Travel Guru : An App for Travel Guidance

Santosh Shrestha1, Santosh Subedi2, Samip Timalsena3, Abishek Bashyal4

Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Kathmandu University
Dhulikhel, Kavre, Nepal
1
shresthas033@gmail.com
2
santsubcode@gmail.com
3
samip425@gmail.com
4
abishekbashyal@gmail.com

Abstract- Travel Guru is an app that aims to provide guidance to II. LITERATURE REVIEW
the user about their traveling places. The app acts as a platform
Jay Ashok Gudkha et al. [1] explains that “Travel Apps”
where users can get information about the places that they wish
to travel. Likewise, it has an automatic suggesting feature that are taking the center stage in mobile app development, as
recommends the best places that the user can visit corresponding more and more people are using them. There are tons of
to the season at the very time. The UI was designed using the different travel apps out there today, with all kinds of
Figma tool following the suggestions and feedback that were interesting features.The travelers who are traveling all around
gathered through the survey that was done in the beginning of the world need this kind of app, but due to limited storage and
the project and applying Don Norman’s design principle. switching to different apps it becomes tedious. The smart
Moreover, the final UI was completed after doing the usability travel guide app is the solution for the traveler, which will
testing of the initial prototype among the targeted users.
give integrated features of all other featured apps in one app.
Keywords- Travel Guru,Figma, survey, UI(User Interface),
Jesmin Akhter et al. [2] developed a “Travel Guide
prototype, usability testing
Application” that provides services to find all attractive places
I. INTRODUCTION where people wish to visit. It provides a guidance category of
places like Historical places, Parks, Nature, Museums under
Traveling has become a major part of human’s life. The
any division in a real time system including emergency
development of smart appliances and the internet has made
amenities like nearby hospitals, police stations, banks and
people wonder about the places that they see in their feeds and
restaurants in order to make the journey easier, safer and more
social networking sites and developed a strong desire to travel
reliable.
to those places. However, they are limited by the lack of
information about those places and the things that they can do Vhrenelli B. Concepcion et al. [3] developed a mobile
there. Keeping this problem in mind, the idea to develop an tourist application that would support the Provincial Tourism
app that can provide those information to the people was Office in Isabela's Ilagan Capitol in circulating information
thought of. Travel Guru is the outcome or the solution to this about the province's tourist attractions. The application
problem where there is information about the places that one includes information on the municipality's profile, events, and
can travel throughout Nepal and the different activities that tourist attractions, both manmade and natural with legitimate
can be done there. information sources.
The app aims to offer the required information about the
Zhiang Jia et al. [4] explain Mobile apps have become a
possible destinations that people want to visit like the location,
popular way for individuals to interact, shop, manage their
the things and places that the destination is famous for and
lives, play, and even work. Ctrip, Qunar, Tongcheng, Didi,
the things that the person can do and explore over there.
Tuniu, Kuaidi, Elong, and others are among the top ten most
Similarly, the app also categorizes the places according to the
popular tourist and travel applications in China, according to
user’s needs like trekking, landscapes, cultural importance,
download times in 2015. A detailed analysis of tourism and
and adventures such as bungee jumping, paragliding etc.
travel mobile apps is offered based on statistics and current
Likewise, the app recommends the user about the best places
circumstances, including an industry map of tourism and
they can travel and explore in the current season.
travel apps, market share of the flight booking business, and
important business comparisons.
 III. METHODOLOGY D. UI Design Approach
Before carrying out the final design, a survey was The UI follows the material design approach and icons
conducted among the targeted group of 30 people. Survey is a provided by ‘Material Design Kit’ with the application of the
suitable method to gather information on specific topics and ‘Norman’s Design Principle’. The design and prototyping was
allows the investigator to obtain numerical information from a done in ‘Figma’.
particular population. Survey research may also be used as a
E. Color Combination
way of quickly gaining some general details about one’s
The color combination rule used is ‘60-30-10 color rule’.
population of interest to help prepare for a more focused,
This rule states that the 60% of the app should consist of the
in-depth study using time-intensive methods such as in-depth
main color, 30% should be the secondary color that supports
interviews or field research [5].
the main color and 10% should be the accent color. For this
A. Design Process app, the main color used is ‘Teal’ that is used across the app.
The design process started with an idea to solve one of Similarly, ‘Light Bluish Green’ is the secondary color that
the problems that is faced by many people. Nepal is a country supports the main color and for the accent color, ‘Dark Teal’
that is small in size but full of places that every person craves is used as seen in the buttons and navigation bar.
to travel. However, the lack of an app that provides
IV. RESULT
information about those places, the things a traveler can do
during his/her visit in those places and recommends them After successfully carrying out the different procedures as
about the places that they can travel in the ongoing season has stated in the above sections, the following results were
become a real hassle. Therefore , the idea to design an app that achieved.
solves all these problems and make the life of a traveler
A. Survey Result
hassle-free was put forward after a series of discussions
The results of the survey can be visualized through
among the team members..
different charts as shown below.
B. Survey and Research
A survey was conducted among the group of 30 students
from different universities to get the ideas about the features,
and things they expect from the app. All the students that
participated in the survey are travel enthusiasts and
participated excellently and provided valuable feedback.

