Travel Book is a self-initiated UX project designed to enhance the shopping experience for travelers and improve business opportunities for local vendors. It bridges the gap between tourists looking for authentic local shopping and vendors aiming to increase their reach.
As the sole UX designer, I led the entire process, conducting research, defining pain points, ideating solutions, wireframing, prototyping, and refining the UI for both travelers and vendors.
Goals
The primary objective of Travel Book is to streamline the shopping experience for travelers while providing a digital presence for local vendors.
- Improve vendor visibility and business growth via digital storefronts.
- Enable travelers to discover, connect, and shop from local vendors seamlessly.
- Provide vendors with tools to manage inventory, track sales, and attract customers.
- Reduce the complexity of finding and purchasing local products while traveling.
Inspiration
My aunt and mother love exploring local markets and collecting souvenirs wherever we travel. On one trip, despite searching online and asking locals, we struggled to locate authentic markets, the information was scattered and unreliable.
While malls were easy to find, the true essence of the city, the local markets, remained hidden. That's when I thought: "What if there was a platform that helped travelers explore and shop from local businesses effortlessly?" Thus, Travel Book was born.
Understanding User Needs
I conducted user interviews to understand the challenges and preferences of both travelers and local vendors, preparing a script with 20 open-ended questions focused on how travelers discover markets and how vendors attract customers.
