I love to travel —
but planning for it, sucks.
Vacationing in a new place can be fun but daunting, especially when planning an itinerary. Many tourists enjoy visiting the local businesses that the new city has to offer but are overpowered by the big “stereotypical” tourist attractions. I want to create a platform where locals can share authentic reviews and recommendations about their favorite places while providing tourists with a trusted guide to discovering hidden gems and unique experiences. Locals can share their love for their hometown as tourists can appreciate the area’s roots.
I interviewed and surveyed a total of 15 people who are from big and small cities about their planning and traveling experiences and here are some insights I gathered...
“I wish I did more research prior to my trip. When I arrive at a new place, I am always confused on what to do.”
“It’s hard trying to figure out an itinerary since there is a lot to do a lot in a day. It gets stressful.”
“I always forget about planning restaurant meals such as making reservations around the area for accommodations.”
“I wish there was a way to create a list of places to eat or things to do that is organized by neighborhood or area.”
“I get frustrated when planning out my itinerary because I never know where or how to start.”
“I love visiting all the famous tourist attractions but sometimes I want to support local businesses.”
Team
Kristen Huang
Role
UI/UX Designer
Tools
Figma
Duration
find your next hidden gem.
Tourists want to explore a new city confidently so they can enjoy their stay in a new place and ease their planning stage of the trip.
Have you ever visited a big city, but all you go to are the mainstream tourist attractions?
Local Lens is a platform that strengthens locals and tourists relationships. As someone who is from New York City, the relationship between tourists and locals can be tough and debatable. Some are not fans of tourists as they may interfere with locals’ every day lives. However, as someone who also loves traveling, I am always seeking for locals’ recommendations, special places, and activities to do in a new city.
I want to close that gap between tourists and locals and instead, create a safe platform where both parties can learn to share and appreciate a beautiful place they call home.
Everyone has their opinions about tourists and some people want to “gatekeep” their favorite places. So why would locals feel motivated to post their hidden gems? This was one of the challenges I had but after researching and interviews locals from big cities, here is what some said...
Users didn’t realize they could choose the categories prior to searching up locations
“I thought I could click on the review to view the activity profile instead of clicking the button.”
“How will the followers and following aspect work?”
Confusing post a review layout
When I first came up with the idea of Local Lens, I asked myself, “wait so why would locals want to share their favorite, “secret” places to tourists? I might not even want to share my favorite small business to strangers.” This was an issue I had going into this project, not knowing if it was practical. But after gathering research and interviewing locals from big cities, they were actually very motivated to share their recommendations. They love welcoming tourists and want to show tourists what their city is actually like.
This is my first time designing a desktop website which I don’t have much experience on. It took a lot of adjusting and fixing my mistakes but I learned about the importance of information hierarchy. Having another perspective on design was very insightful and I’m proud of trying and building something new.
Design a mobile app version of the website so that Local Lens can be more convenient for those on the go!
Incorporate a more interactive and social community where users can follow, chat, and share tips when visiting their hometown.
