PROJECT overview
• pROBLEM
The pandemic marks a new beginning for the tourism industry hence new needs for a new kind of tourist.
• SOLUTION
Local.ly is an app created for urban tourists that uses Augmented Reality to enhance the experience and exploration.
• TOOLS
Design thinking, literature review, user research, user journeys, wireframing, prototyping, testing.
10
Final User
interviews
30
Case studies analyzed
450
Pages of
Articles read
30
A FEW NUMBERS
10
Final User
interviews
30
Case studies analyzed
450
Pages of
Articles read
30
context
how is the tourism industry responding to the pandemic?
In the last few years, the tourism sector is going through a radical change due to the pandemic. New kinds of visitors have now emerged and they're looking toward a more authentic and sustainable way of tourism.
To support this shift new technologies have emerged in the industry and augmented reality stands high among them.
The core advantages of this technology are related to the relatively low cost of production and to the possibility of using smartphones as a means to access AR experiences.
DESIGN PROCESS
THE DEFINITION OF THE PHASES OF DESIGN.
Research: it allowed to frame the tourism sector and the AR technology with a user-centered perspective.
Ideation: it fostered the generation of paths and ideas later defined and synthesized.
Prototyping: it translated ideas into testable solution to verify their validity.
Testing: it collected user feedback and defined how to shape the actual experience.
DESK RESEARCH: Technology
a deep dive into augemented reality for the tourism industry.
To kick-off the project a deep and extensive literature review has been conducted to frame AR technology, its adoption, its status, and its use cases.
The process led to the review of some of the most notorious papers in this field but also to the analysis of the adoption models that drive innovation.
KEY FINDINGS
• ADOPTION
The adoption of AR has grown significantly over the years, also supported by Google and Apple who have published SDKs and tools to foster it.
• MATURITY
Over the years the maturity of AR technology has reached the plateau of productivity (Gartner), proving the readiness of this technology.
• DEVICES
The performance improvement of mobile devices has made it possible to support AR technology allowing the fruition from anywhere.
10
Final User
interviews
30
Case studies analyzed
450
Pages of
Articles read
30
The literature review concluded with an analysis of adoption models, highlighting some very interesting findings regarding augmented reality adoption patterns in the tourism industry.
Shown is the model for the acceptance of Augmented Reality, built on the basis of Davis' TAM by Leue, Dieck and Jung in 2014.
DESK RESEARCH: BENCHMARK
A DEEP DIVE INTO WHAT'S ALREADY HERE.
To gain more insights into the state of AR in the tourism industry, a benchmark of comparables and competitors has been conducted.
Each case study has been analyzed based on 15 parameters, ranging from the number of functionalities and downloads. This research part ended with the exploration of the interface and functions for each application.
DESK RESEARCH: whO'S THE user?
New ways of tourism are emerging, new needs are rising.
During the second step of the desk research, the focus shifted to the users. The goal was to frame the user to understand more clearly the scope of the interviews that will follow.
It emerged that new needs are rising in the tourism industry and they are highly associated to a concept of slower and more authentic experience.
KEY FINDINGS
• PROTO-NEEDS
These tourists consider the traditional travel as boring, structured and heavily guided. They are looking for authentic experiences.
• IDEALS
They believe tourism should be authentic, for some it must be sustainable for the environment and the local communities.
• SEGMENTATION
The segment is wide, this kind of tourist can't be represented by a specific age segment the target may also be represented by a causal tourist.
10
Final User
interviews
30
Case studies analyzed
450
Pages of
Articles read
30
field RESEARCH: user INTERVIEWS
FROM PROTO-NEEDS TO PERSONAS.
As soon as the desk research phase ended, user interviews began with the scope of confirming the hypothesis obtained from the earlier findings and identifying new layers of needs and pain points.
The interviews revolved around 10 people of which 8 were tourists and 2 were managers of local attractions. The approach used was a semi-structured one.
USERS: SLOW TOURISTS
AS NEW KIND OF EXPLORERS.
The slow tourist is a conscious traveller who abandons mass destinations and ventures into new types of tourism, untethered from the obligations of traditional travel.
This tourist cannot be identified in an age group and may be a person who only enters in these capacities at certain times, sometimes casually, attracted by the slowness of slow tourism but is able to appreciate its peculiarities and repeat the experience in the future.
USERS: local attractions
as entities full of stories to tell but lacking a voice.
