We were inspired by a very simple, yet common issue. People have trouble deciding what to do next, especially in new places or when time is limited. Apps today can be a great source of information about locations, but most apps have way too many (sometimes overwhelming) options available, or users have to manually search for them. Therefore, we wanted to create something that would allow users to easily and intuitively be guided to things to do or see. For us, "The Geography of Everything" also challenged us to think how location data would transform from simply being used as a mapping tool into a tool to assist the user with making a decision. Thus, our product relayed location data from around the world into personalized, actionable plans for users.
‘What’s Next?’ is a web-based tool that will provide users with the best options based on their interests and how much time they have left until an event or trip is about to happen based on answers to a few simple questions, such as Where do you want to go within the distance you're willing to travel? What do you want to do (hangout, study, date, shop), and which timeframe you wanna go out?
The system will provide a filtered list of options that result from a curated selection of places using the Foursquare global dataset and also arrange a personalized route for the user. For the experience to be more interactive for the user, we have included: Itineraries based on time chosen Descriptions for the various areas An on-screen format that allows for quick decisions with a minimal amount of unnecessary text and searching
Throughout the process of developing this website, we have learned that a big sum of data is not equivalent to value. The main difficulty we found was taking all the data and filtering it into a usable output. In addition, the user experience (UX) of any product is a greater priority than the product's complexity, as a well-designed and guided interface may be more effective than adding too many features. Moreover, we also learned that very minor decisions associated with the design of a product (layout, color, and wording) can have an extensive impact on how intuitive the product looks and feels. Finally, this project demonstrated that scoping is crucial to developing a product-based solution within tight timeframes, as focusing on a specific problem and specific target user was important to avoid overcomplicating the product.
The challenges we faced were mainly handling a large scale dataset. Since the dataset is massive, we found it hard and time-consuming to clean and filter it so that only the relevant ones could be used for our product. We also had to be wary of not producing generic end products. Many of the existing platforms give lists of places to visit or discover; therefore, it was necessary that we made our product feel different from other products, which we did by providing personalisation, guided inputs, and descriptions that were more entertaining and engaging. Simplicity versus functionality was something we had to be mindful of when developing our application. For example, we wanted our app to remain easy to use but also provide relevant and useful recommendations for users, which meant that we had to make careful decisions about which inputs we were going to use in our app and how much information to give users. The last obstacle was the design aspect of our product. Creating a clean, modern-looking interface that was consistent with our concept was a process that involved numerous iterations and refinements.
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