Case Study
About the Project
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UX/UI Toolkit​
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Project Overview
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​​​My Role
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Timeline​​
Bon Voyage is a concept travel app created to enhance the solo traveler experience by helping users find and connect with others heading to the same destination. The goal was to integrate social features that allow for easy trip coordination and a more meaningful journey.
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Served as the UX/UI Designer and focused on the entire design process, from conducting user research and mapping user flows to creating wireframes, and high-fidelity prototypes.
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3 weeks (covering research, design, prototyping, and user testing).
Empathize
The first step was to learn how solo travelers feel and what they need when they travel alone. Through interviews, feedback, and simple observations, we discovered their main problems. These insights guided the rest of the design process and helped ensure we focused on real user issues.
User Interviews
To better understand the needs of solo travelers, six individuals with recent solo travel experiences were interviewed. The goal was to learn how they currently use travel apps and how they feel about features that support meeting new people during trips. These interviews uncovered common pain points, motivations, and preferences, offering valuable insights into how social connection could be integrated into a travel experience.
It’s always nice to meet new people, we all have something new to tell
Travel partner who is open-minded, adventurous, and easygoing
Appreciates the potential for connecting with like-minded individuals in new places.
I value someone who's flexible and can roll with the unexpected twists of travel
Affinity Diagram
Notes and feedback from the interviews were grouped into key themes using an affinity diagram. This method helped spot common patterns in what users do, want, and struggle with, making it easier to focus on the most important challenges for the next steps in the design process.
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Key themes identified:​​​
Explore​
Reasons
Safety​
Preferences​
Features
Stories
Looking
Empathy Map
To get a closer look at how solo travelers think and feel, an empathy map was built using insights from interviews. It captured what users say, think, do, and feel, along with their pains and gains, giving a clearer picture of their emotions, needs, and overall experience.
Competitive Analysis
A competitive analysis was done to see how current platforms support social connection during travel.
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Apps like Meetup, Couchsurfing, and Bumble for Friends help people connect, but they don’t fully support the specific needs of solo travelers. Bon Voyage is exploring ways to fill that gap by helping travelers meet others based on where they’re going, when, and the kind of experience they want to have.
Define
The Define stage focused on organizing everything learned during research. It brought clarity to the real needs of solo travelers and helped shape a direction for the app. By pulling out common patterns and challenges, it became easier to focus on ideas that truly matter to the people we're designing for.
User Persona
Jennifer represents the key needs, goals, and challenges of my target audience. This persona helps guide the design process by keeping the user at the center of every decision.
Meet the User
About
Jennifer is a 29-year-old solo traveler who thrives on new experiences and meaningful interactions. She's curious, independent, and always looking for ways to make her travels more personal and memorable. While she enjoys exploring new places and cultures, she often finds it difficult to meet others who not only share her interests but are also traveling on a similar schedule. Her story represents the kind of traveler Bon Voyage aims to support people who want to feel connected, safe, and inspired while exploring solo.
Needs
Jennifer needs a user-friendly platform where she can find and connect with like-minded travelers based on destination, timing, and shared interests. She values simplicity, safety, and a positive vibe in the people she meets.
Jennifer is adventurous, spontaneous, and always seeking new experiences. She enjoys exploring local culture, trying new foods, and documenting her trips through photography and social media.
Frustrations
She sometimes feels lonely during solo trips and finds it difficult to meet others who are on a similar schedule or share her interests. Language barriers and a lack of clear, safe ways to connect with people also make her hesitant.
Goals
She wants to have unforgettable travel experiences, meet new friends, explore local culture, and create fun, low-pressure plans with people she clicks with.
Problem Statement
Many solo travelers want to share their journeys with others but face challenges in finding compatible travel companions who are available at the same time and have similar interests.
User Insight Statement
Jennifer needs a simple way to find travel companions who share her interests and schedule, helping her turn solo trips into meaningful, social experiences that feel safe and enjoyable.
I Like, I Wish, What If
To better understand user needs, this exercise was used to reflect on common feedback from interviews. It helped surface what users enjoy, where they feel frustrated, and what ideas or features could enhance their experience.
✅ I Like
Users shared what they enjoy most about solo travel and the types of features that support their mindset.
