TripUp
Redesigning a group travel app to bring polls, shared expenses, itineraries, and real-time coordination into one seamless mobile experience.
about.
Project Overview
The brief. Enhance the TripUp mobile app to facilitate group decision making and expense tracking during trips, prioritising fast and seamless experiences. The goal was to support quick planning through polls, real-time feedback with vote results and itinerary updates, and easy expense tracking and settlement.
The core problem. Group travel coordination is fragmented across too many tools. Decisions get buried in group chats, expenses are tracked in separate apps, and itineraries live in yet another place. Users need one surface that brings polls, payments, and plans together with minimal friction.
My Role
I owned the full end-to-end design process, from user research and competitor analysis through to wireflows, user journey mapping, visual design direction, and high-fidelity mobile UI. Deliverables included user personas, a complete wireflow, a colour and typography system, and polished screens optimised for iPhone 16.
Design Process
User research. I created two user personas to represent the core audience: the Organiser (plans trips, manages logistics, needs shared control) and the Participant (wants to vote, pay, and stay updated with minimal effort). Key insight: group decisions happen spontaneously mid-trip, so the interface needs to support a two-tap rule for low friction.
Competitor analysis. I audited Splitwise, Tricount, and Settle Up across navigation, expense input, split options, and balance display. The gap was clear: existing tools handle expense splitting well but lack travel-optimised features like polls, itinerary syncing, and real-time group coordination.
User journey mapping. I mapped the complete user journey from opening the app through adding a friend, creating a dinner poll, group voting, the winning choice syncing automatically to the itinerary, logging the expense with granular split rules, and settling balances.
UI solution. The visual direction is friendly, modern, and clean with a focus on fast tap targets and clear feedback. High-fidelity screens centre on three prioritised interactions: Poll Creation (quick interface to add options and launch votes), Live Voting View (real-time feedback on group choices), and Expense Split (simple input with auto-adjustments and instant confirmation). Smart defaults like pre-filled groups, quick poll templates, and expense reminders keep the experience lightweight.
