Team: Binru Liu & Yitong Han
After defining the design direction, we plan to start designing some prototypes for user testing. At this point, we entered the develop phase.
Competitor analysis
In the develop phase, we started with a competitor analysis. Based on our design goals, I looked for products that were currently available to help visitors. However, the functionality of these products only partially solved the problems that visitors encountered.
Prototype 1: Planning Toolkit
Based on our previous research, we found that design opportunities were concentrated in the pre-trip planning phase. We decided to design some prototypes that could be used in this phase.
The first prototype was a travel toolkit.
In a group trip, this toolkit helps the travel team to plan the trip and ensures that each member can contribute and express their ideas in the planning process.
Each toolkit contains 5 translucent maps and 4 task cards. Each user is given a map and at least one task card. They should complete the tasks on their task card (organise an itinerary, find hotels, find restaurants and find attractions) and mark the results on the map. Users then stack their maps together to get a complete map of their travel plans. Finally, users just need to copy these routes onto a blank map.
Feedback & Reflection
We have received much useful feedback through user testing. The users thought our idea was very creative and that each team member had the opportunity to express their ideas. There was a middle-aged couple who loved the beautiful paper maps and they thought the maps were great souvenirs. However, some users said they wanted to take part in all the work of planning stage, rather than just one kind of work. Other users said that he might not like the restaurant chosen by others, and he would like to have more opportunities for discussion.
Based on user feedback, we have summarised the problems of the current prototype.
1. Each user can only do one type of work.
2. The prototype does not provide enough opportunities for discussion with the team.
3. Older users feel that the visibility of the travel route is not good enough.
In my opinion, the user needs that designers think are often different from the real user needs. Therefore, we need to verify our ideas through user testing. In the coming work, we will continue to design prototypes and improve the user experience.
