In today’s society, travel is more than just a leisure activity—it’s seen as a key part of personal growth, relaxation, and cultural exploration. Here are some key facts about people’s travel practices.
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Studies show that modern travelers, particularly millennials and Gen Z, prioritize spending money on experiences like travel over purchasing material goods. They value travel for the memories and personal growth it provides.
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Many people create "bucket lists" of places they want to visit in their lifetime, and achieving these trips has become a significant personal goal.
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According to surveys, the number one reason people postpone or cancel travel plans is financial constraints. High costs for airfare, accommodations, and activities often make travel feel inaccessible.
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More people are willing to save consistently for travel, but many struggle with establishing and sticking to savings plans. Automated savings tools are becoming increasingly popular.
The following percentages represent common patterns related to travel practices and barriers:
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Desire to Travel, 70-80% of users express a strong desire to travel, particularly for leisure or cultural experiences.
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Financial Planning Barriers, 50-60% of users fail to travel due to insufficient financial planning, including not budgeting for trips in advance or not setting aside savings.
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Lack of Budgeting for Travel, 40-50% of users report not including travel expenses in their regular budgeting, often resulting in last-minute cancellations or postponements.
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Unawareness of Travel Financing Options, 30-40% of users are unaware of financial tools like travel savings plans, reward programs, or installment-based travel financing.
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Spontaneous vs. Planned Travel, 20-30% of users travel spontaneously, which often results in higher costs, compared to 70-80% who travel with careful planning and find better deals and savings.
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Travel Saving Habits, 10-15% of users specifically save for travel as part of their long-term financial planning, often starting to plan 6-12 months in advance.
Project
Overview
Role / Individual
Product Design (UX/UI)
Tools
Many individuals long to visit their
dream destinations, but saving money consistently can pose a significant challenge. Competing financial obligations, unexpected expenses, and the absence of structured savings plan strategies often hinder their ability to set aside travel funds. As a result, many find themselves postponing or giving up on
their travel plans, making the
dream of exploring new places
feel out of reach.
The Problem
The Solution
Impact
55% of users found the onboarding financial questionnaire to be too extended and time-consuming, they preferred to go straight to the homepage.
By adding a skip button on the "Let's get to know you better" screen and a settings button on the homepage to allow the users to modify their profile and plan post-signing in, registration time was reduced, by 98% success rate
A travel app designed to help
users save systematically for their dream trips by automatically setting aside a portion of their monthly income into a dedicated travel savings account. It offers features like automated savings, progress tracking, and personalized travel goal setting, enabling users to reach their travel ambitions
without the stress of
financial planning.
User Research
This phase allowed me to create a strong foundation for my design strategy.
I began by conducting 5 user interviews to discover what steps people take when considering planning a trip. I discovered that the majority lack a saving structure plan, that is specifically destined for traveling purposes. Participants were between ages 30-65, and travel 3-4 weeks per year.
This phase allowed me to create a strong foundation for my design strategy.
I began by conducting 5 user interviews to discover what steps people take when considering planning a trip. I discovered that the majority lack a saving structure plan, that is specifically destined for traveling purposes. Participants were between ages 30-65, and travel 3-4 weeks per year.
Research Goals:
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Learn how potential users currently save for travel and identify barriers they face in building savings.
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How do users manage their finances and set aside money for travel?
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Explore the specific challenges users face in saving for travel and planning trips, so the app can solve these issues.
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Understand why users want to save for travel and what drives their travel aspirations.
Empathize / Exploring user's needs
Interview Findings & Takeaway
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Users are highly motivated by the experience of traveling whether for relaxation, new experiences, or business .
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Building memories, sharing quality time with family and friends, and getting a deeper sense of life are the main incentives when thinking about traveling
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Most participants save for travel sporadically, only when a trip is planned.
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Many prefer setting aside small amounts regularly, but they lack a structured system.
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A portion of users doesn’t save specifically for travel, relying on credit or loans instead.
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A small segment uses existing tools or apps, but they find them too generic and not tailored to travel.
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Fear of overspending or the difficulty of tracking travel costs hinders savings efforts.
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Others mentioned a lack of time or discipline to actively manage their savings or use complex tools.
The Process
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Top-performing apps integrate directly with users' bank accounts, providing real-time data and a frictionless experience in tracking income and expenses.
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Competitors effectively use notifications to remind users of their goals and provide insights into their saving progress.
Competitors offer various automation features (e.g., round-up savings, recurring transfers), which reduce manual input and encourage steady savings.
