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App design research

February 12, 2021 - Blogs

As part of my research, I looked at some travel apps. This was to give me a better understanding of some of the ranges of designs within different travel apps. I chose three apps to look at which were each different from each other. These were PeakVisor, Mapstr and Polarsteps.

1. PeakVisor

PeakVisor is a travel app made for hikers. It claims to make you a “superhero of outdoor navigation” by using state-of-the-art 3D maps and mountain navigation within the app making it easily accessible for the user. It uses AR technology to identify names and elevation of nearby peaks (mountains).

I chose this app because the first thing which caught my attention was the artwork of the apps banner on the app store and the app icon. The artwork is great as it captures what the app does/is used for. It also looks like it is easy to navigate through and looks simplistic. The typography is legible and works well with the desgin of the app.

 

            

2. Mapstr

Mapstr is a  travel app which lets you keep track of your favourite places around the world, tag them and share them with friends and family. These places could be bars, restaurants, museums, etc. It works everywhere in the world, access the places opening hours, pictures, website, phone number, etc. The app is focused on the aspect of sharing places with people, however, there is also a private mode to give the user a choice and the option of privacy.

Mapstr caught my attention when I came across the bright yellow app icon. This app makes use of icons which are clear to see and understand what they are trying to say/what they do. The design of the app seems easy to navigate through with many features in the app. The typography is also easy to read, even against different coloured backgrounds.

 

3. Polarsteps

Polarsteps is a travel app which plots your journey route for you, saving locations and adding photos along the way. The result will be a unique digital world map and have the chance to turn it into a hardback travel book when you’re done. It does not drain the battery of your device, works offline and the user has full privacy control.

I chose to look at Polarsteps because their app icon is an icon of a compass which caught my attention as I had to re-create an icon of a compass for a previous exercise. By looking at the app previews, the navigation looks easy and simplistic. The illustrations and flag icons from the ‘tips’ tab add personality to the app.

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