The slow tourist is a conscious traveller who abandons mass destinations and ventures into new types of tourism, untethered from the obligations of traditional travel.
This tourist cannot be identified in an age group and may be a person who only enters in these capacities at certain times, sometimes casually, attracted by the slowness of slow tourism but is able to appreciate its peculiarities and repeat the experience in the future.
SALIENCE MAP OF THE STAKEHOLDERS
• lOW PRIORITY
Dormant
EU, AWS & Data Storage, Big Data providers, Mobile Networks
Discretionary
Social Networks, External Communities, Journals
Demanding
Influencers
• MID PRIORITY
Dominant
Apple, Italian Government, Tourist Attractions (collaborative)
Dangerous
Other Developers, Travel Agencies, Tourist Attractions (non-collaborative)
Dependent
Local.ly Team & Community, Slow Tourism Associations
• HIGH PRIORITY
Definitive
Investors, Final Users
10
Final User
interviews
30
Case studies analyzed
450
Pages of
Articles read
30
SHAPING THE CONCEPT
LOCAL.LY: A SLOW TOURISM APPROACH TO URBAN EXPLORATION.
The findings obtained from the context analysis and literature review led to the development of an app that utilizes AR as a means to enhance urban exploration and experiences, envisioning sustainable and slow tourism that considers the needs of the whole community.
The complexity comes with reaching a wide audience with a new technology: allowing users to understand and fully utilize AR technology is no easy task, crucial to the design was granting access to the application to an extended number of devices and accompany users through the app.
HANDLING ar:
ALLOW COMPLETE ACCESS TO THE USERS.
Allowing the users to understand and correctly use the AR functionalities present in the application is at the core of its success.
The architecture is intended to be as intuitive as possible. By limiting animations and guiding interactions it's possible to focus on the core strength of the app: the AR experience.
ui DESIGN: ONBOARDING
WELCOME IN LOCAL.LY
Opening the application shows a loading screen with the logo. This is followed by the registration page where personal information can be entered.
The onboarding ends with a screen where carousel activities are presented and users are asked to express an opinion by swiping left or right, introducing an initial element of gamification. In subsequent openings, the onboarding page and login will be omitted.
ui DESIGN: HOME
discover new PLACES, STORIES AND EXPERIENCES.
After logging in, the screen shown to the user is the home screen and is based on the user's GPS location and provides information about the current location and nearby Experiences.
The page features a vertically scrolling menu divided into sections for easy navigation between activities. It includes a search function and several themes in the menu. "Experiences" can be obtained or purchased directly from this section.
ui DESIGN: HIGHLIghts
Meet new people and share YOUR ADVENTUREs.
The "Highlights" section is central to the social functions of the app, allowing users and entities to interact via short, 15- to 30-second videos that can be made during the app's AR experiences.
In addition to sharing and content generation, this tool fosters perpetual use of the app both in the app community and externally via social media sharing. It allows local entities and the app to gather feedback through comments and likes to improve Experiences.
ui DESIGN: AR EXPERIENCES
Experience the city, with augmented reality.
The "Experiences" section is dedicated to augmented reality and is divided into two main types of activities.
The first one allows users to discover and obtain information about surrounding point of interest places by simply aiming the camera at them; the data will be projected via an AR layer based on the coordinates of the place. The second type involves "Experiences" such as tours, exhibitions, and local AR content, accessible only in the vicinity and signaled by a color change of the icon.
Due to hardware limitations this section is accessible only via the tap and hold gesture of the icon, to prevent any mistake.
ui DESIGN: Profile & settings
Customize your preferences
The last two sections of the app are "My Local.ly" and "Settings". Both are mainly dedicated to account management, but differ in content. The first one acts as an archive and shows all the Experiences visited by the user, along with their Highlights.
"Settings" on the other hand, covers general account settings, such as payment methods, personal information, notification management, and the ability to purchase the "Local.ly Pro" service via subscription.
design system
focus on EASE OF USE AND READABILITY.
All the components had to be simple yet effective to communicate their purpose, the only two colors utilized are blue and red, and the interface has been kept clean to maximise the impact of each "Experience". The font picked for the entire system is Inter to grant a good level of readability.
Why did i pick
this project?
I feel like Local.ly represents a great example of an idea turned into a project. The task wasn't easy since the whole project started from basically nothing but a vision yet it ended up becoming my thesis.
Local.ly is an app created to solve the lack of new and authentic experiences in urban environments by using augmented reality as a means to do so.
