Wanderlust

UI Design | Branding

A travel agency for content creators and content lovers.

This project was created during my Experience and Interaction class where we were prompted to create a travel service aimed at young travelers. Growing up I watched a lot of YouTube, specifically cinematic travel vlogs from popular creators such as Sam Kolder and TaylorCutFilms, whose filmmaking and storytelling abilities sparked my own personal yearning to travel. With wanderlust, I aimed to merge my love for content creation with traveling to make discovering and booking trips easy for college students.

Role

Designer

Timeline

June 2022

Tools

Figma

Problem Statement

Many college students struggle to find affordable and enjoyable travel options that fit their limited budgets and personal interests. How can we create a travel agency that caters specifically to the needs of college students who are more interested in experiences over luxury and tourist hotspots?

01 Research & Ideation

I researched three main competitors to familiarize myself with the features and information found on typical travel websites.

Lonely Planet

Modern & colorful images of destinations
Full screen interface: dynamic hover navigation
Shopping feature to purchase travel books/guides
Travel stories: activities, local voices, tips/advice

Screen Shot 2022-12-26 at 2.52.21 AM.png

Footprint

Sitemap organized by continents
Article oriented: worldwide travel stories
Shop contains destination handbooks

Screen Shot 2022-12-26 at 2.54.02 AM.png

Let's Go

Outdated interface: red/white circus-like branding
Lots of destinations, no filter system
Read section lacks pictures to accompany content

Takeaways

After my review, I concluded that many travel agencies contain excess information that overcomplicates traveling for teenagers. Text-heavy sections such as “shop” and “read” aren’t as relevant to younger audiences who mainly browse the internet to discover activities and attractions.

My solution

Aesthetically pleasing: colorful high-quality images, modern UI
Organization: tags and filter systems to improve navigation
Simplicity: condensed sitemap, less options is better

Brainstorm

Mix of Airbnb, Yelp, and Pinterest
Choose your own adventure: What kind of traveler are you?
- Experience curated to the user’s identity: foodie, solo travel, study abroad
Social Media aspect: share photos & travel maps with friends
Collections: create plans; save and star locations
Funds: money tracker; split trip price between friends

Sitemap

Lo-Fi Sketches

I started lo-fi sketches based on my sitemap and brainstorm above.

Screen Shot 2022-12-26 at 2.38.06 AM.png

02 The Moodboard

I wanted to be very purposeful with my design choices, so I researched the color psychology behind the popular content influencer combination of blue and orange tones, which I found inspire heightened activity and emotion. I then referred to my travel Pinterest board for more inspiration, which I felt accurately represented the aesthetic choices of my target audience, so I ended up choosing more muted earthy tones instead of the intense orange and blues.

Branding

Given the younger demographic of my audience, I named my travel agency after my favorite childhood phrase: wanderlust (n.), or a strong desire to travel. This was meant to give my brand a dreamy and trendy connotation to spark inspiration and excitement within the users. To further represent the emotional context portrayed in the project, I created four company values to define “wanderlust” as a brand.