UX/UI portfolio projects for beginners #3: Travel App



This practice project/Client brief is the third one in this series from UX Design Mastery after the one for a Blog website and an eCommerce project.

Design Portfolio Projects

Blog website

Design Portfolio Projects

eCommerce

Design portfolio projects for UX and UI designers

Included in each design brief is the following:

  • Objectives (What is REQUIRED by the client. This part usually trips designers up as they go off designing what is not required)
  • Timeline (For this to be realistic each brief has a timeline that is as close to real-world work as possible)
  • Platform(Where your designs will live. Understanding these platforms will give a well-considered solution)
  • Target audience (Users always come first and the design must accommodate the target audience’s pain points)
  • References (If you are not sure where to start, clients normally give a set of examples or references they like. The closer the design solution is to the references, the fewer revisions a designer will have to do)
  • Deliverables (Most importantly how the solution should be delivered. These represent what a well-detailed portfolio case study looks like so hit it out of the park)
  • Recruiter advice (Portfolio advice from creative directors, CEOs and leading design creatives from the biggest companies)

A little about me

Creating a portfolio project is hard work.

I still remember when I did not have a single project in my portfolio that would really make me stand out and get noticed by recruiters. 

I had just left my job as a Java Developer and was about to put all my effort into starting a design career. 

One of the very first successful projects I created was a conceptual mobile app for a local airline. I had recently been on a trip which was frustratingly delayed and poorly communicated to passengers. 

So I decided to creatively express my opinions through a conceptual project and it was responsible for me getting hired for my first design job. 

Its also my most appreciated project .

I hope this travel app project you work on, provides you with as many opportunities as I have received. 

Let’s get into it

Design Portfolio Project 3: Travel App

Client Brief

Client: Choose any travel brand of your liking

Timeline: 1–2 Weeks

Objectives

Create a mobile app design that can:
 • Allow a user to book a flight, a hotel and car on a specific date for different destinations
 • Find the best deals on flights, hotels and car hires
 • Ability to select holiday activities
 • Organize all travel plans into one itinerary
 • Notifications

Platform

Please design a travel app for either iOS or Android. So we require mobile screens. Pay attention to

iOS guidelines
https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/ios/visual-design/adaptivity-and-layout/
Android guidelines
https://material.io/design/usability/accessibility.html#hierarchy

Target Audience

References

Please conduct some research on the following travel apps that we love and get ideas for functionality and features to include

https://itunes.apple.com/za/app/kayak-flights-hotels-cars/id305204535?mt=8
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/expedia-hotels-flights-car/id427916203?mt=8

Deliverables

• Research (refer to references provided)
 • Highlight 3 enhancements or unique features you have included to make our app stand out and solve user pain points
 • Sketches of initial ideas
 • Wireframes
 • Visual mockups screens of
 ⁃ App Onboarding
 ⁃ Home screen where a user can book a Hotel, a Flight, a Car or an activity in a popular city
 ⁃ Listing page of Hotels
 ⁃ Map view showing hotels location
 ⁃ Itinerary screen
 ⁃ Possible notifications

 • Results section: Feedback from testing with 5 random people
 • Fonts: Brand related
 • Colors: Brand related
 • Link to this project

Nice to have

Video walkthrough (Screen record using QuickTime an Invision prototype interacation)

Pro-tip

Go through an entire booking experience to understand how the app is design.

Advice from recruiters

I wish more portfolio websites included little descriptions of what the designer’s role was in a specific project, or even pointed out some specific problems or personal thoughts about aspects of their designs. Too many portfolios now are just vanity shots and client name-dropping without actually communicating what was done. 

James Cabrera, Senior Product Designer, Refinery29

Going the extra mile and making sure it’s easy to consume, well-presented, and filled with helpful context about your projects tells us a lot about your communication skills. Ideally a portfolio should be more than just a collection of pretty thumbnails and mockups — it should speak to your problem solving skills.

Ryan Le Roux, Metalab

If you’re just starting out as a designer, a good alternative to unsolicited redesigns are personal projects. These self-initiated projects are a great way to build up your design and product skills, while also putting something out into the world for people to use. You’ll learn a ton from the experience of launching something and the feedback you’ll get from your users will definitely make you a better designer.

Elyse Viotto, Shopify

If you are interested in gettting the PDF download and four extra example case studies of award winning Travel app projects download below.


Calvin Pedzai

Analytical problem solver who enjoys crafting experiences and currently is the Senior UX designer at an awarding winning agency.