Airbnb Local
UX & Visual Design
Unlocking local experiences with Airbnb
Duration
12 weeks
Tools
Figma, Miro, Aftereffects, Illustrator, Procreate
My team
MJ Park, Radiya Aheto, Casey Rowland
My role
User Research, UI Design, Prototyping, Visual Design
Awards
2024 Creative Conscience
Pain point 1
How can we encourage spontaneity instead of over-planning?
- People get stressed when a trip doesn’t go as planned, especially when they've overplanned.
- Finding local events or attractions on the go can be difficult if people haven't done their research and planned ahead.
Pain point 2
How can we cherish experiences after trip?
- It's difficult to cherish experiences and fully immerse themselves in shared moments when there are so many things to worry about during the trip.
Why is this needed?
- Recognizing that travelers often experience stress when plans don't go as expected, we aim to simplify their journey. Many struggle to find local events or attractions on the go if they haven’t prepared ahead of time. By reducing the burden of excessive planning and providing real-time recommendations, we help users immerse themselves in the experience and fully enjoy the moments they’re meant to cherish.
When does this come in handy?
- This solution is activated when travelers need quick recommendations to make the most of unplanned downtime or adjust plans due to unexpected changes, offering them a way to stay present and enjoy their journey.
What does this mean?
Solution 1
Move like a local
Get notification and find local events or activities happening soon within the shared location / area to Airbnb.
Solution 2
Share like a local
Staying connected with the people they met and be reminded of the memories from the trips.
Visual direction
While keeping the Airbnb's design standards, we adopted our unique touch tailored to Gen-Z.
Inspired by the creative charm of scrapbook aesthetics, Airbnb Local embodies a design direction tailored to Gen Z preferences using vibrant colors, playful illustrations, stamps, and stickers.
UX methodology
Design thinking
- The design decisions for Airbnb Local are based on discover, define, ideation, and visual explorations.
Competitor audit
Most travel apps feel very touristy and offer few opportunities to be exposed to local culture and neightborhood.
There are limited opportunities to connect with other travelers on app.
The content is mostly focused on booking, with fewer recommendations based on user’s location.
Market opportunity
After researching potential competitors, we discovered that their offerings were primarily centered around visiting landmarks and traditional tourist activities, with little opportunity for interaction with locals.
User interview
We vividly heard life experiences from Gen-Z interviewees with diverse backgrounds, allowing us to gain a deeper insight on how travelers think before, during, and after a trip, as well as how they use the social media to influence travel decisions.
Persona
- We created Gen-Z personas to represent our target audience, encompassing three different reasons for traveling: making new memories, seeing the world, and meeting new people.
User journey
- We created a journey map from an interview with Gen-Z travelers to identify key challenges and inform design solutions.
Key learnings
They get stressed when their planned schedule changes unexpectedly and feel unsure of what to do.
They often find it difficult to enjoy the moment during the trip due to concerns such as budget, time constraints, and transportation.
Navigation & information architecture
A new navigation system considers the full scope of the user journey—from initial interaction to finding exactly what they’re looking for.
Wireframe and visual exploration
Design System
Reflection
- After the completion of the project, I learned about the challenges Gen-Z individuals with loneliness. How could we encourage IRL experiences when they are largely connected to online? Does IRL experience really solve the loneliness of Gen-Z? These questions are just the starting point. By tackling these issues head-on, we could make Airbnb a more welcoming experience for everyone. After presenting the concept, our classmates provided feedback that our features would help them to connect with others in a realistic way, while keeping the essence of human interaction.
Next step
- For the second phase of this project, I would like to expand our visual design to UI design in mobile screen.
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