‍

‍

For this student project, I was required to combine the "TravWell" and "Can I Eat This?" mobile apps into one easy-to-use aide that would enable travelers to quickly locate vital information regarding their health and safety while abroad.

‍

‍

The Problem

CDC apps are mostly unknown, and their processes are crude; for example, the "Can I Eat This" app asks travelers if they are eating at a street vendor after they have entered that they are located in Antarctica. The "TravWell" app is primarily concerned with helping travelers to organize their travel preparation and to keep track of their documents. The most useful feature of this app is its list of routine vaccines required per country. Neither of the apps offer anything travelers need. The rudimentary quality of these apps seems to exacerbate their unpopularity for the two following reasons:

1. travelers generally know what's safe to eat
2. travelers rely on other sources of information to keep track of what precautions they should take

Research

We set out to discover what emergencies travelers experienced and how they dealt with them through the following study consisting of:

1. Surveys (150+ responses)
2. Interviews (20+)

Travel Concerns

As you can see below, people do not claim to be very concerned about emergencies while traveling.

‍

‍

The travel app usage data reflects traveler concerns. Surprisingly, travelers did not use apps on health or safety.

‍

‍

Travelers said that they would do at least one of three things if they were concerned about health and safety:

1. Consult the news
2. Avoid the area
3. Learn precautionary steps

‍

Travelers who had experienced illness while abroad were unprepared, although their illness was usually a minor one. The following quote pinpointed an opportunity for us.

‍

‍

Insights

1. Travelers tend not to worry about health issues until they have a problem.
2. Lack of knowledge of local medicines produces anxiety for travelers.
3. Travelers are primarily concerned with water quality and food prep when traveling.
4. Travelers worry about and or experience small illnesses more than major diseases.
5. Travelers have a big concern around connectivity.

‍

Design Principles

1. Maintain fulfillments of original apps.
2. Anticipate travelers' needs.
3. Allow the highest possible accessibility of vital info.

‍

The Solution

We created a suite of informational products which address health issues commonly experienced by travelers, and which could be accessible in multiple formats.

1. Responsive Website (map-based with file saving; DL contingency plan to phone)
2. Travel Brochure (with local and generalized info on)
3. Phone App

‍

The Lesson

After the project, I realized that our efforts would have been far more productive had we focused on one product—the MVP—the mobile app. So, I set out to redesign the solution.

Here's what I came up with.

Overall, this app maintains the features of the old apps but focuses on areas that concern travelers most. These concerns include vital information retention, immediately saving the most crucial information, such as Travel Warnings regarding diseases or social unrest, to the user's phone.

‍

Prototype Vid

An active prototype can be found here: https://invis.io/U9SF5KCSZKR.

‍

First, users can navigate through their trips by using the central swipe bar.

‍

‍

Users can access all the old features through the side menu and the centered dropdown menu.

‍

‍

They can delve deeper into essential topics on the current trip's main page. Through there they can easily bookmark info, make adjustments to their to-do list, or save routes of travel.

‍

Now the information on the app is tightly curated to the trip activated by the user.

‍

‍

The saving of routes can be especially useful if the user anticipates a loss of internet connection.

‍

‍

‍

Other features included in this app but not displayed are as follows:

     1. Vaccines and Diseases
         – Provide in-depth info
         – Allow users to:
            1. Access their To-Do list
            2. View a highlighted map of at-risk regions
     2. Food
         – Provide advice regarding consumption, including:
            1. Standard precautions
            2. Allergies
         – Provide advice on food poisoning—causes, symptoms, and treatment of symptoms
     3. Wildlife
         – Provide precautionary info regarding harmful plants and potentially dangerous animals
     4. Medications
         – Provide visual, audio and written info regarding specific over-the-counter and prescribed medications
         – Direct users to the map so they can search for a pharmacy, clinic, or hospital depending on their input
     5. Words & Phrases
         – Provide visual, audio and written basic language lessons for crucial words and phrases

‍

Conclusion

All in all, this app intends to keep travelers safe and healthy by providing crucial information while operating in a manner that anticipates and accommodates the strong user flow.