Overview
Introduction
The corona pandemic is forcing us to make a dramatic change in our lifestyle. »Distance« is the »New Normal«. One industry that is significantly influenced by this is the travel and tourism industry. But even lockdowns, risk areas, reduced flight routes, long-distance travel stops, etc. do not stop us from seeking our little bit of freedom. The interest in alternative travel formats that promise greater freedom is growing and shows that there is a great opportunity and great potential for innovation in the forced change to redesign the travel market and its products.
Timeline
01.Oct.2020 - 15.Nov.2020
My Role
I am responsible for product design and the process of mastering the service. I also reworked the visual design after the project.
Teammates
Rebecca Boeing (Graphic designer)
Maurine Worre (Communication designer)
Sen So (Product designer)
Tools
Figma, Adobe XD, Illustrator
Project Timeline
Problem we have encountered
At the beginning of the project, our team first had a general understanding of the project and looked forward to forming connections with users. We put ourselves into the perspective of users to think about travel expectations and habits, and studied the reasons why the Corona pandemic affects the tourism industry from various aspects, and analyzed various travel-related products on the market. We summarize the issues facing the tourism industry in the following points.
Restricted travel due to Lock Down
Increased risk of infection
User's demand for travel is urgent
Network instead of social connect
Observation
Travel in the Covid-19 from the user's perspective
After brainstorming within the group, we consulted the users around us and evaluated their answers. We set up guide interviews with users to understand their travel expectations and concerns during the pandemic. We consolidate the interview results and present them in a question-and-answer format.
Q: How has the Corona pandemic affected your travel?
A: I may be more inclined to choose to be close to nature, because there are fewer people and I can take off the mask. And I don't want to get sick from traveling. Although I also want to meet new people, it is also a good experience to take the opportunity to travel with my family. I'd still love to visit attractions and museums, but almost all destinations are restricting access. When making travel plans, I'm also not sure if the destination is at peak traffic, which worries me.
Q: What are your expectations for travel? Are you looking forward to digital travel instead of in person?
A: Back to normal, obviously. My current appeal is to take off the mask, and there is no need for disinfection at any time and anywhere. No... I don't want to travel digitally, I still want to go out and experience it in person. If I had to choose, I'm very fond of virtual reality, and it might be a good new experience to simulate a visit with VR glasses, but it has nothing to do with travel.
Q: If there was a product that could improve your travel, what features and services would you like it to have?
A: Hmmm……In view of the current situation, I certainly hope to be able to get early warning to reduce my risk in travel, preferably risk factors can be monitored in real time, just like the corona warning app. I would also like to get recommendations on which travel locations are safe and which travel options are feasible.
Q: Do you have any ideas for the way you travel in the future?
A: It's your job, I think, hahaha. My point is that travel should be more sustainable and more individual. Friends around me and I tend to make our own travel plans and schedules, but we also try to make our trips more eco-friendly and green, and of course, save money is also important.
Focus on the users
After having a basic understanding of the project, we look forward to connecting more deeply with the target audience. We want to know the pain points of our users.
I turned the above questions into a questionnaire to survey a wider range of users in the form of emails, WhatsApp, and street interviews. Our team ended up with 22 useful questionnaire results. We sorted out the main content and clustered it. We designed 2 Personas based on the most extensive results in Clustering.
Thomas Bergmann
Thomas is a business manager of an insurance company. His work is very busy. In his rare work spare time, Thomas likes to visit other cities with his wife and 8-year-old son. Thomas likes to explore fresh sights and food, his wife likes shopping, and his son likes technology, so Thomas often travels to economically developed cities to meet the requirements of the whole family. In fact, Thomas's travel appeal is simple, he likes lively places. The pandemic has hampered the Bergmann family's travel. Destinations have been blocked, travel risks have increased, and travel costs have risen, making it difficult for the family to travel happily. Thomas also had to think about the safety of his son and wife, but he was just as tired of masks and sanitizing. And Thomas can no longer relax his tired body and mind after work through travel, and Thomas seems to have become grumpy. Thomas hopes the lockdown will end as soon as possible, and that shopping and restaurants will be able to open at least partially, so that his life will no longer be so closed.
Pia Lindner
Pia, a graphic design student, is 22 years old and works part-time as a consultant at an art gallery. Pia loves her profession very much. In her spare time, she likes to visit museums and exhibitions, and she also likes to go to historical sights and gather places of modern art. She can even feel happy walking in front of the beautiful window. In the process, she also met many like-minded friends and artists, making her feel fulfilled. Although Pia often travels alone, Pia enjoys the power that new things bring her, which is what Pia thinks of travel. Pia's life is full of fashion and creativity. Pia was weary of the pandemic that destroyed her interests, and she no longer had the opportunity to communicate with artists, but to sit in front of a computer and admire their work.
—— HMW Question ——
How might we help the personas to experience traveling together with their friends even though there are travel restrictions and contact restrictions in the Corona period?
Ideation
Demand-Oriented Design Solutions
We integrated and analyzed the needs of users, and finally got three user pain points. In the following inspirations, we came up with solutions one by one and planned to incorporate them into the final product.
1 - Establish contact
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Create authentic face-to-face connections for users
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Strengthen connections during virtual and online time
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Satisfy the user's expressive and social desires
2 - Fulfilling travel
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Diverse travel destinations and activities
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Customers love to travel because they love new things
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Make sure the experience outweighs the form
3 - Avoid the risk of infection
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Real-time monitoring of Corona information
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Recommend natural and safe destinations for users
What kind of travel experience do we want to offer our users?
We defined the product form as a service platform that provides users with travel-related services in the form of web pages and applications. We believe that the current travel services in the market are nearly saturated, so we plan to provide a new travel mode that can provide users with safe and pleasant travel solutions during special periods.
Design Flow
User Flow
I've divided the whole process into three stages, for both events and travel. Users can customize their personalized journeys according to their destinations, hobbies, and local conditions, and the App will accompany users throughout the journey to escort them. So we sorted out the whole process.
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Sketch and iteration
According to the user process, we iteratively designed the low-fidelity model of the page to form the prototype of the product. After the project, I rearranged the design content, chose the color scheme, and designed a simple visual effect.
Future Project
>> Brand Identity: Distix - The travel brand for digital experiences <<