Overview

This was a conceptual project that I worked on during my bootcamp with three of my classmates

  • Device + Project type: Mobil App Design

  • Duration: 3 weeks

  • Tools or Methods: Figma for design and prototyping, user interviews, Surveys, usability testing, design thinking Methodology

  • User: Digital nomads

  • Role + Responsibilities: UX Designer and Researcher — conducted user research, created wireframes and prototypes, and conducted usability testing

 


Lonely Planet, a renowned travel guide publisher, aimed to create an app for digital nomads. Our challenge was to design a solution that alleviates isolation, provides reliable workspaces, and fosters community, all while embodying Lonely Planet’s mission to inspire travel and connection.

The Challenge

Design Solution:

Outcome/Result:

We successfully delivered a functional prototype of the Nomad app, praised during usability testing for its usability and comprehensive features. Nomad met its objectives by offering a seamless platform combining workspace information and social networking opportunities.


 Nomad includes a streamlined onboarding process, robust search and filter options for co-working spaces, and a community section for networking. We prioritized simplicity and connectivity to enhance the user experience for digital nomads.


The process

User Interviews

To understand the unique needs and habits of digital nomads, we conducted user interviews as our first step. We recruited participants through social media and our own networks, ultimately interviewing four digital nomads. Our objective was to gain insights into how they prepare for travel and what inspires them to explore new places. These interviews provided valuable information about their experiences and challenges, which significantly informed our design process.



Content Analysis

 To better understand nomads and their habits, we conducted a content analysis of over 100 posts and videos from Reddit and YouTube. By combining insights from these online sources with our user interviews, we gained a deeper, more nuanced understanding of their struggles and validated several key takeaways.

Some of these included:

  • Frequent feelings of loneliness and social isolation

  • There’s a desire for events to meet like-minded nomads

  • It’s difficult to find reliable Wi-Fi in cafés and hotels

Competitive Research

  • We conducted competitive research to examine existing resources for digital nomads.

  • We analyzed various direct competitors of Lonely Planet and performed a feature inventory. This revealed that Lonely Planet lacks certain features offered by other brands, such as city guides, which are essential for nomads to navigate cities and find coworking spaces, as seen in Rough Guides.


Persona Development

Through all of this research, we discovered patterns beginning to develop that required a bit more definition. To define the problem at hand, we needed a way to personify our target audience into a single user persona. This helps us understand who we’re designing for and how to best fit their needs. By synthesizing our interview insights and competitive research findings, we created a detailed user persona that embodies the typical digital nomad, guiding our design decisions.


Problem Statement:

Digital nomad need quick access to detailed information on work-friendly destination and opportunities to connect with other nomads to combat loneliness while traveling.


Loneliness, isolation, and practical concerns were recurring themes throughout our research, so we aimed to address both in our design. We referred to our core values: Connect, Empower, and Equip, to guide us in meeting the needs of someone like Izzy. We envisioned a platform combining social networking with reliable resources for nomads. We then began our sketching ideation process, developing a basic user flow and sketching screen ideas and features. After reviewing these wireflows, we selected our favorites and developed wireframes for our initial lo-fi prototype.


Solution in action

The user searches for a coworking space in Madrid, uses filters on the map, finds one, reviews it, and contacts the reviewer via direct message. The reviewer then sends a link to a nearby event.


Usability Testing

 We needed to see if our solution actually worked in the real world. We were able to recruit 4 nomads to run the testing with us.

Objective : To determine if, our user could successfully browse for a coworking space and connect with other nomads in the same city


Goals:

  • Find a coworker space and under five minutes

  • Connect and chat to another user with the less than two errors

  • Sign up for an event from the new connection

Insight :

  •  3/4 user easily search and found coworking spaces

  •  3/4 users had no issue accepting event invite and sign up

  •  4/4 users immediately use the filter option for refining results

  •  4/4 confused by how to connect with other nomad through the profile feature 


What we learn from usability test

Our usability testing revealed the importance of highlighting human connections in our app. This led us to create a new user flow and section for connecting with other nomads. Now, users can search for workspaces, restaurants, accommodations, and activities while also finding and connecting with fellow nomads and groups, addressing two key challenges for digital nomads.


The New flow

Hifi-prototype

We gathered three additional users to test our high-fidelity prototype, yielding unexpected yet informative results. Despite adding a new user flow post-lo-fi testing, we retained the same research objective to evaluate task completion ease. All users initially tried to book a coworking space, then saved it upon realizing booking wasn't possible. Two out of three users easily found a local event to attend, while one user struggled with the menu and couldn't connect with anyone.

Hi-fi prototype usability testing

 Visual Design

  • The Lonely Planet website inspired our visual design elements. Their font is easy to read, and their high-contrast color palette enhances accessibility. Therefore, we maintained the same colors and font in our app.

  • Following industry guidelines and the Lonely Planet site, we set our body text to a minimum of 16 px, with larger subheaders and headers.

  • We designed two logos for Nomad, both featuring the Lonely Planet world icon, but chose "Nomad by Lonely Planet" for brand recognition.

  • Prioritizing visual accessibility, we used black on light blue for high contrast, and tested color combinations for readability, ensuring usability for all forms of colorblindness.


Future Steps

.Our second round of usability testing provided valuable insights for future improvements. I identified the need to personalize home page features based on user location, explore additional accessibility options like language translation, and enhance navigation for a more streamlined flow.

Throughout this journey, I learned that the design of our usability test script significantly affects study outcomes. Continuous ideation led to new flows and solutions, and diverse perspectives enriched the design process. Collaborating and sharing technical and research insights made us an effective team. I'm grateful for this collaborative opportunity and the growth it brought.