Team
Katherine Kuang and Anna Munson
Time
6 months
My Contributions
UX Researcher, UX/UI Designer, Developer
Tools
Figma, Adobe Illustrator, AppSheets, APIs, n8n, Adalo
Context
This project was a capstone project for the Innovation, Technology, & Design program. We were tasked to identify a problem of our choice, design a solution, and develop the solution into a functional product. Deliverables included conducting user research, synthesizing research, ideating different solutions, designing a prototype, and developing the final product.
Problem
What travelers wish they knew before…
When traveling to different countries, many people find themselves caught off guard by unwritten rules they weren’t aware of. These challenges can range from minor inconveniences, such as not knowing a store’s operating hours, to more serious situations, like unintentionally breaking a law. For example, some travelers may not realize that certain gestures or behaviors are considered disrespectful in different cultures, while others might unknowingly violate local regulations. Despite researching their destinations in advance, many travelers still miss critical information about these unspoken rules, leaving them unprepared for unexpected situations. This gap in knowledge can lead to confusion, frustration, or even legal trouble.
Solution
Providing clear, concise, and practical insights to navigate unwritten rules effortlessly
Developing an app that provides travelers with clear, concise, and practical insights to navigate these unwritten rules effortlessly. Prioritizing information centered around the biggest pain points travelers have faced related to these unwritten rules.
Personalized Information
Easily submit any country to generate tailored information for your destination
Submit any city within a country to receive location-specific insights for your trip
Relatable Information in an Easily Digestible Format
Relatable information sourced from personal stories submitted to platforms like Reddit and blogs
Information presented in an easily digestible format with clear, concise descriptions of prioritized unwritten rule categories and key navigation points
Future insights generated through crowdsourced content, adding unique value to the information
Access Key Insights Before, During, and After Trips
Save generated information as a trip for easy reference
Access trip information anytime—before, during, or after your travels
Research & Problem Finding
Gathering knowledge and experiences from over 18 countries across 6 continents
To ensure diverse perspectives and minimize bias, we gathered insights from stakeholders with experiences spanning over 18 countries across 6 continents. Our research included input from a wide range of voices, including representatives from cultural organizations, study abroad professors, international students, and global ambassadors.
Cultural Student Organizations
Understanding how cultural backgrounds influence daily experiences and how they navigate cultural misunderstandings
Study Abroad Professors
Gaining insight into how well students prepare for cultural differences and resources they use to prepare for trips
International Students
Learning how visitors interact with local norms, what misunderstandings arise, and how they handle cultural differences
Global Ambassadors
Exploring what resources helped study abroad students adjust to cultural differences and identifying surprising cultural moments they encountered
What we found was that travelers struggle to find reliable information on local customs.
100% of stakeholders shared pain points related to day-to-day nuances
0% Felt prepared in an effective way using existing resources
Competitive Analysis
Current resources are text-heavy, lack focus, and miss unwritten rules
Everyone we spoke to relied on multiple resources to prepare for their travels, often spending significant time jumping between websites and books to gather the necessary information. When we examined these resources, we found them to be overwhelmingly text-heavy, scattered in focus, and rarely addressing unwritten rules—except for one obscure Swiss hotel site that none of our stakeholders had never come across. Additionally, many of these resources were not mobile-friendly, making on-the-go access difficult.
key findings
After gathering insights from 25 experienced travelers and locals, we identified a few key findings
Narrowing the scope
Within our key findings, we identified common themes to narrow the scope
Throughout our interviews, we uncovered many different pain points, but we chose to focus on the ones that were consistently mentioned across all conversations. Our approach was inspired by the Cultural Iceberg Theory, which divides culture into surface and deep levels.
We focused on surface-level cultural aspects travelers encounter daily—speed of lifestyle, dress codes, operating hours, and key phrases—as these unwritten rules shape everyday experiences.
Deeper aspects like religion, history, and accommodations were less embedded in daily interactions and mentioned less frequently, so we chose not to prioritize them.
User Case
Not a made up story, but a cumulation of stories we gathered from our research…
Ideation
Weighing the pros and cons of each idea
The team began ideating by spending 7 minutes writing down as many solutions as possible, then coming back together to lay the ideas out on an affinity map
We selected our top three ideas:
Proof of Concept
Demonstrating the feasibility of the concept & gathering feedback
To test the feasibility of generating and presenting this information in a concise and clear format, we created various iterations of prompts for Anthropic’s AI (Claude). These prompts were designed to generate insights about unwritten rules based on personal stories shared by travelers on platforms like Reddit and blogs. This helped us assess the ability to provide useful and accurate content in a user-friendly manner. Users provided feedback on the information provided and its layout to lead us to our next steps.
Iteration
3 major improvements were made with user feedback
Country Selection Flexibility
Previously, users had to select from a list of countries
Travelers now have the freedom to discover information about any country
Enhancing Information Readability
Information was previously provided broadly
More in depth information can be accessed through different navigation options
Addition of Screens to Enhance Experience
Informative welcome screen that illustrates app’s key functions
Allow users to save trips to access later on during trips
Style Guide
Ensuring visual consistency with a style guide
Final Screens
Incorporating the style guide into the selected wireframes
Developing the App
To develop the app we, used APIs to connect the backend (done in n8n) to the frontend (done in Adalo). The system was automated with Anthropic’s AI agent, which was connected to our n8n backend of the app.
Functioning App Demo
Reflection
What I Learned
Evolving My Design Process When Integrating Technical Development: Balancing design, research, and development firsthand gave me a deeper understanding of how technical constraints shape user experiences. I had to make constant trade-offs—adjusting designs to ensure feasibility while maintaining usability—forcing me to think critically about how research insights translated into both interface and functionality.
Conducting Diverse Stakeholder Interviews to Minimize Bias: Engaging with a range of stakeholders, from end-users to industry experts, helped me uncover hidden pain points and avoid one-dimensional perspectives. This approach strengthened my ability to synthesize diverse insights into a more inclusive and well-rounded solution.
Exploring the Interconnected Impact of Research, Design, and Development: Managing all three aspects myself reinforced how each phase influences the next. Research shaped design decisions, while technical feasibility forced design iterations, creating a continuous feedback loop. This holistic approach helped me craft a more seamless and impactful user experience.