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Social Flexibility
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Adventure & Exploration
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Activity Variety
🟡 I Wish
These reflect areas where users expressed challenges or desires for a better experience.
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Safety Features
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Better Communication Options
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Complete Profile Info
💡 What If
Ideas inspired by user hopes for a better travel experience.
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Community Features
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Personality Matching
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Seamless Integrations
User Journey Map
To better understand Jennifer’s experience as a solo traveler, a user journey map was created to visualize her thoughts, emotions, and pain points throughout a typical trip. This helped identify key moments where a solution like Bon Voyage could offer support, connection, and added value.
Storyboard
The storyboard highlights a possible user scenario, showing how Jennifer might discover and use Bon Voyage as she prepares for her next trip. It captures key emotional moments from planning her adventure to meeting someone new, demonstrating the potential value of the experience.
Ideate
The Ideate phase focused on transforming user needs into potential solutions. Based on the insights gathered, early concepts were developed to map out how users like Jennifer might interact with the product and move through key tasks.
User Flow
The user flow outlines the key steps a solo traveler like Jennifer would take within the app. It begins with opening Bon Voyage and continues through creating a profile, browsing potential travel matches, and starting a conversation. This helped define the app’s structure and ensure each step felt intuitive and purposeful.
Wireframes
​Low-fidelity wireframes were developed to explore layout, navigation, and content structure. These early visuals helped visualize the main flow and allowed for quick iteration while keeping the focus on usability and user goals. A quick test using these wireframes revealed a few navigation and clarity issues, which were addressed and refined in the mid-fidelity prototype.
Visual Style
The visual direction for Bon Voyage focused on creating a clean and approachable interface that feels friendly and easy to use. Yellow was chosen as the primary color because it feels warm, cheerful, and inviting, much like the excitement of planning a new adventure.
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A custom logo was created to represent the Bon Voyage brand. Designed in bold black for clarity and confidence, it features an integrated arrow in the “Y” to symbolize direction, movement, and the spirit of discovery.
Typography and layout were kept simple and structured to support clarity and guide users through the experience without distraction. Every element, from buttons to profile cards, was designed to feel intuitive, welcoming, and aligned with the app’s goal of helping solo travelers connect with ease and confidence.
LOGO
COLORS
TYPOGRAPHY
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Heading (H1) | Nunito Bold | 32 px
Subheading (H2) | Nunito Semi-bold | 24 px
Body Text | Nunito Regular | 16 px
Button Text | Nunito Semi-bold | 16 px​​
Prototype
The prototype was designed to bring ideas to life in a more interactive and realistic way. Instead of just imagining the experience, this phase made it possible to feel how solo travelers like Jennifer would move through the app—finding connections, viewing profiles, and starting conversations. The design focused on clarity, ease of use, and creating a space that feels welcoming and social.
Usability Testing
A usability test was conducted with four participants to evaluate the Bon Voyage prototype and understand how users interact with its core features. Each user was asked to complete a realistic scenario: preparing for a trip to London. Tasks included signing up, setting up a profile, adding a trip, and starting a conversation with another traveler.
Test Scenario:
You already booked a trip to London from October 14 to October 21. As a new user of the Bon Voyage app, you need to sign up, complete your profile, add your trip details, and connect with another traveler heading to London
Task Completion Summary
Task Description Users Completed
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Sign up for a new account
Complete profile setup
Add trip to London
Start a chat with a traveler
Key Findings
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Profile setup was easy for everyone.
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Some users hesitated during sign-up and trip creation due to unclear navigation.
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Only half were able to start a chat, showing confusion around matching.
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Non-functional buttons caused some frustration.
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Overall, users liked the idea and saw real value in the app.
Project Reflection
Working on Bon Voyage allowed me to apply the full design thinking process, from research to refinement. I learned how solo travelers navigate decision-making, social comfort, and planning on their own. It pushed me to think about travel not just as movement, but as connection, and how technology can support that.
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While Bon Voyage is still in the concept stage, 75% of users provided positive feedback during testing. This reinforced the value of a platform that helps travelers connect and plan together. Some parts of the navigation were confusing at first, but those issues were quickly addressed through design updates.
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This case reinforced how thoughtful design can respond to real emotional and practical needs. It reminded me how much I enjoy building experiences that feel both purposeful and human, and how simple, intuitive design can support people in doing something they love.