Roamer(s)
Overview
Roamer(s) is a mobile-first travel application developed to centralize the fragmented planning process of group travel. As a Senior Product Designer on this University of Denver collaboration, I spearheaded the transition from research-driven insights to an intuitive, high-fidelity iOS platform that addresses the core frustrations of modern trip organization.
Challenge
Through extensive initial research, our team identified several critical pain points:
Fragmented Planning: Users expressed significant frustration navigating multiple platforms to organize a single trip.
Disorganized Coordination: There was no centralized space for group decision-making, voting, or real-time itinerary management.
Information Overload: Travelers frequently lost track of critical details during complex, multi-stage planning.
Holistic Process & Implementation
Research & Synthesis: Conducted user interviews and competitor analysis of major platforms like Kayak and Tripadvisor to identify functional gaps in the market.
User-Centric Design: Developed detailed user journey maps and storyboards, such as the 'Joe Hendrix' scenario, to prioritize a secure onboarding experience and intuitive navigation.
Iterative Validation: Conducted guerrilla usability testing to gather real-world feedback on low-fidelity clickable prototypes, ensuring the interface remained accessible and user-friendly.
Technical Refinement: Translated mid-fidelity wireframes into high-fidelity iOS mockups, focusing on centralized communication and photo sharing.
Key Features Introduced
AI-Powered Trip Planner: An automated itinerary builder designed to simplify complex scheduling.
Community Board: A collaborative space for travelers to plan together, vote on shared activities, and communicate in real-time.
Unified Discovery: A centralized feature for exploring potential destinations and activities without leaving the application.
Passport Page: A secure, centralized hub for users to manage personal travel information and trip archives.
Deliverables
Results & Strategic Impact
The project successfully validated our hypothesis that a centralized mobile ecosystem significantly increases user satisfaction:
High User Satisfaction: Testing confirmed that users valued having 'everything in one place,' describing the design as easy to understand.
Data-Driven De-prioritization: User interviews revealed low interest in a dedicated budgeting feature, allowing us to pivot resources toward higher-value functionalities like voting and group communication.
Actionable Validation: Guerrilla testing showed overwhelmingly positive results for group-based restaurant and activity voting.
The Soul
This project exemplifies the 'Logic & Form' philosophy by taking the chaotic, data-heavy process of travel and distilling it into a clean, emotionally resonant mobile experience. By prioritizing community-driven features over unnecessary complexity, we built a system that truly serves the traveler.
©2026 Garrett Martin. All rights reserved