WeWander
Social Networking App for Travel
WeWander is an idea thought up by myself and a design research partner as an exploratory study for a potential entrepreneurial venture. I led design, architecture, and branding.
My Role
Ideation
Brainstorming
User Interviews
UX/UI
Visual Design
Team
Michael Kaufman
Rob Kaufman
PROBLEM
Though traveling to a new city or country by yourself can be an exhilarating, life changing experience, almost all travelers have a hard time with the loneliness that comes with immersing yourself in an unfamiliar place.
People want to connect. Making new friends in a new city can be hard. Business trips can be lonely. Vacations can be boring.
RESEARCH
Research involved a combination of in-person interviews and online surveys, and sought to gain a deeper level of empathy with users in order to determine who the target market is, what the pain points are, and what features would be useful to accomplish their goals.
Interviews
11
Sex
46% Male
54% Female
Survey Participants
25
Age
43% 30-40
34% 22-30
RESULTS
As patterns began to emerge, a few things became abundantly clear.
There is a universal desire for a solution to travel related loneliness.
Almost exclusively, the most lonely times are mealtimes, especially dinner.
Additionally, the current most utilized methods to mitigate loneliness while traveling are staying in hostels (only for those in early 20's), dating apps (risky, especially for women), and couch-surfing (can be dangerous).
SOLUTION
The solution is a platform that allows solo travelers to connect with each other based on what we all have in common - a desire to share experiences and form bonds with one another.
The app allows travelers the opportunity to both find, and host, activities that they wanted to do - just not alone. That world famous restaurant you wanted to try? Just make an event posting, and find other solo travelers to have the experience with.
The app also addresses the logistical issues of traveling with limited resources. Many travelers may want to go far a particular hike, but lack transportation or gear. Others may want to take a hot air balloon ride, but don't have anyone to split the cost (and experience) with. With WeWander, they are given the freedom to take full advantage of the geographic location without the burdens - financial, social, and logistical - that are inherent to solo travel.
User Groups
All age groups, ethnicities, and backgrounds, with average / above average socio-economic status.
01
Users travel both for pleasure and business.
02
Sitemap
Homescreen
Show location and active compass for immediate motion feedback. Also use cues like flags, map, etc. to trigger a stronger sense of place and awareness of one’s relative loation to the events
Enact a Sense-of-Place
Swipe nearby events, presenting one at a time. Events are tailored to the user’s interests and sorted by location and time relative to time of viewing (suggest meals around dinner time, etc.)
Prevent Decision-Fatigue
Finding an Event
Profile
Event Details
