For many travelers, it can be hard to find the experiences that they desire. It takes a lot of planning and research. They use apps like LonelyPlanet, TripAdvisor, Instagram and/or Pinterest to find the experiences they’re looking for. Even with all these sources, it’s still hard to just know where to go. It’s a headache. Roam is meant to give these travelers a break and give them local knowledge, readily available - complete with maps of neighborhoods, unique points of interest, and tips from the locals themselves.

In order to prove the theory that travelers want local knowledge readily available, we had a lot of work to do. We conducted interviews to give our users a voice. We developed the creative direction of the brand - what the visual concept should be, how it should feel, and how users should feel when they interact with it.

After running through a few different concepts, one stuck out the most - the northern lights. Since the brand’s purpose is to help travelers explore with the knowledge of locals, I introduced the idea of northern lights to represent the POIs and paths on the maps in the app. These elements are meant to light their way in adventure but still allow them their spirit of adventure and discovery. The color palette is primarily dark purple with bright blue, green and yellow accent colors, and the UI is kept simplistic throughout to make navigation seamless.

We began by listing out user stories that were essential to the MVP. Then, eventually separated the content into 4 main categories: Explore, Roam, Create a Roam, and Save a Roam. We created user flows, decision maps, wireframes and prototypes.

The result

Ultimately, we created a high-fidelity prototype to showcase our map sharing and map creating product. We used this to pitch our idea to potential investors. Some companies we were in contact with included AirBnB, Lonely Planet, and Condé Nast Traveler.

In the end, it became clear to us that our idea lacked one crucial thing: content curation. We did not account for this strategic business aspect, and therefore, our idea was shelved.