Competitors that provide a personalized experience (e.g., custom savings plans, budgeting tips based on spending habits) have a stronger user base.
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Competitor analysis reveals that the most successful apps prioritize automation, user engagement, seamless integration with banking, and personalized features.
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Most successful apps emphasize intuitive navigation and simplicity. Avoid complexity in the user journey, from registration to setting up savings goals.
Competitor Analysis
DEFINE / Establishing the User's Needs and Problems
Persona Development
From my research, I created a persona named Sophie Margeen
Sophie is a passionate Interior Designer living in London. Her job provides her with a steady income, though it fluctuates slightly depending on the workload. She has a passion for travel and enjoys discovering new cultures, art, and architecture to inspire her work. Sophie has a "bucket list" of destinations she'd like to visit, including Italy, Japan, and Greece, but she often finds it difficult to consistently save for these trips due to daily expenses and occasional splurges on design-related tools, home decor and nights out.
Problem Statement
Value Proposition
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How might we incorporate effortless saving for future adventures by designing an automated system where users can save without thinking about it.
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How might we facilitate saving by adjusting goals according to the user’s financial capacity, timeline, and trip preferences?
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How might we inspire users to visualize and achieve their dream destinations by
Incorporating visual goal-setting tools, like images of dream destinations or progress bars, to make saving more engaging and fun.
Many individuals dream of traveling but find it difficult to save due to their busy lifestyles and lack of financial discipline. Sophie has a passion for traveling and aspires to travel more often but struggles with financial management, she desires a solution that will help her build financial discipline and create a structured plan to save for her future travels while balancing her professional and personal expenses.
Persona Development
I Like / I wish / What If
Ideate / Creating the Framework
The ideation process helped me to generate, refine, and develop ideas to create and structure my design. The process involved multiple stages where insights were gathered, ideas were brainstormed, and potential features were prioritized. Here's a description of how this ideation process unfolded
Feature Prioritazion Matrix
The feature prioritization matrix served as a roadmap for the development of the app design, ensuring that the most impactful features were prioritized to deliver maximum user value. By leveraging a systematic approach to feature evaluation, it was possible to enhance the app’s functionality, improve user satisfaction, and ultimately contribute to the success of the app in a competitive marketplace.
User Journey Map
StoryBoard
Sketching
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User Flow
Why does the user use the app?
Sophie wants to create an account and customize a savings plan to start planning toward her next travel destination, she wants to understand the app's features without feeling overwhelmed and wants to register easily and securely
Prototype / Let's make the Design!
Low-Fi Prototype
I conducted 5 usability tests, I was able to identified issues in the user flow, the layout, the intuitiveness of the design, and the ability of the app to meet user needs.
After testing I made changes to my Final wireframe design
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Restructured some screens to eliminate unnecessary extra steps to register
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Simplify some elements to avoid visual overwhelmingness
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Maintain a consistent design language throughout the app to create a cohesive experience
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Used a grid layout to align elements neatly and ensure consistency across different screen sizes
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Used inspiring imagery, destination-based savings goals, and motivational prompts like “What's your dream destination?” to create emotional connection and reliability.
5 Seconds Usability Test
Branding & Style Tile
Final Design
Test / Time to test the Prototype!
Usability Test Findings
I conducted 10 usability tests to identify issues in the current layout and reorganized buttons and icons to make the prototype cohesive and
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Arrange the direction of the dropdown menu arrow when hovering to point down
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Increase the size of the search icon
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Reduce the size of social media icons
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Check the accessibility color of text below the main titles
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Align text properly, reduce text content in secondary pages
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Increase the quality and size of pictures on some pages
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Align pagination dots on sliders
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Reduce gradient frames in some components of the design to simplify visual impact
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The National Endowment for the Arts redesign project has been an eye-opening experience because shows how important is for a brand, agency or organization to maintain an updated and modern website that users find exciting and engaging especially in times where online presence is the path to reach every potential user, creating a unique experience is a differentiator.
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Ensuring the design aligns with the agency’s strategic goals, reflecting the agency's mission and supporting its objectives is crucial for the website to remain effective and continue to meet user satisfaction, balancing unique design and an interactive experience is the key.
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By simplifying, reorganizing, and identifying crucial information, the user experience of a website can be enhanced and elevated, complexity doesn’t mean successful design, it is about effectiveness, reliability, and dynamism.
Implement /Final thoughts & Next Steps
Final Thoughts
