PlanIt
A sustainable travel app created to make sustainable travel choices accessible and desirable for everyone.
2025
The project
Goal: To create a user-friendly digital platform that makes sustainable travel choices accessible and desirable.
Target users: Environmentally conscious travellers and those that think sustainability is somewhat important - those who will choose sustainable when that option is equally good as the other choices.
My role: I did this project alone
Timeframe: 4 weeks (Semester exam)
Design thinking process: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test
How can we help people travel sustainable?
To be able to make the most difference, to achieve real change, this app will aim to make sustainable travel choices accessible and desirable for everyone.
To solve this problem, the main focus of the app will be traveling: an app that gives you the best options to plan and book your travels - and that app happens to be offering sustainable options.
To explore this, I set up a research plan based on the Design Thinking Process. The research plan is based on the given timeline of four weeks. This process will help me find solutions that will be in the best interest of the users and business.
Research goals
High priority
Who will this app be for and what are they like?
What would motivate travelers to use this app?
Why is the product important?
Low priority
How would the app work and help users?
When would this app be used?
Where would this app be used?
In order to get more in-depth-understanding of the target audience I used primary and secondary research methods to gather both quantitative and qualitative research.
I started with a literature review as my secondary research method. This is time efficient and gave me qualitative and quantitative insight that contributed to finding any relevant themes and patterns.
I conducted user interviews for primary research. This gave me qualitative insight into the needs of the target users and what factors are important to them regarding sustainable travel. I set up a semi-structured interview that allowed for additional questions where fitted.
I used a data collection spreadsheet and affinity mapping to make sense of the findings from the research interview and literature review.
Research
Insight
The app will be for all travelers with two personas as their main target. 1) The traveler tat does not seek out sustainable choices but would choose sustainable if they see it as a good travel option and it does not require anything extra for them to pick that option, and 2) the traveler that find sustainability very important and want to contribute to save the earth.
Travelers will be motivated to use the app as it will allow for people to travel with a good conscience. Participants wants future generations to experience the world like we can, they just need to learn how to - and this app will help them do so.
This product is important as we will be able to teach people how to take better care of the earth while still traveling and having a good time. The app will offer research and info about countries and cities. It will give travelers info about sustainable choices they can make when they are at their destination, some language phrases that can be good to know, and cultural information to remember. This will help users be respectful travelers and make sustainable choices.
The app would be used before and during travel. Some prefers to plan everything at home beforehand, while others prefer to plan on the go. Transportation to and from destination is mostly done before the trip, whereas accommodation, activities, and restaurants are planned both beforehand and during the trip. Therefore the app needs to offer a design that is easy to use on the go as well. Suggestions, favorites and bookings should be easy to find and access during their trip.
How would the app work and help users?
This app will improve users planning and travel experience by offering lots of great travel options, and those options happens to be sustainable, which will add to them feeling good about themselves. This will also make it easier and more available to find sustainable choices.
It will be a all-in-one app: everything needed for planning and booking travels in one place.
Users can create trips with friends: share favorites and bookings and plan with each other.
There is a map for easy overview of options in a specific area. There should also be a separate map in the info section that are linked to the info given - f.eks. symbols of there you can recycle or refill water bottles.
The app needs to be trustworthy and independent from any business on the app. We want to avoid greenwashing. There should be a verification for businesses and users.
The businesses needs to fulfill a few requirements in order to be on the app to make sure they are sustainable enough. In time this will hopefully encourage other businesses to become more sustainable to be on the app.
To get as many options and as much information on the app as possible, users van suggest things to get added with a form to make sure certain requirements are included. There needs to be a process where this information is verified before it is made public on the app.
All listings should include reviews, as users find this very important when booking their trips.
Should consider adding social media reviews as people is drawn to see real photos and videos from people that have been there themselves.
The app should offer research and info about countries and cities. It will give travelers info about sustainable choices they can make when they are at their destination, some language phrases that can be good to know, and cultural information to remember.
The one thing that might need to be included that is not sustainable is transportation by plane. From the research it seems that by removing this option, we might miss out on potential users that due to financial- and/or time- restraints and/or long distances chooses flying. However, they choose other sustainable choices on their trip, so it would be a shame to miss out on the opportunity to help them make other sustainable choices. The app would not offer plane rides but rather connect with the company they purchased from, so that everything is gathered in the app, or we could have an option for them to just upload their ticket and/or ticket info in the app
Problem statement
Travelers (who) struggle to make sustainable travel choices (what) due to financial restraints, time restraints, lack of knowledge, and the overwhelming feeling of trying to do their own research (why).
If we can solve this problem, it would make sustainable travel more accessible for all travelers, and they will be able to make better choices without the stress it currently causes.
It would also benefit our business as the app will be a trusted travel platform that contributes to a positive travel experience where users can feel good about their travel choices.
Personas
I created two personas, one primary and one secondary.
Based on my research, most people feel good when they choose sustainable choices, however, the majority does not seek out how to be sustainable nor want it to be at the expense of comfort and the experience.
Therefore, I have chosen to make the primary persona the “Average Joe”. The person that represent the majority of travellers. Where sustainability is somewhat important. The ones that choose sustainable if the option is right there in front of them, and it tells them why this is a good choice. The person that will then choose the sustainable choice because it will make them feel good, and they did not have to go out of their way to make that choice. This app will improve their planning and travel experience by offering lots of great options, and those options happens to be sustainable, which will add on and make them feel good about themselves.
Because I believe that is how we will be able to make the most difference. To reach the most people. To achieve real change.
The secondary persona is a person that already cares about making sustainable choices. They already do research when traveling, and this app will make it a lot easier for them to find sustainable alternatives and options. They are probably the ones that will contribute to add suggestions of options to add in the app, because sustainability is very important to them and they want to make a positive impact. This app will improve their planning and travel experience by making it easier and more available for them to find the right choices.
How might we…
make it easier to make sustainable travel choices?
make a solution that can benefit both “Average Joe” and “Sustainable Summer”?
make information about sustainability more available?
make a solution that offer options that are financially and timely feasible?
make a solution that offer sustainable options that is not at the expense of the experience?
Ideate
Brainstorming: I used brainstorming to start generating ideas. In this stage there are no “bad” ideas and I just started to write down everything I could think of. This takes the pressure off and one idea often lead to another, and this can lead to great ideas you wouldn´t have thought of otherwise.
Mind Mapping: After writing down several ideas while brainstorming, I started to connect my ideas through mind mapping. This lead me to come up with more ideas that were building on each other as well. As mind mapping is a visual technique it creates an organized overview of all the ideas that gives a different perspective.
