← Street Dog

← SDC

Full Case Study →

Full Study→

Conversational UX →

Convo UX →

At a Glance

Role

UX/UI Designer,
UX Researcher,
UX Strategist

Timeline

5 Weeks +
2025 Updates

Team

4 Collaborators + Solo Redesign

Tools

Figma, Miro, Zoom, Research,

User Interviews,

User Testing

At a Glance

Role

UX/UI Designer,
UX Researcher,
UX Strategist

Timeline

5 Weeks +
Iterations

Team

4 Collaborators +
Solo Redesign

Tools

Figma, Miro, Zoom, Research,

User Interviews,

User Testing,

At a Glance

Role

UX/UI
Designer,
UX Research,
UX Strategy

Timeline

5 Weeks +
2025 Updates

Team

4 Collab +
Solo
Redesign

Tools

Figma, Miro, Zoom, Research,

User Interviews,

User Testing

The Problem

Travel planning is overwhelming — too many tabs, conflicting reviews, and group chaos.

⟶

The Solution

HARK simplifies travel planning with curated recommendations and group friendly tools.

The Problem

Travel planning is overwhelming — too many tabs, conflicting reviews, and group chaos.

⟶

The Solution

HARK simplifies travel planning with curated recommendations and group friendly tools.

Early Exploration

Key Features

Immersive & vibe-based discovery experience

Curated recommendations

Shared itineraries, group voting, and real-time coordination

Smart filtering across safety, accessibility, and preferences

Flexible planning across solo, couple, and group travel

The Problem

Travel planning is overwhelming — too many tabs, conflicting reviews, and group chaos.

⟶

The Solution

HARK simplifies travel planning with curated recommendations and group friendly tools.

Project Overview

HARK is a travel planning app designed to simplify group travel through curated recommendations, shared itineraries, and practical filtering tools.

Designed to make trip planning as simple as ordering lunch, the experience applies human-centered, journey-driven thinking—evolving from lo-fi exploration to refined high-fidelity solutions.

HARK is a travel planning app designed to simplify group travel through curated recommendations, shared itineraries, and practical filtering tools.

Designed to make trip planning as simple as ordering lunch, the experience applies human-centered, journey-driven thinking—evolving from lo-fi exploration to refined high-fidelity solutions.

HARK is a travel planning app designed to simplify group travel through curated recommendations, shared itineraries, and practical filtering tools.

Designed to make trip planning as simple as ordering lunch, the experience applies human-centered, journey-driven thinking—evolving from lo-fi exploration to refined high-fidelity solutions.

Early Exploration

Key Features

Immersive & vibe-based discovery experience

Curated recommendations

Shared itineraries, group voting, and real-time coordination

Smart filtering across safety, accessibility, and preferences

Flexible planning across solo, couple, and group travel

60-Second Video Overview

Research & Journey Mapping

This project was grounded in human-centered research and journey-centric design.

Through interviews, surveys, personas, and journey mapping, we identified how travelers make decisions, where breakdowns occur, and what support is needed at each stage of planning.

This project was grounded in human-centered research and journey-centric design.

Through interviews, surveys, personas, and journey mapping, we identified how travelers make decisions, where breakdowns occur, and what support is needed at each stage of planning.

This project was grounded in human-centered research and journey-centric design.

Through interviews, surveys, personas, and journey mapping, we identified how travelers make decisions, where breakdowns occur, and what support is needed at each stage of planning.

Key insights included:

Travelers rely on fragmented tools across multiple platforms

Priorities vary by user (budget, safety, logistics), but all seek clarity and ease

Lack of structured guidance leads to decision fatigue and group friction

These insights informed a journey-centered approach—designing the experience around how users move from inspiration to coordination to booking.

User Personas

Design Evolution

From exploration → immersive experience

The experience evolved from solving usability → to designing how travel feels.

Emotion-driven entry

Clear pathways

Cohesive experience

Hi-Fidelity

Exploration

Fragmented flows

Scattered tools

Unclear direction

Early

Exploration

Calm

Solitude & Nature

For travels seeking peace

and time to unplug.

Awe

Destinations

For travelers seeking
breathtaking places.

Immersion

Experiences

For travels who explore
through stories and culture.

Energy

Exploration

For travelers seeking vibrant,
high-energy experiences.

Design Evolution

From exploration → immersive experience

The experience evolved from solving usability → to designing how travel feels.

