CITY WALKS
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UX Design Project by Mike McDowall
June 2024
CITY WALKS
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CITY WALKS
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CREATE
YOUR OWN
PERSONALISED
SELF GUIDED
CITY
WALKING TOURS
OUTLINE
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Introduction
Research
User Personas
User Interface
Design
Visual
Design
Prototype
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INTRODUCTION
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MISSION STATEMENT
How can we enrich the experience
for ‘City Break’ tourists, enabling them to visit sights that spark their interest, at a time that suits their schedule?
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PROBLEM
An ‘all-in-one’ city tour guide route application doesn’t exist
Tourists visiting cities often use several different apps to navigate through cities, to locate sights, cafes, transport, accommodation etc, which they find irritating, inconvenient, and inefficient. A common desire is for a one-stop-shop application to provide a route map, plus all the other information they want - all without leaving a single site.
Tourists also criticise the limited options for creating bespoke self-guided tours. Guided tours and on-line self-guided tour maps are restricted to inflexible itineraries that often fail to align with their interests.
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SOLUTION
A multi-function application that creates self-guided walking tours customised for each user
The concept is to create a new, mobile first, responsive application that generates bespoke walking tours of major world cities that reflect users’ interests. For each user, the app builds a customised tour map complete with a route optimised to include only the type sights, attractions, events, and restaurants they would enjoy visiting. The length and duration of each tour and the level of information supplied are all automatically generated to perfectly match their individual preferences.
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VALUE PROPOSITION
Every tourist is different
Most tourist apps don’t take that into consideration
CITY WALKS addresses common pain points by giving tourists a uniquely simple to use, intuitive, and personalised experience where a single application gives them all the information they need, tailored precisely to their interests.
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VALUE PROPOSITION
CITY WALKS provides:
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VALUE PROPOSITION
CITY WALKS provides:
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VALUE PROPOSITION
BENEFITS FOR THE USER
For users, CITY WALKS enables a rich ‘City Break’ experience tailored to their preferences.
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VALUE PROPOSITION
BENEFITS FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES
For local tourist attractions such as iconic landmarks, historical sights, markets, events, bars and restaurants, CITY WALKS encourages customers with genuine interest in the services they are providing
There are ample opportunities for targeted advertising
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RESEARCH
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Location research was conducted in London’s Square Mile. A range of its iconic landmarks, historic sights, architectural masterpieces, restaurants, cafes and bars were visited to determine the types of people who visit different kinds of sight, and the issues they run into during their trips
The entire area was extensively photographed
Internet research was conducted to discover what existing applications tourists use
Over a dozen interviews were completed with various different types of tourist
LONDON
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Sample group
The objective was to gather a representative group of tourists, regarding where they live, their age, and their interests
Interviewees were found who came from the following locations:
LONDON
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Interviewees
Jonathan Lynette Sarah
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Interviewees
Francesca Amy Andrea
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Interviewees
Philip Michaela Brenden
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Interviewees
Andleeb Stephen Sonia
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Interview Script
Sample Questions
After gathering basic information, such as name, occupation, and home town, the following questions, among others, were asked:
LONDON
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Interview Script
LONDON
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Interview Script
LONDON
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Research Insights
PAIN POINTS IDENTIFIED
PAIN POINTS
The overwhelming frustration for tourists is the absence of a simple-to-use route map app that can be customised for their individual needs
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Research Insights
DESIRES IDENTIFIED
The overwhelming desire is to have one application that includes a customisable route map and easy access to other detail like transport info, hospitality info and reviews
DESIRES
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USER PERSONAS
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Typical Tourist
LYNETTE is early 30s, lives in Puerto Rico and is
visiting London for the first time.
She is an avid traveller. Her last trip was to Rome, which she
loved because of all the ancient historical sites, the great
Italian food, and the classy shopping. She’s only in London
for one day, so time is of the essence.
Top of her agenda are all the classic London destinations, like
the Tower of London, St Pauls, Buckingham palace, The Gherkin - all the top instagram locations, but she also wants to stop off at designer boutiques, and to tuck into the best local food.
