Your gateway to
seamless travel

End-to-End Design Case Study

PROJECT

BrainStation Bootcamp

TIMELINE

Jun 20 - Sep 7

ROLE

UX Designer | iOS

TOOLS

Figma, Zeplin, Adobe

Project Overview

Background

FlySmart App is your futuristic travel buddy, offering indoor airport navigation, real-time updates, and cultural insights, all while simplifying and personalizing your travel experience.

Role & Responsibilities

Responsible for UX research, wireframing, low-fi and high-fi prototyping, usability tests, branding, design system creation, accessibility, and design iteration.

My Process

Design Thinking

I applied user-centric innovation in every phase of the five-phase design thinking process.

design thinking

The Problem

In 2023, airport traveler stress rose 90% due to more chaos & security. What's more shocking, is that this coincides with a 761% increase in solo travel interest on Google Trends.

The Solution

An airport travel app with indoor mapping, real-time updates, and local dining, shopping, and additional recommendations.

Let’s take a quick dive!

Onboarding Screens, explains the purpose of the app and how it works

Empty/Full home screens & the scanner - 1 of the 4 tools for
boarding pass upload, depending on your journey stage

Indoor Mapping Screens, helps travelers navigate airports
globally with more control and ease

AR/VR Mapping Screens, equipping today's travelers with
tomorrow's technology.

View Prototype

Let’s get into our process work!

Step 1: Empathize

Research Plan | What we looked at

  • Analyzed data from surveys
  • Studied travel issues on social media
  • Conducted a travel app competitive analysis
  • Administered a survey with 22+ participants
  • Interviewed 5 frequent travelers
  • Market observations for -
    airport travel trends, airline apps’ services, traveler habits
  • Published articles
  • Traveler testimonials

Objectives

  1. Identify pain points and challenges faced by solo travelers at airports
  2. Comprehend domestic and international airport navigation challenges
  3. Evaluate the effectiveness of existing airport designs, layouts, and signage
  4. Explore the causes of travel stress of frequent solo travelers

Insights | What we found

Competitive Analysis

Research confirms poor airport design and confusing signage contribute to airport chaos. Existing solutions like AirportGuides and AtAirports have limitations and usability issues.

Interviews | 5 Participants

“Navigating the airport was particularly stressful, especially since it was a new country where I didn’t speak the local language.”

Participant 2, 24 years old, Marketer in New York

User Survey | 22 Responses

I identified my target audience through a broad survey, revealing that frequent travelers aged 18-35 actively seek tech solutions for a smoother experience.

Affinity Mapping | 4 Themes

I organized and analyzed my data, extracting relevant insights and themes that revealed my target users’ #1 pain, navigation challenges.

Refined HMW

How might we enhance the airport experience for frequent travelers navigating unfamiliar environments under time constraints?

With the new insights, I fine-tuned my HMW to narrow in on the pain point I aim to address.

Step 2: Define

Persona

From my primary research, I developed FlySmart's persona: Evelyn James, a frequent flyer.

Experience Map

Given the complexity of travel, I made an important choice to focus only on airport entry to boarding. I built this map to understand Evelyn's journey and find design opportunities.

Step 3: Ideate

User Stories and Epics

User Stories | 27

Using the persona/experience map, I created user stories, and built epics, extending 'Mapping' by 10 extra stories for a comprehensive user needs assessment.

Final Concept

An all-in-one airport app for indoor navigation, real-time updates, recommendations, and language assistance.

#1 Easy Airport Mapping

  • Addresses users' #1 need, efficient navigation
  • Utilizes Wi-Fi and BLE technology for precise tracking
  • Enhances indoor guidance with augmented reality tech

💡Partnership with MongoDB

#2 Real-Time Updates

  • Provide real-time line updates to increase traveler control
  • Use Wi-Fi/Bluetooth beacons, QR code scanning, customer feedback analysis

#3 Enhance Local Discoveries

  • Provide language tips, gift recommendations, and restaurant suggestions with traveler testimonials to meet user needs
  • Transform layovers into cultural adventures

💡Partnership with DuoLingo

finalconcept

Task Flows

Inspired by the user stories, I started the ideation of my task flow, but was faced with the challenge of determining the sequence of events. After 4 iterations, I finalized on two flows:

Primary: Onboarding, permissions and boarding pass set-up

Secondary: Providing an option to map out their gate using AR features

Primary Task Flow

Ideation Sketches

I began with 17 sketches (2-3 per screen) to quickly generate and iterate on ideas. I also began brainstorming interaction design ideas for a seamless app flow at this stage.

Step 4: Prototype

Mobile Wireframes

Step 5: Test

Wireframe Testing

Goal

  1. Gather feedback; pinpoint design issues
  2. Analyze the effectiveness of the usability
  3. Evaluate design improvements

Recruitment

Candidates who are frequent flyers: 3 have experience using technology solutions in an airport and 2 do not.

How

Using click-through prototype to conduct 3 tasks, focusing on the mapping feature.

  1. On-boarding
  2. Upload boarding pass information
  3. Map your way to Gate 24
  4. User AR feature to reach Gate 24
  • Prompt users to think out loud
  • Ask follow up questions constantly
  • Don't reveal any information until after

Results

Step 6: Iterate

Wireframe Iterations

Step 7: Ideate | Step 8: Define

Branding: Visual Identity Development

Visual Design Summary

I meticulously developed FlySmart's visual identity. Here's a brief glimpse of my design decisions. For a detailed look, click the button below.

Step 9: Iterate

Iterations: High Fidelity Design Details

After transitioning to high-fi, I conducted 2 more rounds of usability tests. Fun fact, the empty boarding card state had over 7 iterations!

Boarding Pass | Empty State

Boarding Pass | Full State

Homescreen | New Trip

”Live View” Feature | AR/VR

Step 10: Prototype

Quick dive into the prototype

Marketing Website

I developed a responsive marketing website to enhance visibility and drive conversions by showcasing the app's value proposition. This included engaging animations, interactions, and seamless branding integration to create a unified user experience.

BrainStation Demo Day Presentation

Reflection

Learn to Say “No” to Prioritize Impact

I chose focus solely on improving the mapping tool to concentrate all resources/effort on delivering an exceptional user experience in this key area.

Designing for User Diversity

User needs vary, making a universal solution impractical. Focusing on the majority while considering diversity is a more efficient UX approach.

Power of Storytelling for an Engaging Vision

Your presentation matters as much as your work. I've maintained a strong visual brand, emphasizing the importance of small details in demonstrating the product's effectiveness.

Next Steps

Making Airports Accessible

For my senior capstone at Parsons, I have returned to the research stage, focusing on akin issues, but through the perspective of travelers with disabilities. Until December, I'm researching by talking to the community, experts, and attending events. In January, I'll start strategizing a human-centered solution based on my findings. I'm currently interviewing wheelchair users and visually impaired individuals. Here’s a peek at my observation studies!