Aurora Travel App.
The Aurora travel app is a social media for travel. It allows users to log and share their travel experiences, connect with other users, and build the itinerary for their future trips.
Vertical Social Networks.
Users can easily get lost in all of the irrelevant information on generalized social networks. This is a big cause for the growing trend of users moving from generalized social networks to vertical social networks. A vertical social network is a “specifically targeted social network that connects people with very specific interests, hobbies, and passions. In other words, it is a network that caters to a certain category of users who are interested in sharing content and connecting with others over their shared interests” -Ilker Koksal, Forbes
Market of Focus.
The Travel & Tourism industry saw a massive increase, post-Covid. It is speculated that by 2026 the global Travel & Tourism industry will rise to 992 billion dollars (USD), a 646 billion dollar increase from 2020.
Market of Focus Continued.
The Travel & Tourism industry will not only increase to 992 billion dollars by 2026, but also 73% of total revenue will be generated by online sales. This creates a huge opportunity for a vertical social media built around the Travel & Tourism industry.
Benchmarking.
When looking at existing apps designed for travel or social apps that can be used for travel, many insights were gained. Features vs. social aspects were compared on the graph. All apps were very strong in their features provided, but not all encompassing. The strongest contender for having multiple features and social aspects was Roadtripper. The biggest takeaway from this matrix was to pull key features from existing apps to make one all encompassing app. The grey circle represents the product area for the Aurora app.
Users Personas.
Design Goals.
In conclusion of my research, I have narrowed down three design goals to uphold while designing the app. These three goals are Connect, Create, and discover. Connect will bring users together, create will allow users to share trips, and discover will allow users to learn of new travel opportunities. Upholding these three values will create a holistic experience for all users.
Color Palette Inspiration.
The inspiration chosen helped to design an app that would make users feel like they were looking at the Aurora Borealis. This inspiration was also used to create the color palette for the app
Color Palette & Font.
The Helvetica Neue font family was chosen for this project. It was chosen because it is a very universal and scalable font family, which allows the designer to establish visual hierarchy. The color palette contains 6 colors. Three are chosen to symbolize the color of the aurora borealis and the other three are white, a light grey, and a dark grey.
Aurora name and Logo
The name Aurora is directly taken from Aurora Borealis. The logo consists of a sphere with multiple gradients and text below stating the name. The gradients symbolize the Aurora Borealis and the sphere symbolizes the earth. Combined together, it represents how Aurora can take you anywhere.
Navigation Bar.
The navigation bar featured on the Aurora app is designed to represent the Aurora Borealis. The subtle gradient that goes across the navigation bar uses the three main colors of the app. The create icon also features a neumorphic button. This is a way to establish hierarchy amongst the navigation bar.
Overview of App
Launch and Authentication
The launch experience establishes Aurora’s identity while guiding users into the app with minimal friction. Users are first introduced to the brand through a clean launch screen featuring the Aurora logo, reinforcing recognition and tone before interaction begins. From there, the authentication flow provides clear, focused paths for logging in or creating an account, with visual hierarchy and spacing used to prioritize the most common actions. Secondary options, such as account recovery, are intentionally de-emphasized but remain easily accessible, ensuring a smooth and intuitive onboarding experience.
Social Discovery Feed
The social discovery feed serves as Aurora’s primary home experience, allowing users to explore trips through the activity of other travelers in a familiar, social-first layout. Inspired by established social platforms, the feed presents trip posts in a vertically scrollable format that highlights destination imagery, creator identity, engagement metrics, and location context. This approach lowers the learning curve while encouraging exploration, inspiration, and interaction. By blending social content with travel discovery, the feed helps users uncover destinations organically through people rather than search alone.
Search and Browsing Trips
The search experience in Aurora is designed to function as both an exploration surface and a precise discovery tool. Upon entry, users are presented with a visually rich, tile-based layout that encourages browsing trips by destination, theme, and activity without requiring immediate input. As users begin typing, the interface transitions into a focused, vertically structured results view, dynamically filtering and prioritizing relevant trips. This progressive shift from inspiration to intent allows users to seamlessly move from casual exploration to targeted discovery while maintaining visual continuity.
Saved Places and User Profile
The home page is designed to introduce users to trips and others users based on their interests. They can scroll through popular users on the app as well as popular trips. Also promoted trips would appear on this page as well. The settings tab is familiar and allows users to intuitively customize their in-app experience.
Trip Overview (Core Experience)
The Trip Overview is the central experience in Aurora, introducing each trip through a hero image, title, and creator attribution. A narrative overview and curated photo gallery provide context and highlight key moments, while the Trip Map and Timeline allow users to explore the experience spatially and chronologically. Together, these views help users quickly understand the scope, flow, and character of a trip before exploring detailed information.