Hidden Gems

A mock-up design of a mobile application that gives out customized suggestions of “hidden gem” destinations to users based on their input interests and engages users while also introducing creative ways for users to “interact” more actively with each of the selected destinations through interactive features

Extrapolation of findings and observations to self-initiated independent project. I came to realize that tourists mostly “discovered” Ban-Bat through chance encounter on their foray on foot—and that this situation of “a dying community passively waiting to be discovered” is actually replicated in so many other locations. Through my own research, in Bangkok alone, at least 30 such communities exist; nationwide, a conservative estimate lies at around 613. I then asked myself: What else can be done to further increase their visibility to potential visitors? This planted the seed for my self-initiated independent project that seeks to place these communities—or what I consider “hidden gems”—under the tourists’ radar. To date, I have completed a preliminary mock-up design of a mobile application that gives out customized suggestions of “hidden gem” destinations to users based on their input interests and engages users in exploring such destinations more deeply with interactive game-like interface.

Challenging the tendency of associating “traditional” communities with “traditional-looking” interface design invoking nostalgic of times past, I opted for a more contemporary, youthful design that utilizes colorful pop-up bubbles to draw users into a “game-like” experience while inputting their personal information (instead of the monotony of filling in conventional survey forms)

I also thought through user journey and experience and drafted out the APP MAP (Figure 3C.2) and APP WIREFRAME (Figure 3C.3).

(Figure 3C.2)

(Figure 3C.3)

Final Prototype
of "HIDDEN GEM" UX/UI