WanderWomen - Mobile Application for Solo Female Travelers
Summary
As part of my coursework during Winter 2025 for the Human Computer Interaction program at DePaul University, I individually iterated through the design process over the course of 4 weeks to create WanderWomen, a mobile application focused on supporting solo female travelers through a female review system and safety features. Over the 4 weeks, I created a site map, user flow, pattern library, and a high-fidelity prototype for the iOS application. I implemented key features from the priority matrix I created from my User Research Methods course.
Role
UX Designer
Methods & Tools
Methods: Site Maps, User Flows, Pattern Libraries, Wireframing, Prototyping
Tools: Figma, FigJam
Process Overview
Empathize
Define
Ideate
Prototype
Introduction
Background
More women are choosing to travel solo, driven by adventure, independence, and personal growth.
Safety concerns often deter or influence travel choices:
Assault
Gender Discrimination
Racial Discrimination
Access to resources and opportunities can empower more women to explore new destinations and cultures independently. Online communities, such as Facebook travel groups or Instagram accounts focused on solo female travel, provide support and guidance, reducing some safety-related anxiety. While some applications do focus solely on safety or building communities, few provide a holistic solution that empowers female travelers with both community support and practical safety measures.
Competitor Analysis
Current applications address specific aspects of solo female travel but lack a holistic approach:
NomadHer
NomadHer is an application that verifies users and provides a platform for solo female travelers to ask questions, connect, and meet up. However, it does not address in-trip safety concerns.
bSafe
bSAfe provides safety features, such as an SOS alarm, live streaming, follow me (which allow friends to track you), fake calls, and check-ins. However, it is not travel-specific and lacks cultural and location-specific safety information.
Design Process
01
Empathize
Research Objective
How can a technology-based solution support solo female travelers by helping reduce the anxiety of personal safety and improve their trip planning?
Methodology Summary
In my User Research Methods course, I conducted observational studies and interviews. Below is a brief summary on the methodology:
Observational Study
For our first round, we conducted an observational study to understand the process the travelers take when planning for a trip, and we asked how they would plan a solo travel trip to a destination of their choice with safety considerations in mind. We recruited participants experienced in solo travel and those interested but who have not yet.
Interviews
We asked experience solo travelers about:
Motivations for solo travel
Memorable trips and their impact on personal growth
Research methods and trusted sources for travel planning
Safety considerations, including emergency planning and cultural preparation
Desired features in a technology-based solution for solo travel support.
For more in depth information on Methodology, please visit my Solo Female Travel Safety case study page.
02
Define
In my User Research Methods course, I processed the findings from my research, and I created User Personas, User Journey Maps, and a Priority Matrix.
User Personas
Using the data from observational study and interviews, I defined the two user personas Ashley (Seasoned Traveler, 31) and Iris (Novice, 26) to better empathize with our main user groups and prioritize goals according to their needs.
Ashley Thompson, Seasoned Traveler
Iris Smith, Novice
User Journey Maps
Ashley Thompson, Seasoned Traveler
Iris Smith, Novice
Priority Matrix
For more in depth information on research findings and their visualizations, please visit my Solo Female Travel Safety case study page.
03
Ideate
Using the priority matrix, I chose certain features to focus on for the application’s MVP.
Key Features
Female Review System - reviews for accommodation, transportation, nightlife, and general information for a location written by other users
Demographic Filters - users can find more relevant anecdotal information, which they trust most
User Flow
Based on extracted requirements and the user journey maps I created from the previous research, I created a user flow for searching reviews. Because so much information would be housed within the featured reviews, I used the user flow to break down how I should go about with filtering and the steps a traveler would take to find information relevant to their needs.
Sketches
Once I understood all the features, I began sketching. I had many iterations for figuring out how to break down the information on the reviews page. I sketched parallel to creating the user flow as both informed each other.
Style Guide
Lastly, I created an initial style guide, which I would later expand to a pattern library in the prototyping phase.
Site Map
To understand how the application would be structured based on the prioritized features I selected, I created a site map in this iteration to visualize the information architecture. I used the site map to verify I would be incorporated all the features and where they would be housed.
04
Prototype
Components
Due to the short time frame, I chose to move directly to the high fidelity prototype. However, in this project, I took care to break down the elements of each page to create relevant components that could be reused across multiple pages. I was able to create a leaner prototype file because I didn’t have individual frames for each interaction.
Final Prototype
I chose to create a T-shaped prototype to give a brief overview of the other pages: Home, Guides, Safety, and Profile. I further built out the Search page, where users can search for information about a location, including general, accommodation, transportation, and nightlife, which were categories pulled from research findings. For this prototype, I used Iris’s persona (Novice) and her journey to design the interactions. In the next section, I break down the main features.
Key Features
Home Page
On the Home page, Iris can view a general feed of other verified users, and she has posted about Colombia, as well.
Guides Page
On the Guides page, Iris can view her saved information, including what she has saved for her upcoming trip to Colombia. Below, she can also view curated guides from the WanderWomen team.
Search Page - Initial
On the Search Page, Iris can search for Bogota, Colombia, and there is a WanderWomen guides, as well as others who have posted about their experience. From here, she can navigate to the Accommodation tab.
Search Page - Accommodation Tab
As Iris is looking for a place to stay in Bogota, she can click on the Accommodation tab, where she would see a variety of hotels and hostels. She can view reviews from other women, but she is only looking for experiences from other Black women.
Search Page - Accommodation Tab - Filtered
Iris can filter the results to just show reviews about the accommodation solely from Black women to see if they felt safe and had a good experience. After filtering, she can view the Cranky Croc again and only see reviews from Black women.
Safety Page
Iris can view emergency information for Bogota, which has relevant phone numbers and information on the embassy. While in Colombia, she can check in with friends and family or use the SOS function to contact local authorities.
Profile Page
On her profile page, she can edit her bio or see her posts she’s made, including the one for Colombia.
Due to time constraints, I was not able to conduct usability testing, but that would be the next step.
Conclusion
Given that more women are traveling every year, it is a ripe market to support them in their solo travels. Providing reliable, anecdotal information from other women and safety features provide women with the confidence to embark on their solo travels.
As the aim for this project was to create a mobile design, I did not get to conduct usability testing after prototyping. In next steps, I hope to conduct testing to validate designs.
If there was more time available…
Conducting Usability Testing
I would use the testing to validate designs and make changes to the design as necessary before moving forward with additional features.
Prototyping Additional Features for Search Tab
I did not explore how it would look for someone to create a review nor where information is getting sourced from, so I would implement those interactions as well.
Android Version
I had an interest to explore how an Android application would work, but I chose to implement an iOS application due to my greater iOS familiarity. However, having cross-platform was also in the priority matrix, so this would have been beneficial to users as well.
Lessons Learned
Building Efficient Prototypes Take Time
Throughout the process, I really focused on having as few frames as possible and abstracting components, so I could use them throughout the design and make global changes. I initially found it difficult to abstract the components, but it was a great exercise to pare down designs.
Design Implications Can Lead to Many Solutions
When I had more abstract design implications, I had to decide how I would implement the design implications. I learned that there are many ways to approach the same goal, but usability testing would shed light on if the approach I took was the right one.