Creating connections during a solo experience
Soulo is a mobile app that bridges solo travellers to events and new connections to challenge the idea that solo travelling is a solitary or lonely experience. Our research found that while some travellers value the possibility of introspection, others value experiencing new people and places. I was responsible for user research and UI design of the event page in part.
FEATURE BREAKDOWN
Onboarding
Onboarding prepares the traveller to create a profile specific to their interests and language preferences. This allows the user to eventually connect with events and individuals based on those preferences and their travelling goals
Joining events
Solo travelling involves a sentiment of adventure. The catalogue of events prompts the traveller to be spontaneous and attend to those happening within the next hour or two. We consider events happening at later dates for more organized travellers.
Making Connections
The connections page offers a more intimate experience for travellers who do not wish to be out in big groups. Solo travellers can connect with one other traveller and explore the city in a way that aligns with their travelling goals.
Creating events
If the activities do not captivate the user, they can create an event themselves for people. This gives the traveller the agency to meet groups of people based on their own terms and social needs
RESEARCH BREAKDOWN
Exploration and Connections as two arising themes for the app
Some of our assumptions were disproven during our interviews. While we believed that people face safety issues when travelling, we found that despite the concern, people accommodate beforehand to avoid facing issues. We also believed that solo travellers socialize easily but found that while they socialize more independently rather than in groups out of fun or necessity, introverts navigate less easily.
How might we empower solo travellers to engage with foreign cultures and new connections during their self-exploration journeys?
WIREFRAMING
Low and Medium fidelity mockups raised privacy issues
To foster spontaneity, we chose to design a mobile application so that the traveller could more easily make decisions on the go. We also choose to set our events as public to reduce friction, removing the step of requesting and waiting to join events.
There was a privacy concern around public events. Travellers would not join events without knowing other attendees if they re-encountered an unpleasant person. However, they did not want to disclose their identity to the general public either.
Low-Fidelity Mockups
Medium-Fidelity Mockups
Final iterations prior to user testing
To address privacy concerns, we choose to have a combination of public and private events. Private events would only be joined upon request to empower the host to design their event. Essential information such as location and attendees would be hidden for both public and private until clicked "join", which notify the host.
High-Fidelity Mockups of the Events page
TESTING OUR SOLUTION
User testing reveal some inconsistency in language
We conducted a usability test with 6 participants, sessions that I led the interview portion of, to better understand how real-time solo travellers interact with the product. We found that some words like “connections” were interpreted differently across participants. We chose to keep "connect" only in the navigation bar for clarity.
Initial Interface (left), Readapted Interface (right)
REFLECTION
Continuously challenge assumptions
As an immigrant and travel enthusiast, I found myself trying to situate myself in the stories of the interviewees in terms of how relatable they were to my own experience. The more people interviewed, the less I had in common. I finally realized that it was more important to separate my travelling experience from the project because while some needs may overlap, each and every person face different struggles. As a result, my skills when conducting interviews post-project also improved.