Background
Traveling sustainably sounds easy in theory, but in practice, people struggle. Users want to reduce their environmental footprint, yet they often face barriers: confusing tools, higher prices, limited information, and too much time spent researching what is “green enough”. As sustainability becomes increasingly important in daily life, the demand for smarter, greener travel solutions continues to grow. But we learned that many travelers feel that sustainable options are hard to find, more expensive and not clearly labeled. Our challenge: Could we design a travel planner that makes sustainable exploration in Norway feel effortless and rewarding? Naturligvis was born from that need.
Goal
Our mission was clear: Create a user-friendly, sustainable travel planner that helps users discover eco-friendly transport, accommodations, and activities while feeling supported and inspired in their choices.
We based the goals on concrete UX research questions like:
- Who are our users?
- What tools do they need to plan sustainable travel?
- Why would they choose us over current planners?
Ultimately, we wanted to give travelers confidence in choosing greener without spending more time or money than necessary.
Process
We followed a full UX methodology from Empathize → Define → Ideate → Prototyping → Usability Testing.
Discovery & Research
We used three complementary research methods:
- Online survey → Real travel habits and sustainability priorities
- Competitor analysis → Gaps in how existing platforms present eco-options
- Literature review → Validated context and trends in sustainable travel
Defining the Problem
Eco-conscious travelers lack one unified platform to compare affordable, sustainable travel options within Norway, resulting in uninformed choices and extra planning stress.
Ideation & My Role
I planned and facilitated the ideation workshop, turning insights into real features. As a group, we shaped concepts that focused on:
- personalized destination filtering
- budget-friendly travel choices
- trust-building content about partners and impact
What I Have Learned
This project deepened my ability to combine usability and sustainability into one meaningful experience. Through research and testing, I learned how important it is to:
- present options clearly to reduce cognitive effort
- guide decisions visually to encourage sustainable behavior
- design for both values and constraints
- collaborate and communicate user needs through flows and IA
But the biggest lesson?
Sustainability becomes powerful when it becomes practical.
Naturligvis taught me that good design doesn’t just inspire people to do better, it gives them the tools to actually do it.
