LOCALture
/ˈlōk(ə)l-CHər/ - a hybrid of the words local and culture.
Localture is a responsive website designed to help travelers find satisfying local experiences.
Team
Gabriella Dziorny, Jennifer Rocha
Project Mission
Travelers have a hard time finding activities that aren't tourist traps. This ruins the overall travel experience. How might we provide travelers with local recommendations for a more satisfying experience.
Research
We interviewed ten travelers on their traveling experiences to understand their pain points.
When screening potential interviewees we decided to focus on those who were looking for adventure.
Key Insights
THE USER...
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values authentic, cultural experiences
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utilizes a wide range of websites for trip planning before and during trip
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relies heavily on word-of-mouth recommendations
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visits popular landmarks of each destination as a requirement
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gains freedom in planning the experiences they want
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finds it difficult to do everything they plan on a trip
The User
Meet Sabrina Bryan
Female - 28 year old - Financial Analyst
Sabrina is a solo traveler who takes 2-3 short trips throughout the year. Being cost and time conscious, she values authentic cultural experiences.
”I try to talk to those in other places or friends of friends but it’s still hard to navigate where to go.”
Pain Points
getting caught in tourist traps
Behaviours
asks friends where to go but still doesn't get good insights
Needs
reputable and local sources of information to for her trips
Goals
to travel the world and experience local culture
Sabrina needs to a way to find the cultural activities she values most so she can make the most of her limited travel time.
How might we provide her with trustworthy recommendations valuable to her cultural experience?
Design
Our concept is a recommendation site where users can only send recommendations from the city they live in. We wanted to create authentic communication between travelers across the world.
Priority Screens
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Landing Page
Page where you can add different trips/locations to start finding recommendations for
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Country Page
Page for a particular city/country where you can find and ask for recommendations
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Location Review Page
Once you click on a specific location/recommendation
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Itinerary/Map Page
Page where you can organize your favorited recommendations by time, as well as group them by location
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Notification Center
Page where you can send and receive messages/recommendations.
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Send a Recommendation Page
Form page to send recommendations, either to a specific person or to the general public
Mid Fidelity Prototype
After doing a series of tests with paper prototypes we moved onto mid-fidelity prototypes.
TESTING REPORT SUMMARY
Though users were able to get through the tasks, they struggled with understanding the full concept. Lack of clarity was also an issue due to the fidelity of the prototype.
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4/10 users were unclear about how the time was selected for the recommendation added to itinerary
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10/10 users were able to add recommendation to itinerary
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5/10 users rated the task 1/5 in terms of ease of use. (1 being easy, 5 being difficult)
Hi Fidelity Prototype
We added more clarity with the higher fidelity prototypes. We designed and tested both the mobile and desktop version of the prototype.
TESTING REPORT SUMMARY
During the testing of higher fidelity, the completion of tasks were much smoother however there was still some lag in the users actions.
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6/10 users were confused with the “My City” page due to the split sections
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6/10 users were unclear about the “My Trips” page
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10/10 users were able to complete tasks.
Re-Design
Users felt they would understand it more with use. However we felt that there was something off about the design structure of the prototype.
So we decided to simplify the design.
Re-Design Focus
We wanted to focus our re-design on giving and receiving recommendations between travelers because that is the main purpose of our product.
MAIN REVISIONS
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Turn Itinerary into a simple Favorites List
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Create a Dashboard page as the base of all activity
The Aesthetic
We updated the general aesthetic of the product. Choosing saturated yet soft teals and neutrals in order to invoke a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
Desktop Landing Page (Prototype)
Mobile Landing Page
(Prototype)
Copywriting
Copy was written to emphasize an atmosphere of adventure and community among travelers.
Examples:
"Choose your Adventure"
"Share insider knowledge"
"Discover experiences"
The Flow
For the redesign we focused on the mobile format because based on our research we found users would gravitate towards it more on the go.
The Dashboard
After logging in/signing up the main page is the dashboard. The idea is that when you sign-up you select your travel destinations "My Trips" and you would be able to scroll through your trips via the main image.
Main Menu
The navigation of the site has been simplified to the Dashboard, Profile, and Messages.
Toggling Between Tabs
We created tabs that enable you to toggle between different sections of the dashboard. This makes the functionaliyt more concise and clear.
Recommendations Tab
Recommendations by locals from selected destination based on category.
My List Tab
Listed of loved items by the user; based on location and category.
My City Tab
City where user lives; this page lists travelers looking for recommendations from locals. As a local of the city you can send travelers authentic recommendations.
Main Task: Sending a Recommendation
TESTING REPORT SUMMARY
During the testing we found all users completed the task and navigation of the prototype with complete ease.
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9/10 users understood how to navigate the site,
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10/10 users completed the tasks; rating them 1 out of 5, 1 being easy, 5 being difficult.
Moving Forward