Emotion-driven entry

Clear pathways

Cohesive experience

Hi-Fidelity

Exploration

Fragmented flows

Scattered tools

Unclear direction

Early

Exploration

Calm

Solitude & Nature

For travels seeking peace

and time to unplug.

Awe

Destinations

For travelers seeking
breathtaking places.

Immersion

Experiences

For travels who explore
through stories and culture.

Energy

Exploration

For travelers seeking vibrant,
high-energy experiences.

Current Experience (Yelp-Based Journey)

Scenario: Tanya plans a dinner with friends while trying to find gluten-free options —

but conflicting reviews on Yelp lead to a frustrating experience.

Scenario: Tanya plans a dinner with friends while trying to find gluten-free options —

but conflicting reviews on Yelp lead to a frustrating experience.

Scenario: Tanya plans a dinner with friends while trying to find gluten-free options —

but conflicting reviews on Yelp lead to a frustrating experience.

Opportunities

Exploration

Searches for restaurants with gluten-free options.

Evaluation

Finds a promising option on Yelp with strong reviews.

Anticipation

Gets excited and shares with friends.

Expectation Gap

Menu doesn’t match what was shown online.

Doubt

Questions which reviews to trust.

Friction

Confirms there are not gluten-free options.

Realization

The reviews were misleading & it can’t be the food.

Frustration

Frustrated and disappointed.

Adjustment

Finds a gluten-free alternative nearby.

. Relief

Enjoys the rest of the evening with friends.

Opportunities

Filter by dietary needs

(e.g., gluten-free)

Filter by dietary needs e.g., gluten-free)

Verify menu accuracy before arrival

Aggregate trusted, real-time reviews

Enable planning + decision-making

Support quick recovery when plans fall apart

Menu previews with dietary safety indicators

Exploration

Searches for restaurants with gluten-free options.

Evaluation

Finds a promising option on Yelp with strong reviews.

Anticipation

Gets excited and shares with friends.

Expectation Gap

Menu doesn’t match what was shown online.

Doubt

Questions which reviews to trust.

Friction

Confirms there are not gluten-free options.

Realization

The reviews were misleading & it can’t be the food.

Frustration

Frustrated and disappointed.

Adjustment

Finds a gluten-free alternative nearby.

. Relief

Enjoys the rest of the evening with friends.

Opportunities

Filter by dietary needs

(e.g., gluten-free)

Filter by dietary needs e.g., gluten-free)

Verify menu accuracy before arrival

Aggregate trusted, real-time reviews

Enable planning + decision-making

Reduce stress when plans change

Dietary-safe menu previews

Design Evolution

From exploration → immersive experience

The experience evolved from solving usability → to designing how travel feels.

Fragmented flows

Scattered tools

Unclear direction

Early

Exploration

Emotion-driven entry

Clear pathways

Cohesive experience

Hi-Fidelity

Exploration

Fragmented flows

Scattered tools

Unclear direction

Early

Exploration

Emotion-driven entry

Clear pathways

Cohesive experience

Hi-Fidelity

Exploration

Calm

Solitude & Nature

For travels seeking peace

and time to unplug.

Awe

Destinations

For travelers seeking
breathtaking places.

Awe

Destinations

For travelers seeking
breathtaking places.

Immersion

Experiences

For travels who explore
through stories and culture.

Energy

Exploration

For travelers seeking
high-energy experiences.

Immersion

Experiences

For travels who explore
through stories and culture.

Energy

Exploration

For travelers seeking vibrant,
high-energy experiences.

Design Evolution

From exploration → immersive experience

The experience evolved from solving usability → to designing how travel feels.

Fragmented flows

Scattered tools

Unclear direction

Early

Exploration

Emotion-driven entry

Clear pathways

Cohesive experience

Hi-Fidelity

Exploration

Fragmented flows

Scattered tools

Unclear direction

Early

Exploration

Emotion-driven entry

Clear pathways

Cohesive experience

Hi-Fidelity

Exploration

Calm

Solitude & Nature

For travels seeking peace

and time to unplug.

Awe

Destinations

For travelers seeking
breathtaking places.

Awe

Destinations

For travelers seeking
breathtaking places.

Immersion

Experiences

For travels who explore
through stories and culture.

Energy

Exploration

For travelers seeking
high-energy experiences.

Immersion

Experiences

For travels who explore
through stories and culture.

