Concierto
A virtual concierge app designed to offer people curated activities and events based on their interests, wherever they go.
Project Overview:
The purpose of this project was to use the design thinking process to develop a solution that addressed the real-world problems associated with travel.
Role & Responsibilities + Team Size:
Lead UX/UI Designer, Individual Project
Project Timeline:
2 Weeks
Deliverables:
High-fidelity iOS prototype and documentation of the design process.
Tools Used:
Figma, InVision, Google Docs, Voice Memos, Procreate for iPad
The Final Product:
A high-quality, virtual concierge experience with a minimalist interface, featuring:
Simple onboarding (with progress indicator)
No forced account creation
Curated event and activity feed
Integration with platforms like Spotify and Facebook for more personalized suggestions
You can access the high-fidelity Figma prototype by tapping, clicking, or scanning the QR code below:
Project phases and
UX Frameworks:
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Interviews
Affinity Map
Empathy Map
User Persona
“How Might We” Problem Statement Synthesis
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“I like, I wish, I want”
Feature Prioritization Matrix
Value Proposition Matrix
Competitor Analysis
Storyboarding
User Scenario Mapping
User Journey
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User Flow
Sketching + Wireframes
InVision Prototype + Testing
Mid-Fi Figma Prototype
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User Testing
Hi-Fi Figma Prototype
User Research + Problem Definition [Empathize]
I conducted 5 interviews with potential users. All participants consented to audio recordings which were then transcribed and organized in FigJam. Questions covered topics focused on:
Planning trips
Reasons for travel
Prior travel experience
Sociability
Interests and activities and how they factor into travel planning
Attitude towards travel today (perspective changes after COVID)
I transcribed the interview notes onto notes in FigJam and began grouping similar notecards into an affinity map.
Affinity Map:
The affinity map really helped in establishing certain themes to explore in the ideation process: traveler’s interest and activities when they explore a new place, tools for planning their trips, amenities (must-haves and nice-to-haves), travel frequency and duration, and sociability considerations.
Empathy Map:
The empathy map framework played a vital role in converging some of the themes identified in the affinity map and applying them to a loose definition of the user.
This was accomplished by organizing the information synthesized from the interviews into the four categories of what the user says, thinks, does, and feels in addition to pains and gains from the collection of unique travel experiences.
By quite literally placing a hypothetical “user” in the middle of this diagram, it allowed me to hone in on the typical user experience of traveling with more specific insight into their emotions, thoughts, and actions.
The empathy map is the perfect bridge between the affinity map and the next UX framework I used in my research: crafting a user persona.
User Persona
The frameworks utilized in the research phase of the design thinking process played a vital role in narrowing the scope of specific concerns travelers might have in the planning process as well as while they are traveling. From here, the next step was to define problem statements to kick off the ideation process.
“How Might We” Diagram &
Problem Statement Synthesis:
After analyzing common traits from the insights above in the “how might we” statements, I arrived at the following problem statement.
Problem Statement:
Travelers struggle to find flexibility in planning activities that interest them. It can be challenging to make plans both in advance and while on the move, so there is a need for a planning tool that caters to their needs - flexibility being number one.
Ideation
In defining a primary problem statement, I had a place to start in terms of developing ideas to attempt to solve it. The ideas would ultimately lead me to design an app that asks users about their location and interests and suggests relevant events and activities they might want to explore - similar to a hotel concierge.
I relied on more ideation frameworks to help me fine-tune this idea and supplement other features I felt would enhance the user experience of the app.
I started by organizing the features in the “I like, I want, I wish” framework.
“I like, want, wish”
To eliminate my own personal biases, I enlisted the help of colleagues to adopt a traveler mindset and vote on the ideas below based on what they resonated with most.
Feature Prioritization Matrix
In mapping features along an axis of their importance or priority against the feasibility in implementing the features, it allows designers like myself to narrow our scope and develop more realistic expectations of what is possible with the constraints around factors like time, budget, technical capabilities, and ultimately the relevance to the problem we try to solve.
Value Proposition Matrix
To really extract the impact of potential features, designers can rely on a value proposition matrix to determine specific impacts to the user in terms of pains, gains, and the customer jobs to be done.
Competitor Analysis
No idea exists in a bubble - it is important to recognize and appreciate that people have designed creative solutions to complex problems and there is much to learn from their successes and failures.
Identifying direct and indirect competitors based on potential features and characteristics I would like my solution to address was invaluable in helping me visualize how the product could materialize.
Direct Competitors
Any product or service that had features very similar to what I would hope to implement qualified as direct competitors.
Below are annotated screenshots highlighting some observations I made during my research.
