Tired of group trip ideas dying in the group chat due to poor planning and coordination?

Group trip planning is a painstaking process that requires a lot of time, energy, and coordination with other people.

In Fall 2023, I studied abroad in Paris, France. My friends and I wanted to take the opportunity to visit as many places as possible in Europe. However, we quickly realized that trip planning is exhausting as it takes a lot of effort and the responsibility often falls onto one person.

We tried trip planning apps, such as Expedia, Kayak, and Wanderlog, but we felt like they were only targeted toward flight and hotel search rather than collaborative trip planning.

To better understand trip-planning options that are currently on the market, I planned a trip with two friends, from beginning to end, using each app. Here’s a breakdown of what I liked and disliked for each app:

Overall, the apps that are currently available on the market fulfill parts of the user needs, but there is still room for improvement. In particular, the group trip-planning features should be easier to use and more effective in allowing collaboration.

As I was envisioning the user flow, I drew what the interface would look like for each step. The following are some key features to address paintpoints in the user journey:

Survey ^{[ 1 ]}

I sent out a survey to fellow study abroad students, from Fall 2023 and past semesters, and received 36 responses.

Interview ^{[ 2 ]}

I interviewed 14 of the 36 students who responded, spending 20 minutes per person.

Conclusion ^{[ 3 ]}

Through the survey and interviews, it is clear that there are two main pain points:

1. Information Overload
   It takes a lot of time and effort to find and settle on the best flights and accommodations options
2. Lack of Collaboration
   If the trip involves more people, it’s increasingly difficult to coordinate with everyone and people often leave the work to 1-2 people in the group

I started thinking about creating a user journey that would include a better way of organizing all the information and add more collaboration:

As I was envisioning the user flow, I drew what the interface would look like for each step. The following are some key features to address paintpoints in the user journey:

In-App Search ^{[ 1 ]}

By allowing users to search for flights and hotels on the app and use boards to add and categorize possible options, they are able to organize and view their options more easily.

Automatic Group Chats ^{[ 2 ]}

Once you invite people to a new trip, a new group chat is created specifically for the trip. In-app group chats streamline the trip planning process by compiling all trip-related information in one place, instead of cluttering other text messaging inboxes.

Collaboration and Accountability ^{[ 3 ]}

Notifications and activity feed keep tripmates accountable for doing their part and nudge them to do their part.

Before I start any kind of branding or visual work, I like to find inspiration to guide and ground me through the process. I thrive for a cohesive and consistent higher-level aesthetic that can translate to the smallest details, as I have found it to elevate the user experience.

For the travel app, I wanted something clean, minimal, and whimsical to decrease the visual and mental load of organizing a trip. The idea is to make trip-planning feel easier and highlight the thrill of actually going on the trip and living in the moment with friends and family.

Naming is one of the most crucial parts of branding as it is usually the first thing a user sees on the app. I wanted to invoke the ideas of organization, collaboration, and traveling. After compiling words related to these concepts, “sync” and “roam” stuck with me. So, I wanted to combine both words together to make Sync & Roam.

To make the interface more minimal and easier to look at, I went with a white background, dark grey text, and lavender accent.

I wanted a mix of serif and sans serif fonts with varying weights to differentiate between different kinds of headings and body texts. After exploring a multitude of pairing options, I decided on Petrona serif font and Paduak sans serif font as I like how sophisticated yet fun the combination is.

I started by creating all the components, such as buttons, menu bar, flight cards, fill boxes, and more, so that it’s easier to keep a cohesive aesthetic all throughout the prototype and make any changes necessary through the parent. After that, I worked on the screens according to my low-fidelity sketches, prioritizing an intuitive flow from one screen to the next. The last step was to polish it up and make sure that all the little details aligned.

I conducted user testing with 6 people in total, 4 individuals whom I had interviewed previously and 2 travelers whom did not participate in the research portion. Here are some of the feedback:

• The option cards are too small, making the texts difficult to read
• It might be helpful to be able to group flights together without permanently linking them
• Having suggested places or guides can help users come up with trip ideas
• Differentiate the new trip group chat from the old ones

After testing for usability, I implemented changes accordingly. I focused on making the visual changes first as I can easily implement them through the parent components. Once I was done with that, I tackled the flow of how flights can be added, making it more customizable. Here's the current "final" iteration!