Smart Travel Planning
with AI-Powered Route Tracking

Problem

Trip details are scattered across different channels, making coordination chaotic and stressful.

Solution

Developed an AI-powered travel app that parses travel links, auto-generates itineraries, and provides interactive map navigation, helping users plan trips faster and more efficiently.

Impact

Reduced trip planning time

43%

Reduced trip planning time

43%

Reduced trip planning time

43%

Increase in user retention

25%

Increase in user retention

25%

Increase in user retention

25%

Received positive Feedback

88%

Received positive Feedback

88%

Received positive Feedback

88%

Role

Product Designer

Contribution

UX design

Feature Scoping

Accessibility Design

A/B Testing

Timeline

Jan 2025 - Present

Team

2 UX designer

1 UX reseracher

1 Product Manager

3 Software Developers

Core Experiences

Triple is a intelligent travel-planning App featuring smart link parsing, automated itinerary generation, and interactive map-guided navigation to reduce trip planning time and increase efficency.

Smart link recognition

Effortlessly import travel spots from popular social media and save them with a single tap.

Travel map + Itinerary

Location · Transportation · Customizable Trip Types

AI Realtime travel suggestion

AI provides flexible, real-time itinerary suggestions based on weather.

Problem

Trip details are scattered across multiple channels without a unified sync, causing chaotic coordination and high stress。

User research

Explore Problem Space

We used a mixed-methods approach to identify product-market fit, conducting 20 interviews and collecting 350+ survey responses to deeply understand user needs.

We used a mixed-methods approach to identify product-market fit, conducting 20 interviews and collecting 350+ survey responses to deeply understand user needs.

We used a mixed-methods approach to identify product-market fit, conducting 20 interviews and collecting 350+ survey responses to deeply understand user needs.

100+

Articles

20+

Interviews

350+

Surveys

Key Findings 1

Key Findings 2

Key Findings 3

03

Group travelers often face difficulties in planning due to diverse preferences and the logistical complexity of aligning multiple schedules.

“The plan was all set, and you even checked the weather the day before. But… you suddenly find out that the experience at the attraction is significantly affected due to heavy fog or bad weather… That kind of thing can feel really frustrating.”

Key Findings 1

Key Findings 2

Key Findings 3

03

Group travelers often face difficulties in planning due to diverse preferences and the logistical complexity of aligning multiple schedules.

“The plan was all set, and you even checked the weather the day before. But… you suddenly find out that the experience at the attraction is significantly affected due to heavy fog or bad weather… That kind of thing can feel really frustrating.”

Key Findings 1

Key Findings 2

Key Findings 3

03

Group travelers often face difficulties in planning due to diverse preferences and the logistical complexity of aligning multiple schedules.

“The plan was all set, and you even checked the weather the day before. But… you suddenly find out that the experience at the attraction is significantly affected due to heavy fog or bad weather… That kind of thing can feel really frustrating.”

OUR USERS

Understanding Users

Understand who the target users are: their needs, motivations, pain points, usage habits.

Understand who the target users are: their needs, motivations, pain points, usage habits.

Understand who the target users are: their needs, motivations, pain points, usage habits.

Casual Explorer

Jake is a laid-back but curious traveler who prefers meaningful experiences over rigid plans. He turns to Reddit for honest local insights and often wanders neighborhoods looking for hidden gems. While he enjoys traveling with friends, he finds group coordination tiring and prefers smaller, flexible trips.

0

%

increase in ROI

0

%

boost in revenue

Spontaneous Socializer

Chloe is a young marketing professional who thrives on social energy and exciting city life. Whether it's a last-minute weekend getaway or a night out in a new city, she relies on TikTok and Instagram for instant inspiration. Chloe values freedom in her travels and often organizes group outings with her equally adventurous friends.

0

%

Goals

0

%

Pain points

Meticulous Budget Planner

Emily is a detail-oriented graduate student who enjoys making the most of every travel opportunity. She plans trips months in advance, compares prices across platforms, and creates color-coded spreadsheets to track every detail. Her biggest challenge is aligning group preferences with her need for structure and savings.

0

%

gain in retention

0

%

surge in profits

Pain Points:
High anxiety over budget constraints
Difficulty integrating multiple sources of information
Managing travel group preferences

Casual Explorer

Jake is a laid-back but curious traveler who prefers meaningful experiences over rigid plans. He turns to Reddit for honest local insights and often wanders neighborhoods looking for hidden gems. While he enjoys traveling with friends, he finds group coordination tiring and prefers smaller, flexible trips.

0

%

increase in ROI

0

%

boost in revenue

Spontaneous Socializer

Chloe is a young marketing professional who thrives on social energy and exciting city life. Whether it's a last-minute weekend getaway or a night out in a new city, she relies on TikTok and Instagram for instant inspiration. Chloe values freedom in her travels and often organizes group outings with her equally adventurous friends.

0

%

Goals

0

%

Pain points

Meticulous Budget Planner

Emily is a detail-oriented graduate student who enjoys making the most of every travel opportunity. She plans trips months in advance, compares prices across platforms, and creates color-coded spreadsheets to track every detail. Her biggest challenge is aligning group preferences with her need for structure and savings.