C. UI Design Principle
The design principle that was followed and used for
designing this app is ‘Donald Norman’s Design Principle’ [6].
Donald Norman, one of the most notable researchers in the
Fig. 1
field of human-computer interaction and user-centered design,
provides six key design principles to keep in mind while Fig. 1 shows the data about how often they travel. The
designing any interface. Norman’s idea is that devices, chart shows that 11 out 30 people travel quite often, 5 travel
computers, and interfaces should function correctly and be frequently and 6 people travel on a regular basis.
intuitive and easy to use. The six principles that revolve
around this idea are:

● Visibility

● Feedback

● Affordance

● Mapping

● Constraints

● Consistency Fig. 2
 Fig. 2 shows that 90% of the people faced difficulties in The survey also showed some of the features they want in
choosing a place to travel in a certain season. the app. They are listed as follow:

● Estimated cost and expenses

● Navigation, offline maps.

● Neat UI and good recommendation

● Pictures of the place

● Scenarios, and things to do in those places.

B. Paper Prototyping
After successfully collecting all the ideas related to the
Fig. 3 project, a paper prototype as shown in the figures below was
prepared for doing further surveys and taking feedback.
Fig. 3 shows that 70% of the people faced difficulties in
collecting information about the places they desired to travel.

Fig. 4

Fig. 4 shows that 90% of the people feel the need of a

travel guidance app that provides information related to the
tourism destination.
Fig. 6 (a)

Fig. 5

Fig. 5 shows that 93.3% of the people have not used any
such app. This indicates the need of the app.

Fig. 6 (b)
 After successfully designing the paper prototype, the ● Login Page
design was presented to a group of students to collect further
feedback that would eventually be applied to the final design.
The feedbacks that were collected are as follow:

● Textboxes should be big and properly aligned.

● Use of the logo would enhance the design.

● Text and icons inside the text boxes should have less
opacity.

● Use a slideshow for the pictures of the places.

● UI should prompt an error message for wrong inputs.

● Proper alignment of the text and icons.

C. Final Results
Fig. 7 (b) LoginPage
After all the feedback, ideas, suggestions that were
collected, the final design was completed successfully with the This is the login page of the app. This page contains the
application of ‘Norma’s Design Principle’. Along with this input fields for the ‘phone or email and password’. The texts
principle, ‘Material Icons’ as well as ‘60-30-10 Color and icons are visible, distinct and understandable. A clear
Rule’[7] was also used for the final design that can be viewed message is shown for either the successful login or if there is
in the following figures. any error when the ‘Sign In’ button is pressed. There is also an
option to reset your password if it is forgotten. Similarly, new
● Welcome Page
users can create new accounts using the ‘Register’ button.

● Sign Up Page

Fig. 7 (a) WelcomePage

This figure shows the welcome page of the app. This is

the first page when users open this app. It uses a logo that Fig. 7 (c) SignUpPage
showcases the name and theme of the app along with the
This is the ‘Sign Up Page’ where new users can create a
pictorial representation of what actually the app does. The
new account using their credentials. An error message pops up
users can go to the next screen clicking the button. The button
whenever the wrong credentials are entered. Similarly, a
is distinct, has a bold text that shows the button name.
successful message appears when all the credentials are
correct and the ‘Register’ button is pressed. For an existing
user, there is an option to go back to the ‘Login Page’.
 ● Home Page ● Search Page

Fig. 7 (d) HomePage Fig. 7(f) Search Page

This is the ‘Homepage’ of the app that is accessed upon This is the ‘Search Page’ of the app. It contains a search
successful login. This page contains the nav-bar from where bar where users can enter the desired places and can also use
users can select the different sections. It also contains a search different filters. Similarly, there is also an option to search the
bar where a user can search their desired places. Another places around their current location. There is also a section
section is the ‘Category’ section that lists the places according that shows the recently searched place.
to the activities. The other section is the ‘Recommended’
● Saved Page
section that highlights the best places in the current season.