Energy

Exploration

For travelers seeking vibrant,
high-energy experiences.

Experience Design

HARK is structured around key moments—guiding users from discovery to coordination to action.

The experience brings tools and information into a single, cohesive system—reducing uncertainty, increasing trust in recommendations, and simplifying decisions through filtering across budgets, destinations, food, and activities.

While user priorities varied—from budget-conscious to safety-focused travelers—all shared a need for clarity and low-friction planning. HARK delivers a streamlined, all-in-one experience.

HARK is structured around key moments—guiding users from discovery to coordination to action.

While user priorities varied—from budget-conscious to safety-focused travelers—all shared a need for clarity and low-friction planning. HARK delivers a streamlined, all-in-one experience.

HARK is structured around key moments—guiding users from discovery to coordination to action.

While user priorities varied—from budget-conscious to safety-focused travelers—all shared a need for clarity and low-friction planning. HARK delivers a streamlined, all-in-one experience.

HARK

Experience Model

Discover

Get inspired & explore with confidence.

Explore with clarity

Find experiences faster

Skip endless searching

Coordinate

Get inspired & explore with confidence.

Explore with clarity

Find experiences faster

Skip endless searching

Discover

Get inspired & explore with confidence.

Explore with clarity

Find experiences faster

Skip endless searching

HARK Experience Model

Discover

Get inspired & explore with confidence.

Explore with clarity

Find experiences faster

Skip endless searching

Coordinate

Plan together, simply & collaboratively.

Shared itineraries

Group voting

Real-time coordination

HARK Experience Model

Discover

Get inspired & explore with confidence.

Explore with clarity

Find experiences faster

Skip endless searching

Coordinate

Plan together, simply & collaboratively.

Shared itineraries

Group voting

Real-time coordination

Act

Execute with clarity & peace of mind.

Booking-ready decisions

Practical filters (safety, food)

Confident execution

Act

Execute with clarity & peace of mind.

Booking-ready decisions

Practical filters (safety, food)

Confident execution

Coordinate

Get inspired & explore with confidence.

Explore with clarity

Find experiences faster

Skip endless searching

HARK in Action: Storyboarding

Scenario: Tanya plans a fun activity with friends using the HARK travel app.

Project Outcome

HARK evolved beyond usability—into shaping the experience of how travel feels.

The project established a strong UX foundation through research, wireframing, and usability testing, and expanded into higher-fidelity exploration to strengthen interaction and storytelling.

Personas were refined to better reflect real-world traveler needs, with future directions focused on personalization, segmentation, and expanded prototype development.

HARK evolved beyond usability—into shaping the experience of how travel feels.

The project established a strong UX foundation through research, wireframing, and usability testing, and expanded into higher-fidelity exploration to strengthen interaction and storytelling.

Personas were refined to better reflect real-world traveler needs, with future directions focused on personalization, segmentation, and expanded prototype development.

HARK evolved beyond usability—into shaping the experience of how travel feels.

The project established a strong UX foundation through research, wireframing, and usability testing, and expanded into higher-fidelity exploration to strengthen interaction and storytelling.

Personas were refined to better reflect real-world traveler needs, with future directions focused on personalization, segmentation, and expanded prototype development.

Reflection

This project marked a foundational moment in my UX practice and continued to evolve beyond the initial sprint.

Rather than redesigning the entire experience, I chose to preserve the original lo-fi work to reflect the team's early thinking and problem-solving approach.

In 2025, I revisited the project with a high-fidelity splash to deepen visual and interaction design—highlighting growth while reinforcing strong UX foundations.

This project marked a foundational moment in my UX practice and continued to evolve beyond the initial sprint.

Rather than redesigning the entire experience, I chose to preserve the original lo-fi work to reflect the team's early thinking and problem-solving approach.

In 2025, I revisited the project with a high-fidelity splash to deepen visual and interaction design—highlighting growth while reinforcing strong UX foundations.

This project marked a foundational moment in my UX practice and continued to evolve beyond the initial sprint.

Rather than redesigning the entire experience, I chose to preserve the original lo-fi work to reflect the team's early thinking and problem-solving approach.

In 2025, I revisited the project with a high-fidelity splash to deepen visual and interaction design—highlighting growth while reinforcing strong UX foundations.

Explore the Full Case Study

First UX/UI Case Study & Design Thinking Process — Includes Full Walkthrough

Full Case Study

← SDC

Convo UX →