PROJECT / NOMADLY
MY ROLE / UX RESEARCH & DESIGNER
SUMMARY / Nomadly aims to help connect digital nomads and expats with other like-minded nomads as they travel or move to new places.
To create a digital solution to help nomads connect and build deeper friendships by going through new experiences together.
OBJECTIVE
SECONDARY RESEARCH
of digital nomads say that loneliness or isolation is their number one issue
of expats have felt isolated in their time abroad
Increase in heart disease (29%) and stroke (32%)
Higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide
Increase in dementia (50%)
Premature death
help expats or digital nomads build and maintain close relationships and feel less lonely when moving or travelling to new places?
HOW MIGHT WE . . .
MARKET RESEARCH / TOOLS
In searching for tools available in the market, I found that most platforms for digital nomads were used for communication and information exchange related to planning their next move, visas or tax information.
These platforms only provided nomads an opportunity for quick and surface level connections. So I also looked at apps that focused on events and individuals interests such as Meet Up, Eventbrite, and Soho House, to help bridge that deeper connection.
Pages for ‘Digital Nomads Around The World’ and ‘The Solo Female Traveler Network’
An exclusive subscription based global membership club with events for creatives to connect.
An interest based events app where users create, find and join relevant events with like minded people.
The r/digitalnomad sub-reddit forum
An app where users can search and attend events
A community website and slack channel for trip planning
HYPOTHESIS
I believe that if expats or digital nomads are able to build deeper relationships with friends they meet while traveling abroad, whilst making an effort to maintain relationships back home, they would feel a lot less lonely.
I will know I’m right if expats or digital nomads begin to prioritize making meaningful strong relationships with those they connect with during their travels.
INTERVIEW METHODOLOGY & PARTICIPANT CRITERIA
x 5 Zoom Interviews
Open-Ended & Specific Questions
Millennials within the 24-40yr age group
Expats & Digital Nomads in 1+ Countries per year
THEMES
BUILDING CONNECTIONS
THROUGH TRAVEL OR SCHEDULING CALLS / VIDEO 
“Weekend away trips also were great ways to bond with specific people”“In our remote year cohort, we had a holistic healer who organised group meditation sessions where we learned about the personal struggles that others were going through. That experience made us so much closer”MAINTAINING CONNECTIONS
THROUGH EXPERIENCES AND EVENTS 
“I called my mom often so I didn’t feel as ‘left out’ of people’s lives or forgotten back home”“Although there are times of loneliness due to this lifestyle, we don’t have the desire to move back to our country. We could travel to another country to be closer to our expat/digital nomad friends who have since moved away”PERSONA / IAN GOLDMAN
Age
32Sr. Digital MarketerOccupation
Location
Istanbul, TKIan is a digital nomad currently living and working in Istanbul. He really enjoys spending time with new friends he’s recently made, and wants to maintain these friendships, but struggles to stay in touch and schedule the time in. He also wants to find more organic reasons to hang out and build more meaningful relationships.About
Wants to build and maintain meaningful relationshipsLoves exploring the world and travelling
Goals & Motivations
Often feels lonely when close friends leave to continue their travelsFeelings of loneliness only worsens when family is not available to chat
Pain Points
Enjoys both large and/or intimate gatheringsOpen minded, explores new methods of meeting people
Behaviours
PRIMARY TASK FLOW
Notifying a friend of your travel plans and itinerary to efficiently start making plans prior to your arrival.
SECONDARY TASK FLOW
After the user reaches out to their friend, they make plans to meet up while they’re in town. The user searches and sends events options they’re interested in.
The inspiration for Nomadly’s UI drew from a wide array of popular apps across travel, event planning and messaging categories. Focused on a minimalistic aesthetic, I leveraged rounded edges and outlines to allow for a clean and simplistic feel.
UI INSPIRATION
Took inspiration from these pill shaped CTA as they are minimalistic and easy on the eyes.
Included scrollable cards for easy event browsing, and rotating avatars to navigate through friend groups.
Mimicked functionality and layout of popular chat UI’s: What’s app and Messenger for familiarity and ease of use.
SKETCH
Initial Sketches
Group meditation section
Sketches after User Testing
Connecting with friend in town and sharing event
Sharing event with friend
Adding it to the calendar
MID-FI WIREFRAMES FOR TESTING
USER TESTING RESULTS
Rounds of user testing
Participants per test
After sorting and implementing the user testing feedback to my wireframes, I built a working prototype in Figma for further review.
All users missed the customised text and felt the title heading was too large All users missed the customized text and felt the title heading was too large.
‘Explore more’ copy was unclear - users thought it loaded more options when the button was tapped rather than taking user to their daily meditation schedule.
Heading title was confusing to some users and did not communist clearly what the section is about.
‘Explore more’ button was sometimes missed due to being positioned at the bottom of the page.
Users liked the events page, but wanted to see more information about the event before signing up, such as how many are in attendance.
Amended title heading to a clearer font and more suitable size.
Changed explore more CTA to ‘View Schedule’, and moved up the fold.
Reordered events modules to be in a cleaner, more chronological order.
Users liked the events page but would like to see more information on the event such as how many are in attendance.
Too many CTAs, this felt confusing and looks outdated
