Fulya Gursel - Wanderlog - Social Travel Diary App

App Design

Wanderlog - Designing an Engaging Social Travel Diary to Discover, Plan, and Share Adventures

Project Overview

The Problem

The main problem with the app is balancing usability, personalization, and social interaction while providing a seamless experience for tracking, saving, and sharing travel memories. Users need an intuitive interface that allows easy organization, personalized recommendations, and simple social features without feeling overwhelmed or bogged down by unnecessary complexity.

The Goal

The goal of this project is to create an intuitive, engaging app that helps users explore and track city destinations, share recommendations with friends , and document their experiences through personalized travel diaries with images and itenerary list.

Timeframe

4 weeks

Responsibilities

Research, User Flow, Persona Mapping, Competitive Analysis, User Journey Map, Low-Fidelity Wireframes, High-Fidelity Mockups, Prototyping, Testing

TOOLS

Figma, Google Docs, Google Forms, Zoom

Design Process

Empathize Phase

Research

The goal of this research was to understand how travelers organize and share their travel experiences, their pain points, and what motivates them to keep a digital travel diary. To gain insights, I conducted a survey with 13 participants to collect quantitative data on travel documentation habits. 1:1 interviews with 5 frequent travelers to explore their needs, frustrations, and behaviors in more depth.

Key Questions of Survey

When traveling, do you prefer to plan your itinerary in advance or explore spontaneously?

What challenges do you face when trying to remember places you've visited?

What features would be most valuable to you in a travel diary app?

Define Phase

User Pain Point

Users struggle to remember and organize places they want to visit, often losing track of why they saved them.

Social features are lacking, making it hard to see where friends have been and what they recommend, leading to missed opportunities.

Logging visits and attaching personal notes or photos can be cumbersome, and there's no easy way to rate or review places.

Generic recommendations often miss the mark, and users want more personalized suggestions based on their saved locations and preferences.

User Personas

To better understand user needs, I created a user persona based on research and insights from surveys and interviews. This helped me design an experience that feels intuitive and valuable for real travelers.

Ideation Phase

User Journey Map

I mapped out the user journey to streamline trip planning, journaling, and sharing. Users discover places, save locations, and create lists before a trip. During travel, they log visits, add photos, and write diary entries. Afterward, they share highlights, tag friends, and revisit memories.

User Flow

This app makes it easy to document trips, explore destinations, and connect with friends. Users start by signing up and selecting favorite destinations for a personalized experience. They can discover places through categories, trending spots, or a map view.

Adding a trip is simple—just enter a title, location, photos, and a diary entry and itenerary list. The feed shows friends’ posts and recommendations, while custom lists help organize must-visit spots. In the profile section, users can track their travels and update settings.

Design Phase

Low Fidelity Wireframes

Before working on the final designs, I created low-fidelity wireframes to plan the app’s layout and user flow. This helped me focus on the main screens, make navigation easy, and check that everything worked well before adding visual details.

Test Phase

Usability Testing

I wanted to see how users interacted with the prototype—how easy it was to navigate, add travel entries, and explore recommendations. The goal was to spot any pain points and areas that could be improved before refining the design further.

Testing Method

Participants: 5 users who travel frequently and use digital tools to document experiences.
Testing Type: Moderated remote usability testing.
Prototype Used: Figma interactive prototype.
Task-Based Evaluation: Users were asked to complete three key tasks while thinking aloud.

Usability Findings

Onboarding felt text-heavy, and users preferred a more visual, step-by-step guide.

Adding a trip felt unintuitive, as users expected to start with location first and wanted a clearer photo upload option.

Exploring friends’ recommendations was confusing, and users struggled to differentiate them from general listings.

Refining The Visual Design

Design System

I created a design system for this project using the Figtree font in four weights to establish a clear hierarchy. Bold draws attention to headlines, SemiBold adds structure to subheadings, while Medium and Regular ensure readability. The color palette, centered around dark blue, bright blue, and neutral grays, provides clarity and balance. I also designed consistent icons and reusable components like navigation bars, trip cards, and buttons to maintain a cohesive look. Accessibility was a priority—I refined contrast, text sizing, and spacing to enhance readability. My goal was to craft a system that feels intuitive, approachable, and visually harmonious.

Typography

Colors

Icons

Components

High Fidelity Mockups

For this project, I designed 42 high-fidelity mockups to bring the app’s interface to life. I focused on details like typography, color schemes, and interactive elements to create a polished yet intuitive experience. There are some essential screens below.

Accessibility Considerations

Color Contrast & Readability

The app follows WCAG guidelines, maintaining sufficient color contrast for readability.

Touch-Friendly Interactions

Buttons and interactive elements have ample touch targets, making the app easy to use for individuals with motor impairments.

Typography & Readability

The font choices prioritize legibility, with scalable text sizes and adaptable line spacing to enhance readability for all users.

Going Forward

Takeaways & Next Steps

This project taught me a lot about designing for different types of travelers and making sure the experience feels intuitive. I learned how small details—like clear navigation, social features, and accessibility—can make a big difference.

Next, I’d love to refine the recommendation system, improve the onboarding experience, and explore ways to keep users engaged. I also plan to do more usability testing to fine-tune the design. There’s always room to improve, and I’m excited to keep iterating!