TravelGigs
Native App
Project Summary
This project aims to create an app that connects travelers with flexible job opportunities, enabling them to sustain their travels financially and immerse themselves in local cultures.
Problem
Travelers, whether full-time or part-time, often struggle to find flexible job opportunities that align with their travel schedules and locations. This can make it difficult for them to sustain their lifestyle, cover expenses, and fully immerse themselves in the local culture during their travels.
Goal
The app aims to connect travelers with job opportunities that fit their unique needs, providing a platform where they can easily find part-time or temporary work while on the move. By doing so, it helps travelers sustain their journeys, experience local cultures more deeply, and ensure they have the financial resources to continue exploring the world.
Project Details
Key Skills
Competitor Research, User Research, Usability Testing, Wireframing, Prototyping
Tools
Figma, FigJam, Canva, Google Meet, Adobe Creative, Microsoft Office
Team
UX Designers: Christine Chang, Linh Nguyen, Emma Wang
User Research
Summary
To better understand the needs and behaviors of travelers seeking job opportunities, we conducted user research through surveys and interviews. Our primary focus was on two key user groups: full-time employees and freelancers who travel frequently.
The research revealed that travelers often struggle to find flexible job opportunities that align with their travel schedules and locations. Key pain points include the lack of a centralized platform for job listings tailored to travelers and the difficulty of balancing work and travel. These insights have guided the development of our app, which aims to connect travelers with jobs that fit their unique lifestyles, ensuring they can financially sustain their journeys while fully experiencing new cultures.
Survey Questions
Collaborative Question Ideation
Brainstorming and Voting: A look at how we discussed, created, and voted on initial survey questions.
Prioritization Through Team Voting
Refining and Reviewing: Modifying our questions based on third-party reviews to ensure clarity and relevance.
Finalized Research Instrument
Final Additions: Incorporating additional questions to improve our final survey for richer insights. Structured Google Survey deployed for user research (Designed by Christine)
Competitor Analysis & SWOT Analysis
Collaborative Competitive Audit
Designers evaluating uniqueness, advantages & drawbacks per competitor
Strategic Synthesis: Patterns & Opportunities
Mapping commonalities –> differences –> learnings –> value creation
Pain Points
Availability
Difficulty in finding trusted job opportunities while traveling.
Coordination
Challenges in managing work and travel schedules simultaneously.
Centralization
Lack of a centralized platform that caters specifically to the needs of traveling workers.
Resources
Limited access to resources that help travelers understand the job market in different regions.
Strategy
Personas & User Journey Maps
Usability study: Parameters
Study Type:
Moderated Usability Study
Length:
30 mins
Participants:
5 participants
Location:
United States, Australia (Remote)
Usability study: Parameters
Navigation Complexity
- Finding: Users found it difficult to navigate between different sections of the app, particularly when searching for job opportunities. The navigation menu was not intuitive, leading to frustration and increased time spent finding desired features.
- Recommendation: Simplify the navigation structure by grouping related features together and adding clear, descriptive labels. Consider adding a bottom navigation bar for quick access to key sections like job search, applications, and profile.
Profile Setup Overload
- Finding: Users felt overwhelmed by the amount of information required during the initial profile setup. Many found it time-consuming and abandoned the process before completing it.
- Recommendation: Simplify the profile setup by breaking it into smaller, more manageable steps. Implement an option to skip non-essential fields during the initial setup, allowing users to complete their profile at a later time. Additionally, consider adding tooltips or examples to guide users through each section.
Inadequate Feedback for Actions
- Finding: Users felt uncertain whether their actions, such as applying for a job or saving a favorite listing, were successful due to the lack of immediate visual or auditory feedback. This resulted in repeated actions and a less efficient user experience.
- Recommendation: Enhance the feedback mechanism by adding immediate visual cues (e.g., checkmarks, pop-up confirmations) and subtle animations or sounds to confirm successful actions. This will increase user confidence and reduce the need for repetitive actions.
Site Map
accessibility considerations
Color Contrast: Ensuring Sufficient Contrast
Ensures that text and important visual elements are easily readable for users with visual impairments, including those with color blindness. Meeting WCAG 2.1 AA standards for color contrast (a ratio of at least 4.5:1 for text) is essential to make the app usable for everyone.
Screen Reader Compatibility
Ensures that users who rely on screen readers can accurately understand and navigate the app. Implementing descriptive alt text for images, semantic HTML, and ARIA labels is crucial for making the app accessible to visually impaired users.
Keyboard Accessibility
Ensures that all interactive elements (like buttons, links, and forms) can be navigated and operated using a keyboard. This is vital for users with mobility impairments or those who rely on assistive technologies like screen readers.
Typography and color choices
Rational Behind The Design Decisions
In designing this app, careful consideration was given to the selection of typography and color schemes to ensure both functionality and aesthetic appeal. Here’s why we chose the specific typography and color palette:
Typography:
- Open Sans: Open Sans was chosen for its versatility and legibility across various screen sizes. Its modern, clean lines make it suitable for both headlines and body text, ensuring clarity and ease of reading throughout the app. This aligns with our goal of creating a user-friendly experience that is accessible to all.
Color Palette:
- Primary Color – Purple (#4F48EC):
- Purple evokes trust, reliability, and professionalism. It creates a calm and inviting atmosphere, which is ideal for an app where users seek important services like job opportunities.
- Secondary Color – Coral (#E76F51):
- Coral is warm and welcoming, adding a touch of friendliness and energy to the app, which balances the seriousness of the primary blue.
- Background Color – Different shades of Gray:
- Gray serves as a neutral, unobtrusive background that enhances the visibility of the primary and secondary colors. It keeps the interface clean and modern, allowing the content and interactive elements to stand out without causing visual fatigue.
Design System
I established a design system to ensure consistency and efficiency throughout our team project. By using a unified set of guidelines, we maintained a cohesive look and feel across the app. This approach streamlined our workflow, saved time, and kept everyone on the same page. Additionally, it allowed us to scale the design as needed while maintaining quality, ensuring a seamless user experience.
Challenges and Solutions
Early on, we realized the most important feature would be a quick, intuitive job search tool. Travelers don’t have time to sift through long listings or complex forms.
To ensure the app meets the diverse needs of travelers, we designed key features that prioritize convenience, community, and seamless communication between users and hosts.
Lack of Curated Job Suggestions
One of the biggest challenges was designing for both full-time and part-time travelers with different needs. To solve this, we incorporated the ability to search manually or filter jobs by specific criteria , giving travelers more control and flexibility in finding the right opportunities. Additionally, we also implemented personalized job suggestions based on each user’s profile.
Direct Communication with the Host
Interested in a job? Users can message the host directly within the app, and hosts can also send job offers through chat. The messaging system allows users to accept or decline offers directly, streamlining communication between travelers and hosts.
Managing Job Offers Easily
Users can view all job offers in one place, including those they’ve received, accepted, and declined. By keeping these categories separate and allowing filters, we ensured that users wouldn’t miss any opportunities, addressing the user frustration with managing multiple offers.
Building Community While Traveling
Users wanted a way to connect with others while traveling. We created a “Community Page” similar to Instagram, where users can share experiences, photos, and connect with other like-minded individuals. This solves the issue of feeling isolated while traveling.
Review System
A Place to Learn and Improve
We implemented a Resources page where users can access educational articles and videos tailored to different job types. This feature supports travelers in enhancing their skill sets, ensuring they are more equipped for diverse job opportunities during their travels.
The result?
A seamless, easy-to-navigate platform that helps travelers find jobs that fit their lifestyle. Whether you’re looking for short-term work or something more consistent, our app connects you to opportunities in just a few taps.