Mobile Application
CultureEX.
Explore. Experience. Exchange.
CulturEX is a mobile application that promotes and increases tourism in Campos do Jordão, Sao Paulo, by engaging young people in the culture and development of the city.
The Role.
UI/UX Designer
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Product Design / Research / Personas / User Journey Map / Facilitating Workshops / Idea Jam / User Flows / Wireframing / Prototyping / Visual Design / Icon Design / Video Design / Marketing / Design Guidelines
The Clients.
The Challenges.
Seasonal Tourism
Lack of Online Tourism Promotion Platform
No English Service / Information
But what seemed to be the most important here is that young people didn’t engage enough in the culture and development of the city.
Overview.
CulturEX is the project that collaborated with professionals from Brazil, Denmark and Canada. Each individual has a diverse professional background including entrepreneurs, chefs, developers, and designers.
The Inspiration.
Inspired by professor Anderson Cesar Oliveira from Senac.
His story was one of the main inspirations behind this app. During the research, he talked about his experience abroad and how much it changed him working in a bigger city where has a different culture and mentality than Brazil. Only when he went outside, he could see the potential in Campos do Jordão and he came back with a different mindset and business ideas that contributed to the economic development of the city.
“Young people usually think about leaving the city just because it doesn’t offer them enough opportunities, and the ones that stay, are not open to innovation (because they have never experienced anything else).”
Professor Anderson Cesar Oliveira
And that’s how we came up with this idea of intercultural exchange, designed mainly for young people, but not only. Changing the mindsets of people can only be done through experience and communication, which is also the definition of CulturEX – Explore, experience, exchange.
The User Journey Map.
And a pinch of Tinder. Yes, Tinder.
The app aims to promote Campos do Jordão and intercultural exchange based on the user’s mutual interests.
We were inspired by Campos do Jordão’s city and its citizens. So we focused on connecting them with other nearby cities and cultures like Sao Paulo and rio as a starting point, but we believe that this idea could grow to a more international level.
The Methodologies.
We brought Challenge-based learning (CBL) and the Agile methodology for solving our challenges. With these methodologies, we collaborated efficiently, identified big ideas, asked good questions, gained in-depth subject area knowledge, and shared our thoughts.
Challenge-Based Learning Canvas
Kanban Model
Canvas
CulturEX
Wireframes
The Colour Inspiration.
We chose the colours based on what we perceived from the city’s atmosphere and especially for its architecture which is remarkable cultural aspect.
Verify the Authenticity of ID.
Sign up and verify ID with the simplicity and security of a selfie.
Create a profile.
A brief description.
Interests.
Favourite cultural activities in the user’s city.
Availability to host an exchange.
Details about the couch surfing option.
Customized Suggestion & Matching.
Provide a list of other users based on the interests and availability.
Match users if the person demonstrates mutual interest.
Chat and Trip Planning.
Plan the trip together and decide how the cultural exchange is going to happen.
Rate and Review.
Rate and share the review about the trip and hosts.
The Learning.
It was interesting because we were working on cultural exchange application but our team members were intercultural exchanging while we were working on the project since each of us have international and diverse background.
It was challenging to guide non-designers through a design process and co-create deliverables.
We spent a lot of time to come up with the innovative idea not the initial solutions which are kiosk or interactive map and it was worth it. It was challenging to create promotional video and mockups in less than 48 hours but we successfully presented to 500 + people (faculty members, local stakeholders, and city officials)