Indirect Competitors
Similar to the above, I identified products and services that might not necessarily solve the same problems I want to, but their approach to problem-solving and other characteristics were qualities I felt were important to think about in designing a unique and positive user experience.
From what I could learn about the RV Life Trip Wizard without directly using it myself, I found it was an all-encompassing solution with a variety of features to make planning RV travel a lot less arduous. What makes it an indirect competitor is that it solves problems for a very specific class of travelers as opposed to a more general audience.
As a Lemonade customer myself, I was captivated by the simplicity of their user experience. They made the concept of insurance (something many people including myself consider overwhelming and aggravating), simple, and human.
This made me think of the overall experience of interacting with a hotel concierge - a person who guests can rely on as a local guide for recommendations ranging from restaurants, local attractions, events, and more to explore.
After this research, my next action item was to start visualizing the story around the problem statement:
how a user would navigate planning activities while traveling with flexibility as a main focus.
Adding the User to the Story
My rough storyboard sketch around the user persona served as a great foundation to build a real-world use case scenario for the potential features I wanted to explore, and whether or not they would actually be useful.
My next step was iterating this narrative into distinct phases using a cleaner and easier-to-visualize format, as seen in the two versions below which allowed me to more deeply empathize with the user persona and define a more distinct user journey.
User Journey
Establishing the user journey was invaluable in further visualizing the highs and lows of the scenario a potential user like Eric might face during their travels.
Upon setting the stage here, it became more apparent that there were some key opportunities to attempt to address in the next phase of the project: prototyping.
Prototyping
In stripping away some of the more personal attributes of a storyboard, we can identify the functions of an app, and define a basic user flow of how a typical user might interact with it. At this stage, I decided my first prototype iteration would focus on an onboarding experience that mimics a hotel concierge experience.
User Flow
In establishing a basic and fairly linear user onboarding flow, I could begin sketching basic wireframes and create a prototype in InVision to validate the design choices made so far.
Lo-Fi Wireframe Sketches
I took these basic sketches and turned them into a basic prototype in InVision which allowed me to add elements of functionality and conduct some basic user tests before iterating higher fidelity wireframes.
I conducted 10 User Tests with the InVision prototype which yielded a task success rate of 90%, and all users felt engaged by the experience. The most common feedback I received was users wanted to see more interactivity in each of the buttons on the screen to get a more full experience of what this app could be, giving me confidence that I was moving in the right direction.
Visual Identity
From there, I decided to iterate on the more human design elements and create a concierge avatar that would serve as the logo for the app and visually simulate the idea that this digital product had a personified visual identity to make it a more meaningful experience.
Along that line of thinking, I thought it would be fun to play around with the word “concierge” for the title of the app to make a more instantaneous recognition for users. That is how the name “Concierto” came to be.
I designed the logo on my iPad Pro with my Apple Pencil in the Procreate app, and built a color scheme around a bold blue ink on a white canvas, lifted with gold accents.
My next iteration of the app prototype would incorporate initial user feedback from the lo-fi prototype testing, in addition to some of the visual design choices I established.
Mid-Fi Prototype
InVision was great for testing the wireframes and basic user flow. I refined my design in Figma and created a mid-fi prototype to test with users once more before developing the highest fidelity design.
You can access the mid-fi prototype by scanning, tapping, or clicking on the QR code below. Or, simply click here.
User Testing + Outcomes
Insights and Actions after
7 Comprehensive User Tests:
Key Insight: A progress bar/indicator during the information collection process would help visually indicate time and effort.
Action: I decided to make this a segmented wheel around the app logo that would gradually transition to a complete circle around the concierge avatar upon completion.
Key Insight: Users reported general satisfaction with the flow, desire for more to be built out regarding personalization without a firm commitment to creating an account first - even if it’s free, it adds an obstacle to overcome the user’s desire to be presented with events/restaurants/activities to explore in the place they select.
Action: I was encouraged to explore pushing the formal account creation process towards the end to improve user flow and allow users to access some app content without committing to an account.
Conclusion + Future Opportunities
This exercise has emphasized the importance of flexibility and relevance to an individual’s interests when activity planning, especially when traveling.
With additional time and resources, future iterations will further explore the options to filter experiences in the user’s feed as well as capture other planning/decision making factors such as budget, pet-friendliness, and more.
The social functions such as group chat features with voting will also be built to make group planning more convenient.
In both solo and group planning, an itinerary with a map will be accessible to the user so they have temporal and spatial insight on their plans so they can factor in other important factors such as travel times.
Thank you for reading this case study.
I would love to hear your thoughts, questions, and feedback.
You can connect with me on LinkedIn or
email me at contact@adichawla.com