KALEID

Product Experience

Problem Space 

Problem Statement  

How might we provide travellers with a seamless way to leverage their saved travel inspirations and transform them into personalized travel itineraries, so that they can easily plan and experience their dream trips, bridging the gap between inspiration and execution?

Problem Background  

Who is the customer? 

Our primary customers are modern, tech-savvy travelers who use various digital platforms to gather travel inspirations. These individuals are often overwhelmed by the amount of information available and struggle to organize and utilize this information effectively during their travel planning process.

What is the need or problem we're addressing? 

The problem we're addressing is the difficulty and time-consuming nature of turning travel inspirations into actionable travel plans. Travelers save inspirations across multiple platforms, but when it comes time to plan a trip, they struggle to remember, locate, and effectively use these inspirations. In fact, more than half of our survey respondents (59%) reported challenges with organizing their inspirations in a useful way. Interestingly, while all 63 respondents look at travel inspirations, 21 of them don't save them, possibly due to the lack of an effective method for saving, organizing, and using these inspirations.

How do we know this is a problem? 

The problem has been identified through extensive user interviews/ surveys and market research. Users have expressed their frustrations with the current travel planning process and their desire for a more streamlined, personalized approach. The fact that travelers resort to using multiple platforms and tools to plan their trips indicates a gap in the market for a comprehensive solution. Moreover, when travelers do miss or forget an inspiration when travelling, they experience instant “Fear of missing out” (FOMO) or slight regret, underscoring the need for a more effective solution.

Research Insights

User Pain Points

Central to our findings is the recurring challenge users face: difficulties in organizing travel inspirations, translating these inspirations into actionable plans, and often forgetting about saved travel destinations. For instance, Thais struggles with revisiting her saved inspirations on Instagram when planning a trip, while Catherine grapples with organizing inspirations across multiple platforms. These insights, combined with the fact that a notable 21of 63 respondents don't save travel inspirations at all, suggest a significant market gap.

Supporting Data

• Travel Frequency: A majority of survey respondents, 45 out of 63, travel multiple times a year, indicating a consistent need for travel planning.
• Inspiration Sources: Word of mouth, travel blogs, and Instagram emerge as top sources, suggesting users actively gather travel ideas across diverse platforms.
• Organizational Challenges: Catherine and Rianna's insights underscore the diverse ways users approach travel planning, from using multiple platforms to 'reverse traveling'.
• Memory Lapses: A significant 20 respondents "sometimes" forget about their saved inspirations, with another 13 facing this issue "often".

Feedback

Users are signalling a clear need: a centralized hub for travel inspirations. The data and interviews conclude a desire for a standalone, comprehensive app offering an integrated, personalized travel planning experience. Beyond just organizing, there's a call for features that provide timely reminders or suggestions, ensuring users make the most of their saved inspirations.

Landing on the Solution

After diving into user feedback and understanding the challenges travelers face, it became clear what our solution needed to offer. Travelers wanted a simple, centralized place to manage their inspirations and turn them into actionable plans.

Explanation of Solution

Travel planning can be a maze of scattered inspirations and tedious organization. Our solution streamlines this process:

• Centralised: Save and access all travel inspirations, from links to photos, in one place. No more juggling between apps.
• Easy Tagging: Organize inspirations with a user-friendly tagging system. Find what you saved, when you need it.
• Drag-and-Drop Planning: Turn inspirations into itineraries effortlessly. Visualize your journey with a simple drag and drop.
• Group Travels Simplified: Collaborative planning spaces are on the horizon, making group trips a breeze.
• Tailored Recommendations: Get travel suggestions that align with your preferences, ensuring a personalized experience.
• All-in-One Platform: From dreaming about a destination to booking it, we aim to be your go-to travel companion.

Our solution is more than just a tool—it's a travel companion. By addressing the core challenges faced by travelers, we aim to make the journey from inspiration to itinerary as seamless and enjoyable as possible.

User Flows/Mockups 

User flow diagram for "Adding and Tagging Inspirations":

Mockup: “Adding Inspirations”

Future Steps

As part of Co.Lab's BOOTCAMP with SPRINT22, our roadmap for 'Kaleid' is set:

1. MVP Development: We're crafting an MVP that directly addresses user pain points.
2. Team Synergy: In our cross-functional team, effective communication is key to harnessing collective expertise.
3. User Feedback Loop: Post-MVP launch, we'll gather user feedback, making it central to our refinement process.
4. Broadening Horizons: With 50% of our survey respondents valuing word-of-mouth for travel inspirations, we'll explore adding a social component to 'Kaleid'.
5. Continuous Improvement: As we move forward, we'll delve deeper into secondary pain points, ensuring 'Kaleid' remains a comprehensive solution for travelers.

Mockup: Social aspect

Other Documents

Research Plan

Research Synthesis

Survey Link