Travel App – Development of Ideas

Obviously, when thinking of ideas the best way to begin is by splurging all of your ideas onto a page. Below you can see the first of many bubble maps I completed. It’s a collection of random words, but without them I wouldn’t have been able to think up the idea that I have.

App idea…

For my travel app, I wanted to do something that will help promote tourism in Ireland, by creating an app that will allow people to search locally owned businesses in particular locations around our beautiful country, the emerald isle.

I want to specifically focus on locally owned businesses only and want my app to have a vintage yet welcoming persona. I want it to be professional and easy to use.

What I want my app to do? (PURPOSE)

I want my app to benefit local businesses who I know have been hit extra hard this year by the pandemic. During this lockdown in particular, I have found myself trying extra hard to spend my money in places that will value it more, including independent coffee shops, clothing shops and even local gyms ( When they were open). Over the last couple of years, online shopping and social media has had quite an adverse effect on local shop owners for the most, as people tend to order clothes, food and even gifts from online franchises and corporations, due to them being more convenient. Although I understand and of course am myself guilty of this, I feel that it is a duty we have to help and support small businesses, as they are putting so much into the communities already. Supporting them should be our way of saying “Thank you!”.

However, I also realise that because of convenience, reputation and the fact we think we know certain franchises, we may tend to levitate towards them when we are in an area we don’t really know. This is where my app will come in…

My app will be aimed at people who are on holidays in Ireland ( I wanted to base it in Ireland for now). The app will be there for people to search for locally owned businesses. They will be able to see a profile of the business, ratings, location, images and any other details necessary to convince them to visit and support.

Below I have listed all of the types of businesses that may appear…

• Coffee shops
• Cafes
• Restaurants
• Takeaways
• Hotels
• Souvenir shops
• Clothing shops
• Beauty and Hair
• Spa days
• Leisure and activities
• Bars
• Etc.

This is only a small list of categories. Obviously they would vary depending on the location.

Below I have attached my first set of wireframes. I realise they are very rough, however this is a really effective way of seeing what else I will need to include. I need to work on my awareness of UI in order for my app to be as easy to use as possible.