0

%

gain in retention

0

%

surge in profits

Casual Explorer

Jake is a laid-back but curious traveler who prefers meaningful experiences over rigid plans. He turns to Reddit for honest local insights and often wanders neighborhoods looking for hidden gems. While he enjoys traveling with friends, he finds group coordination tiring and prefers smaller, flexible trips.

0

%

increase in ROI

0

%

boost in revenue

Spontaneous Socializer

Chloe is a young marketing professional who thrives on social energy and exciting city life. Whether it's a last-minute weekend getaway or a night out in a new city, she relies on TikTok and Instagram for instant inspiration. Chloe values freedom in her travels and often organizes group outings with her equally adventurous friends.

0

%

Goals

0

%

Pain points

Meticulous Budget Planner

Emily is a detail-oriented graduate student who enjoys making the most of every travel opportunity. She plans trips months in advance, compares prices across platforms, and creates color-coded spreadsheets to track every detail. Her biggest challenge is aligning group preferences with her need for structure and savings.

0

%

gain in retention

0

%

surge in profits

Pain Points:
High anxiety over budget constraints
Difficulty integrating multiple sources of information
Managing travel group preferences

UNDERSTANDING USERS

Dynamic User Journey Map

To understand the complete travel experience from the user's perspective, we mapped out the journey from idea to post-trip sharing.

To understand the complete travel experience from the user's perspective, we mapped out the journey from idea to post-trip sharing.

To understand the complete travel experience from the user's perspective, we mapped out the journey from idea to post-trip sharing.

From research, I conclude:

Travel planning is not just about logistics—it’s a social dance of preferences, coordination, and emotional labor.

Travel planning is not just about logistics—it’s a social dance of preferences, coordination, and emotional labor.

From research, I conclude:

Travel planning is not just about logistics—it’s a social dance of preferences, coordination, and emotional labor.

Challenge

How might we design itineraries that adapt to real-time changes while maintaining positive group dynamics for Gen-Z and Millennial travelers?

How might we design itineraries that adapt to real-time changes while maintaining positive group dynamics for Gen-Z and Millennial travelers?

Challenge

How might we design itineraries that adapt to real-time changes while maintaining positive group dynamics for Gen-Z and Millennial travelers?

Boil down findings into 3 core features

Boil down findings into 3 core features

Route optimization

Breaks complex operations into bite-sized, focused tasks — making onboarding less overwhelming.

Route optimization

Breaks complex operations into bite-sized, focused tasks — making onboarding less overwhelming.

Route optimization

Breaks complex operations into bite-sized, focused tasks — making onboarding less overwhelming.

Dynamic Planning

Breaks complex operations into bite-sized, focused tasks — making onboarding less overwhelming.

Dynamic Planning

Breaks complex operations into bite-sized, focused tasks — making onboarding less overwhelming.

Dynamic Planning

Breaks complex operations into bite-sized, focused tasks — making onboarding less overwhelming.

Group coordination

Encourages essential actions like phone number input — subtly and without breaking user flow.

Group coordination

Encourages essential actions like phone number input — subtly and without breaking user flow.

Group coordination

Encourages essential actions like phone number input — subtly and without breaking user flow.

Design Process

1.Layout

Enhance information flow and make better use of space.

Enhance information flow and make better use of space.

Enhance information flow and make better use of space.

2.Intercation Design

Create intuitive and engaging user experiences.

Create intuitive and engaging user experiences.

Create intuitive and engaging user experiences.

3.Design Validation

Test design to ensure achieves business goals.

Test design to ensure achieves business goals.

Test design to ensure achieves business goals.

ITERATION

Iteration towards Layout

Information Architecture

How to absorb content on Place Detail Page effectively?

Designed a flexible information architecture to support users’ dynamic mindset shifts across planning stages, enabling seamless transitions between creation, overview, and day views.

Designed a flexible information architecture to support users’ dynamic mindset shifts across planning stages, enabling seamless transitions between creation, overview, and day views.

Designed a flexible information architecture to support users’ dynamic mindset shifts across planning stages, enabling seamless transitions between creation, overview, and day views.

A/B Testing on Layout

Balancing information density vs. clarity in mobile interface

Result

33% more content per page!

33%

INTERACTION ITERATION

Iteration towards Interaction

Solution 1：

Prioritize displaying the map, with the itinerary fixed in a dedicated window

Solution 2：

Prioritize displaying the priority

ITERATION

Even with thorough planning, unexpected disruptions can ruin expectations and lead to frustration.

Opportunity 1

AI Travel Tips

I designed the AI-generated Travel Tips module to proactively surface context-aware recommendations, combining:

  • Location-specific advice（e.g., NY tap water is cold, dry air in March）

  • Seasonal considerations（e.g., layering in winter）

  • User intent recognition（e.g., camera gear for content creators）

  • Packing psychology（essentials vs bonus）

Instead of giving generic tips, we deliver personalized and purposeful suggestions that align with user mindset: “What will I actually need there?”

