INDUSTRY:
Travel
PROJECT TYPE:
Designlab Project
YEAR:
2024
ROLE:
UI/UX Design
project goal.
Design a homepage and onboarding flow for Sojournify — an AI travel recommendation platform aimed at 20-something adventurers. The aim: guide users to share just enough information for personalized AI-generated trip suggestions, which they can refine later.
challenge.
Young travelers often feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of destination options — especially when looking for unique, authentic experiences that match their personal interests.
🧭 User Needs & Goals
✅ Easy-to-use AI travel planner
✅ Help finding unique, authentic destinations
✅ A smooth, low-effort discovery process
research & insights.
I conducted:
Secondary research on Gen Z travel habits using ChatGPT
Competitive analysis of AI-driven and editorial travel sites (Culture Trip, others)
💡 Insight: Competitors leaned heavily on mainstream destinations. Sojournify could stand out by offering curated "hidden gem" recommendations for adventurous users.
wireframing & iteration
I sketched several homepage layouts exploring:
Balance between visual excitement (travel imagery) and clarity (text & CTA).
Circular image clusters to convey Sojournify’s playful, adventurous tone.
🧠 Design Decision: Prioritized a layout that balanced development feasibility with brand identity.
feedback loop.
I met weekly with my Designlab mentor, using her feedback to refine:
Information hierarchy
Text economy
Visual storytelling for better engagement
onboarding flow.
The next step was to build out an onboarding flow to gather initial travel preferences from the user. I sketched out a version with multiple question per page, but ultimately landed on one question per page to reduce cognitive overload.
outcome & learnings.
This project taught me:
How progressive onboarding helps reduce friction
The importance of aligning visual hierarchy with user psychology
The value of iterative feedback in refining both aesthetic and functional design.
testimonial.
Vanessa excels at tackling complex design challenges, ensuring that her solutions lead to strong user experiences. She is a highly collaborative designer who actively seeks and incorporates feedback to refine her projects.
I highly recommend Vanessa for a UX position—she would be a valuable addition to any team!
Elizabeth Morello
UX Designer | UX Educator | Artist
