needs:

  • A way to plan travels without the hassle of coordinating

  • Save as much as possible on different parts of booking

  • Not waste time or money on transportation 

  • Itineraries tailored to style and expectation of user

meet our persona, arial

  • age: 31

  • occupation: graphic designer

  • location: beirut, lebanon

  • status: single

  • archetype: the wanderluster

motivations

cultural

travel

social

growth

financial

identity

personality

tech knowledge

extrovert

sensing

thinking

judging

▪

▪

▪

▪

introvert

intuition

feeling

perceiving

internet

software

apps

socials

▪

▪

▪

▪

goals

frustrations

  • Travel to as many countries as possible on a budget

  • Make the most out of travel without breaking the bank

  • Immerse in, and experience new cultures everywhere

  • Explore countries off the beaten path

  • Coordinating flights, accommodation & activities is stressful

  • Prices of flights and accommodation fluctuate constantly

  • Misses out on some things due to lack of expertise

needs

  • An easy way to compare prices that keep changing

  • A tool to organize her itineraries and thoughts as she plans and books her trips

  • To feel confident and safe when she is in a new country

2. defining.

2. defining

project goals

As a result of analyzing Business Goals, User Goals, and Technical Considerations, I came to the conclusion that the shared goals are:

  • A user-friendly experience that allows the user autonomy in travel planning

  • A faster and more efficient way to deliver packs

  • A secure payment process with no bugs

product roadmap

Based on the interviews, the research, and the project goals, I put together a Feature Roadmap to outline what the MVP (minimum viable product) would look like, and what extra features can be added in the future or based on the team’s workload.

3. ideating.

3. ideating

sketching

user journey map

As I started prototyping, I took a step back to map out the user's journey from the moment the idea of wanting to plan a trip sparks, all the way to the actual traveling. 

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The user journey mapping helped me organize my ideas and focus on the touch-points for each of the phases, while also thinking of the business goals for each phase.

 

For a closer look, you can go here.  

4. prototyping

4. prototyping.

Frame 1.png
5. testing

5. testing.

testing goals & objectives

  • Test and validate the ease of use of the navigation, icons, buttons throughout the app.

  • Test and validate the ease of understanding of the flows.

  • Observe how the users interact with the functionalities to complete the scenarios.

  • Observe and make note of any hesitation, confusion, or feedback from the user.

  • Validate the importance of the app in the travel planning process for users.

parameters

  • Ten (10) testers for this prototype.

  • 8 mini tasks: 

    • Create an account​

    • Answer questionnaire

    • Explore recommended destinations

    • Purchase itinerary

    • Schedule call with Travel Advisor

    • Explore purchased itinerary details

    • Add activity to itinerary

    • Log out of the app

  • Tests done remotely and unmonitored via useberry.com

  • All testing sessions were recorded for analysis post testing

affinity map

There was some very helpful and insightful feedback that resulted from the usability testing. I organized the thoughts into categories and subcategories to best help me make sense of the information. From there, I made amendments to the prototype, which I will talk about next. 

For a closer look, you can go here.

Escape Affinity Mapping (2).png

suggestions

& considerations

summary

  • Change the call with the agent scheduler to show available time slots on same screen as dates

  • Add option to choose between a video call or a voice call

  • In case the user does not schedule a call, add feature that notifies and reminds the user to schedule the call​

  • Add interactions for the sneak peak screens with images

  • Ability to input a variable budget range like number of days

  • Show a teaser of a day's breakdown in the sneak peak

  • Add the ability to input desired destination, hotel or activity

 

Overall, the general sentiment was that the concept and idea behind the app is very appealing - travelers would really love to not always have to worry about coordinating the details or even decide on a location. Some changes that were made after the testing:

  • Gmail and Facebook icons changed to colored

  • Disabled payment and submission buttons until all necessary details were inputted

  • Changed some radio buttons to checkboxes for flexibility

  • Made some aesthetic changes throughout the app

  • Added differentiator between Recommended Itineraries and Purchased Itineraries screens.

here's what was changed,
and why it was changed.

6. learning.

6. learning

iterate, and reiterate

The solution I came up with is nowhere close to being final. I am looking at this as the MVP, the first stab at a complex yet valuable process that will not only prove to be efficient in terms of saved time and quick delivery of itineraries, but also strengthen the business model for Escape Travel Expert and insure growth and further development of the agency. 

step away for a bit

not all users are "users"

It is easy to get caught up in trying to collect data in large quantities, but it is also crucial to keep in mind that not all users are the right end users. 

Establishing a solid profile of individuals to interview during the discovery process, but also during the usability testing is the way to go. This will result in valuable feedback that is tangible and qualitative, and that will aid and support the research and testing efforts for the solution at hand. 

I cannot count how many hours I spent looking at the screen, analyzing, designing, researching, iterating, and repeating it all. However, it wasn't until I put the prototype to the test that some things - which should otherwise be obvious to me - were pointed out by the testers. Things like disabling the payment button until all information has been entered, or adding an escape hatch. The lesson learned is to step away and change perspective every few hours, because it is easy to get tunnel vision and sometimes miss the obvious details.

establish trust

Regardless of how familiar the users may be with a brand, when a completely new platform is brought to light with a novel way of doing the business, users will be hesitant to join at first. This is why it is important to establish trust not only with the brand but also with the new platform - the app in this case. Guiding the travelers through the process and shedding light on all parts of it will reduce drop-out rates and insure an enjoyable experience. 

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