Opportunity 2

Adaptive Planning: Weather-Aware Itinerary Updates

AI + crowd insights (“80% of users recommend this”) builds trust

  • Minimal interruption via one-screen, two-option UI

  • Flexible control — no forced changes, user decides

  • Map-based visualization grounds the recommendation in real context

Impact

Improved screen load time

43%

Improved screen load time

43%

Improved screen load time

43%

Reduced server load

25%

Reduced server load

25%

Reduced server load

25%

Design Validation

Iteration towards Feasibility

Evaluating concepts

Usability tests

Users showed a clear preference for the time-segmented layout, which better supports mental organization, task anticipation, and real-time decision making.

user pic

James K.

Traveler

“The time-segmented layout is a game changer. It mirrors how users think, plan, and act — making real-time decisions so much easier.”

user pic

James K.

Traveler

“The time-segmented layout is a game changer. It mirrors how users think, plan, and act — making real-time decisions so much easier.”

user pic

James K.

Traveler

“The time-segmented layout is a game changer. It mirrors how users think, plan, and act — making real-time decisions so much easier.”

Technical constraint: Balance performance & cost constraints

Infinite scroll caused performance issues and high backend costs due to frequent API calls under real-time data.
We replaced it with a lightweight paginated view to improve stability and reduce server load.

Design Validation

Final Impact

Final Impact

Final Impact

Estimated launch in October 2025

Estimated launch in October 2025

Estimated launch in October 2025

Reduced trip planning time

43%

Reduced trip planning time

43%

Reduced trip planning time

43%

Increase in user retention

25%

Increase in user retention

25%

Increase in user retention

25%

Received positive Feedback

88%

Received positive Feedback

88%

Received positive Feedback

88%

R&D

-

5.0

It’s easy to understand and find things. I can tell what’s it for without your explaination.

R&D

-

5.0

It’s easy to understand and find things. I can tell what’s it for without your explaination.

R&D

-

5.0

It’s easy to understand and find things. I can tell what’s it for without your explaination.

Management

-

4.7

The graphs are neat and I would like to use it directly.

Management

-

4.7

The graphs are neat and I would like to use it directly.

Management

-

4.7

The graphs are neat and I would like to use it directly.

Reach out anytime

Take Away

One-canvas cross-functional collaboration

The project touched three sub-teams (ML, frontend, business). Any misalignment amplified risk. I therefore built a “visual decision canvas” that merged user journeys, tech constraints, business goals, and design tenets in a single FigJam board, color-coded and updated live. Stakeholders could now lock priorities in a 30-minute weekly “sync-and-decide” slot, while potential trade-offs (e.g., model latency vs. interaction smoothness) surfaced early. This transparency taught me to use visual language to accelerate decisions, and to wield a shared component system to keep execution coherent—showing that a UX designer is not just a “pixel pusher” but a translator and tempo-setter for the whole team.

Considering development effort and Revenue-Generating Design

As designers, we aim for aesthetics, but in B2B companies, design must align with value creation. It’s crucial to balance front-end work with business impact and find opportunities to drive revenue. We must also recognize limitations, like data gaps or designs slowing down the website.

tingshu1220@gmail.com

Reach out anytime

Take Away

One-canvas cross-functional collaboration

The project touched three sub-teams (ML, frontend, business). Any misalignment amplified risk. I therefore built a “visual decision canvas” that merged user journeys, tech constraints, business goals, and design tenets in a single FigJam board, color-coded and updated live. Stakeholders could now lock priorities in a 30-minute weekly “sync-and-decide” slot, while potential trade-offs (e.g., model latency vs. interaction smoothness) surfaced early. This transparency taught me to use visual language to accelerate decisions, and to wield a shared component system to keep execution coherent—showing that a UX designer is not just a “pixel pusher” but a translator and tempo-setter for the whole team.

Considering development effort and Revenue-Generating Design

As designers, we aim for aesthetics, but in B2B companies, design must align with value creation. It’s crucial to balance front-end work with business impact and find opportunities to drive revenue. We must also recognize limitations, like data gaps or designs slowing down the website.

tingshu1220@gmail.com

Reach out anytime

Take Away

One-canvas cross-functional collaboration

The project touched three sub-teams (ML, frontend, business). Any misalignment amplified risk. I therefore built a “visual decision canvas” that merged user journeys, tech constraints, business goals, and design tenets in a single FigJam board, color-coded and updated live. Stakeholders could now lock priorities in a 30-minute weekly “sync-and-decide” slot, while potential trade-offs (e.g., model latency vs. interaction smoothness) surfaced early. This transparency taught me to use visual language to accelerate decisions, and to wield a shared component system to keep execution coherent—showing that a UX designer is not just a “pixel pusher” but a translator and tempo-setter for the whole team.

Considering development effort and Revenue-Generating Design

As designers, we aim for aesthetics, but in B2B companies, design must align with value creation. It’s crucial to balance front-end work with business impact and find opportunities to drive revenue. We must also recognize limitations, like data gaps or designs slowing down the website.

tingshu1220@gmail.com