● Place Page

Fig. 7(g) Saved Page

This is the ‘Saved Page’ of the app. This page allows the
Fig. 7(e) Place Page
user to view the places that they have saved and wish to view
This is the ‘Place Page’ that shows the information about it for the future. There is an option to add the places using the
the selected place. It contains a slideshow of the pictures of ‘Plus’ icon. Users can also unsave the place by clicking the
the place. There is a small description of the place and when ‘Heart’ icon right next to the place. The saved places are
‘See More’ is pressed, the full description is shown. Similarly, separated by a faint line so as to properly distinguish and align
there is an option to show the ‘Cost of Travel’. There is also a them.
map of the place. Users can save this place for viewing later
using the ‘heart’ icon.
 ● About Page making everything visible inside the limited screen space
is difficult; therefore, only the options that are required
should be included.
As we can see in the figure 8 (a), in the ‘Log In’ and
‘Home Page’, the buttons and icons are perfectly visible
and it only contains the options that are needed, no
unnecessary options are cluttered. By looking at the
interface, users can get a clear idea of the things they need
to do.

● Feedback

Fig. 7(h) About Page

‘About’ section provides the options to edit the profile, to
access the saved places, alter the setting of the app and seek
help and support. Furthermore, there is a ‘Log Out’ button
with bright red color that takes us to the ‘Welcome Page’

V. DISCUSSION
The app was designed according to the suggestions and
ideas that were collected from different groups of students
from different universities. The design principle that was
followed is ‘Norman’s Design Principles’ as it suits this type Fig. 8 (b)

of project quite well. The design principles and its use in the
The user must receive feedback after every action
app can be generalized as follow:
they perform to let them know whether or not their action
● Visibility was successful.
As shown in the figure 8(b) of the ‘Sign Up’ page,
whenever wrong data is given, it displays an error
message. Upon the entry of the correct data, it displays
the message ‘Account Created Successfully’.

● Affordance
Affordance is the link between how things look and
how they’re used. The design should be intuitive enough
that the users know how to access their desired
information just by looking at the interface.
As shown in the figure, by looking at the design,
users can easily interact with the navigation bar of the
‘Home Page’ and access the different sections they want
using the navigation bar. Similarly, in the ‘About Page’,
the ‘Log Out’ button is intuitive enough to let the user
Fig. 8 (a)
know that it is used for logging out of the app.
Users should be able to tell what their options are and
how to access them just by glancing at an interface. This
is especially crucial in mobile applications because
 Fig. 8 (c) Fig. 8 (e)

● Mapping In the figure 8(e), we can clearly see that the app
prohibits a user from entering wrong credentials in the
Mapping is the idea that, in a good design, the input fields. For example, users can’t enter text in the
controls for something will closely resemble their effect. phone number field.

● Consistency
People learn new things and manage better when
they recognize patterns. Consistency is key for these
patterns to be recognized and learned by users.

Fig. 8 (d)

As shown in the figure, the back arrow takes us back

to the previous page whereas the next arrow takes us to
the selected section. This shows the resemblance between
the buttons and their effects. Fig. 8(f)

● Constraints The consistency in the app can be seen in the figure

Constraints restrict a particular form of user above. The search bar used is the universal search bar that
interaction with an interface. This is essential because the prompts the user to use it for searching. The input fields
user could become overwhelmed with the range of are consistent enough to let users know that it is used for
possibilities available through an interface. entering their credentials. Similarly, the icons used in the
app are used globally for their respective tasks like
‘home’, ‘search’, ‘user ’ etc.
 VI. CONCLUSION
“Travel Guru” is an app to solve the problems for
travelers. Designing this app was a challenging task. This
project not only focuses on the designing aspect, but also
focuses on collecting data and suggestions, usability testing,
group coordination and teamwork. Abiding by the rules of the
design principles and the features that the most of the users
wanted, the design was successfully completed. Still, there are
some limitations to this project. They are highlighted as
follow:
● The survey was done among a limited group of
people.
● Usability testing couldn’t be done among a vast
majority of the people.
● Some of the features that the users desired couldn’t
be incorporated due to the complexities it would have
caused in the whole app.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This research project was performed for the fulfillment of
the course COMP 341, Human Computer Interaction (HCI)
under the supervision of Assistant Prof. Dr. Sushil Shrestha,
Department of Computer Science and Engineering,
Kathmandu University School of Engineering, Dhulikhel,
Kavre. We would like to express our gratitude to our respected
professor for the guidelines and suggestions throughout this
project.

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