She wants to leave with souvenirs, having ticked off more of her bucket list.
After researching back home in Puerto Rico, she booked an open top bus ride which she enjoyed because passengers can hop on and off, but was frustrated that it didn’t go to all the places she wanted to visit.
LYNETTE
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Base: San, Juan, Puerto Rico
Profession: Chemical Engineer
Age: Early 30s
Interests: Landmarks, shopping
Motivation
Would like an app that optimises her trips, to save her time
Personality
Inquisitive, sociable, energetic, keen instagrammer.
Seeks re-assurance. Puts a lot of trust in reviews
Goals and Needs
Wants to see all the world’s most famous ‘bucket list’ destinations and to find time for serious shopping and eating
Behaviour and Habits
A natural planner, likes organising her own trips, but will take pre-arranged tours because of their simplicity
Frustrations
“I spend days and planning city breaks. I’d love an app that did all the work for me.”
LYNETTE
Extravagant
Conformist
Hurried
Bio
Lynette has lives in a small flat in San Juan with her boyfriend. They take 3 or 4 city breaks each year, mainly driven by Lynette’s FOMO. Self confessed shopaholic.
LYNETTE
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Architecture Buff
STEPHEN is early 60s, lives in Canada, and is also visiting
London for the first time.
He’s here with his wife for three days, and between meeting
friends he wants to photograph the city’s most spectacular
architecture.
What especially intrigues him is the juxtaposition of
dramatic skyscrapers and historic buildings like Wren churches.
He wants to leave with hundreds of great arty photos, and memories of visiting galleries and museums that are unique to London. Highlights of the trip are St Paul’s Cathedral, the Lloyds Building, the Walkie Talkie Tower, and Tate Modern.
He’s naturally adventurous, and doesn’t like guided tours or tourist buses because they don’t cater for his niche interests - he doesn’t want to feel like a typical tourist.
STEPHEN
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Base: Halifax, Canada
Profession: Photographer
Age: Early 60s
Interests: Architecture, Art
Motivation
Would like a personalised travel app that addresses his interests
Likes to fill time with valuable experiences, and to discover the true identity of places he visits
Personality
Self-assured, intelligent, artistic sensibility
Not interested in what others think of him
Goals and Needs
Wants to fill time in an educational manner
Wants to leave with a portfolio of great photos
Behaviour and Habits
Spontaneous, tech savvy, likes being in control, frugal
Frustrations
“I have a bad sense of direction! Can’t find places of interest.”
STEPHEN
Cultured
Independent
Relaxed
Bio
Stephen has always lived in Nova Scotia, but travels a lot, mainly for work or with his wife of more than 30 years. Favourite experiences are finding hidden gems off the beaten track
STEPHEN
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INFORMATION
ARCHITECTURE
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USER FLOW
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MOOD BOARD
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HISTORY
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ARCHITECTURE
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COLOUR
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SKETCHES
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STYLE GUIDE
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Soft Grid
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Typography
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Elements
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Icons
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Colours
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Click here
WIRE FRAMES
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PROTOTYPE
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PROTOTYPE
Following wire frame testing, several improvements were made to enhance the user experience
Creating an itinerary is now more intuitive, with the user invited to choose sights to visit from a simple list
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Click here
PROTOTYPE
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FEEDBACK
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Prototype Test Feedback
MANIQUE
“What a brilliant idea. I’m hoping to visit several European cities this summer. An app like this would be very useful. I’d use it. Great that it shows you the weather, but it would be good if the map pins showed the names of the places, and even better if it could book you tickets or reserve tables.”
SAM
“The app looks amazing. It’s super easy to navigate. Really nice slick design.
Like that there is plenty of info about places to check out.”
LEARNING OUTCOMES
The testers’ reactions confirmed that the overall design is largely successful. Regarding refinements, two suggestions emerged: 1) to display place names on the map, and to 2) add an automated ticket / table booking function.
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THANK YOU
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