To start this project I needed to research on the types of applications that aid in travel planning, their features and what their limitations are. During this stage I discovered four major types of applications based on their features.

• Applications that let users book transportation and lodging.
• Applications that let users discover places to visit at their desired destinations.
• Applications that let users create an itinerary, store documents etc. for the trip.
• Applications that connect the user to other travellers.

Following this I conducted a user survey to understand them, their needs and pain points in regard to planning trips. This survey reflected the demographics of the target audience. 45% of the respondents were 21 - 30 years old, 26% were 41 - 50 years old, 14 % were 51 - 60 years old and 6 % were 31 - 40 years old. Of these respondents 72% said they loved travelling to new places. Some important findings from this survey are:

1. 47% of the respondents travel once a year and 33% travel every few months and over 50% plan their trips in advance.
2. Internet booking is the most common way to book trips followed by travel agencies.
3. Over 60% find planning trips frustrating because they have to juggle between different applications and websites.
4. A majority of the respondents travel with their friends, family or partner but few do travel solo or with other travellers.
5. 94% of the respondents think reviews and posts from other travellers about places with be helpful and 67% would like to connect to other travellers.

Using this data collected I also created three user personas showing the types of users for this mobile application.

Using this data I also created Affinity maps based on what the users liked, what challenges they faced and what suggestions they had to offer.

I used the information I had gathered in the course of my research to create the following information architecture.

After the creation of the information architecture, a paper wireframe and a medium fidelity wireframe were created in order to make the mid-fidelity prototype.

After the completion of the medium fidelity prototype, I then established the style guide for this application.

After the creation of the information architecture, a paper wireframe and a medium fidelity wireframe were created in order to make the mid-fidelity prototype.