SUMMER 2025
HIDDEN GEM MOBILE APP
For Interaction Design I, the project was to design a mobile app that serves the community. I created a tourism app focused on helping travelers explore lesser-known areas of a new place, or the ‘Hidden Gems’ of a city.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Travelers often depend on platforms like TripAdvisor or Airbnb, which emphasize popular landmarks and tourist-heavy spots. As a result, authentic local culture and personal stories are overlooked, creating a gap between travelers seeking authenticity and the locals who can provide it.
APP BRIEF
Hidden Gem is a mobile app that connects travelers with guided tours led by verified locals. Featuring personal stories, cultural insights, and curated experiences, the app highlights small businesses and unique landmarks to foster authentic travel while supporting local communities.
BENCHMARKING
After determining the purpose of the app, the next step was to conduct research on which apps provide either a similar service as well as discover apps that have unique features that could be incorporated similarly into Hidden Gem.App for booking tours, activities, and attractions worldwide
- Consistent appearance of search bar
- Trending destinations
- Hierarchy: provides location, title, rating, and other details in the index
- Filter for specificity
- Circular visual icons to categorize a wide variety of activities
- Heart icon to save to wishlist
- Recently Viewed feature
- Wishlist page
App for users to explore local culture in different areas around the world
- Search bar is lower on the screen, provides breathing space with the image in the background
- Visual circular icons for different locations
- Bookmark feature for saving locations
- Guides, My Plans, and Profile
- Sign up/Log in feature before saving
- Iconography for different features in the settings
App that provides homes, experiences, and services
- Rounded search corners
- Highlights the apps three main offers
- Square gallery view
- Navigation menu has five options
- When one tab is dropped down for the filters, the previous one closes; addresses where, who, and what
- Blurred background
- Filters have iconography
- Only has a “Food Tour” feature, but not a general tour feature
DEVELOPING PERSONAS
Two user personas were developed with distinct goals, needs, and motivations to guide the design process. These personas helped ensure the app effectively addressed the target audience while maintaining a user-friendly experience.Gianna frequently travels for work and loves discovering unique aspects of each city. Now, she wants to ‘rediscover’ her hometown of Cincinnati, and explore its hidden charm she hasn’t experienced since starting work.
Goals
- Finding a convenient way to discover new places without spending too much time planning it out herself
- Discover the authenticity that lives within her own community
- Wants an app that is straightforward to navigate
Gavin, a freelance food writer, visits Cincinnati eager to explore the local food scene. He is motivated to uncover meaningful stories behind the city’s cuisine, focusing on its history and cultural roots through storytelling.
Goals
- Often relies on Google Maps and online searches to find new restaurants, wants an app that makes the process more convenient
- Always on-the-go, needs a flexible tool that allows for saving food-related locations
ESTABLISHING TASK FLOWS
Two task flows were developed:- Onboarding Task – Having the user create an account and select specific interests
- Primary Task – Searching a tour, booking it, and viewing the booking in the saved section
SITE MAP
Breakdown to highlight the app’s key functions and pages.
SKETCHES
LO-FI WIREFRAMES
Three key aspects were kept in mind while designing the initial lo-fi wireframes:The design is clearly sectioned and visually organized to avoid clutter, allowing on-the-go users to quickly access and review their booking itineraries.
The design is intuitive and user-friendly, allowing users to quickly find what they need with minimal cognitive effort.
The design emphasizes authenticity by showcasing visuals and content highlighting lesser-known local hidden gems, ranging from food, historical landmarks, art, parks, and architecture.
VISUAL EXPLORATION
- Encourages discovery
- Friendly
- Cool tone color palette
- Rounded corners
- Minimal
STYLE TILE 1
STYLE TILE 2
FINAL STYLE GUIDE
- The logo combines a gem and a map pin to visually represent discovery and exploration
- The wordmark uses Neulis Neue, a friendly, rounded typeface, to convey approachability
- A cool-toned color palette was selected to establish trustworthiness
- A contrasting orange accent color was used to draw attention to key interactive elements
- Graphics are geometric with slightly rounded corners to emphazise to the app’s structured layout