This is an all-in-one app that allows solo travelers to manage every aspect of their trip.

Arribada refers to sea-turtles and their behavior to lay eggs on the beach. The newborns embark on their own, solo journey, as they find their way back to the sea.

Arribada allows solo travelers to stay prepared and organized for their trips. Users are able to easily manage any necessary travel documents, access and customize their own itinerary and to-do lists, browse suggested activities where they adventure and share their travel experiences with people from home.

As a class assignment, I was tasked with creating a mobile app that focuses on one of the following features: calendar, notepad or to-do list. It was recommended to base the app on a personal interest. I decided to incorporate my experience with solo traveling to create an app that manages a mix between the calendar and list functions.

_{*photos from solo trips I’ve taken}

I began by looking at what existed. There are a ton of travel apps. Each one serves a different purpose. I took heavy inspiration from apps apps like Skyscanner, which allowed easy organization of multiple trips, Tripit, an intuitive itinerary app and Apple Wallet.

I also conducted interviews and put out a survey asking people things related to personal solo-traveling experiences, suggestions for other backpackers, tips and tricks, and overall issues they run into when traveling.

After a couple of weeks of ideating and multiple iterations of lo-fidelity wireframes, I realized my app had completely derailed from what I originally wanted to create. My primary issue was that the app had become a giant hub for all things travel. There were functions to book flights and hotels, wayfind around cites and the overall visual aesthetic lacked personality. The base idea of solo traveling had become diluted. 

On my 5th version of lo-fis, I needed to pause, asess and resolve. I had to start from scratch. This was a difficult decision  considering all the work I’d already put into it, not to mention the tight deadline.

After an all-nighter and many panic attacks, I was able to come up with a solution that reverted back to my main motivation of enhancing solo-traveling experiences.

My final solution  for Arribada came after a few rounds of user testing. Although this project sucked out every ounce of my will to live, I found the importance of going through such an experience. In this time of self reflection, I experienced  my own version of Arribada. But instead of being a turtle finding my way back to the sea, I’m a struggling design student with just enough will to create. Sometimes you have to eat shit before you eat dessert.