Travel Smarter.
Spottly is an app that helps users find great places worldwide.
The Challenge
The project started with the Spottly team wanting to find answers to following questions:
• How can we help people decide which places they should visit?
• How to turn the process of planning to go somewhere into a fun activity?
In response, Spottly came up with an idea for an app where people could recommend places to each other. By sharing photos of favourite spots the users would co-create a picture-based travel guide. The app would be especially helpful when planning trips or being on the go, looking for a new destination.
Eevy design studio was responsible for design of every aspect of the product. That included the UI and UX design of the app but also all the steps that led to achieving the goals described below. Eevy’s role extended later on as the project continued. Designing a promotional website, adapting the design to changes in patterns of users’ behaviour, setting up teams and collaborating closely with the marketing department are examples of additional daily routines.
Goals
Project vision statement: To provide a large community worldwide with new enjoyable ways of discovering places.
User Experience goals:
• To make the app succeed in being perceived as useful, fun and fresh
• To convey a sense of community through social interactions on the platform
• To elevate UX quality to the level of currently top rated apps
• To adjust functions accordingly to the way users enjoy doing things
User Interface goals:
• Create UI that is compatible with both iOS and Android operating systems
• Make beautiful design that is responsive: adjusted to different sizes of smartphones and tablets
• Incorporate latest technological trends: stay on on the forefront of design and app development
Understanding the client
Receiving the feedback from the client on an almost daily basis made the project progress fast. Through initial stakeholder interviews and later the client’s reviews of each stage of the design process, we made sure that everyone was on the same page throughout the whole project.
Research
Project’s research consisted of looking into the latest technology trends, conducting user tests, going through user-behaviour data and checking out competitors like Google Maps and Google Trips that then existed. By reaching out to the power users - in this case - traveling influencers, and investigating their needs and routines, we could then furthermore specify the design requirements.
Design process
The designing process started out by setting up a graphic manual and then refining different design concepts. These ideas were then implemented in prototypes that were then user tested and reviewed by the client. The feedback from the users on early version of the app helped us to outline three crucial problems that had to be fixed:
1. Users didn’t understand what the app did even after a completed onboarding.
2. There were many drop-offs when users were asked to sign in.
3. Users had problems with setting up a profile and finding other interesting people to connect with which then caused a decrease of the product's perceived value.
How did we solve these problems?
The purpose of the app was clarified by referring to it as a picture-based travel guide. This was a term easily understood by most of the users. Additionally, pictures of places received explaining titles. We also postponed the necessity to sign in: this granted users early access to the app’s content. By having a look at different things that the app did, the users were more likely to sign in later on. Lastly, we made it easier to explore the app, create collections of favourite places, and connect with others. Filling the feed with specific places that would most likely interest the users was something that made the app more useful.
Final Result
Although currently on pause due to Covid-19, the app has been very successful and available in most countries on both the iOS App Store and Android’s Google Play Store. Spottly has been translated into 16 languages worldwide and at one point featured in the App Store as one of the top apps.
