Authentic travel
with friends
Encharted is a NY-based startup providing digital space to find friends, good travel stories, and global trips with authentic local experiences.
Project
process
User test
MVP design
User & Market Research
Visual & Design system
Wireframes
In 2025, I joined the development team as a Product Designer to create a mobile app MVP aligned with initial product concept and defined technical capabilities.
I started my work by mapping out a design process timeline to effectively manage different aspects of the project. To deliver MVP, I chose 2 main objectives: to define the detailed feature set and to build the app design in Figma in ready for development state.
I had 2 weeks to research useful data and gather knowledge about market and potential users. So, I used AI to do the secondary market research, and methods such as User Portraits and Jobs to Be Done.
Initial product idea was to combine a social media and trips platform, based on values of friendship and local authenticity.
My intention was to understand what details can be added to a general product concept we had, that will make it unique, very convenient for users, and emotionally pleasant. And how can we translate the founder’s product philisophy through functions people will use and enjoy.
/ jtbd /
/ user portrait /
A few of the things I’ve integrated into MVP design version based on findings:
while thinking about how to support users' connections in the app, I added a blog feature for long stories to profiles. This way, it can be an opportunity to learn more about the experiences of others and your potential future co-travelers.
when working on personas and analysing market trends, I found a list of diverse and specific travel modes. For example, there is a new, growing trend for wellness travel, a continuing need for nomad experiences, and emerging services around eco-travel. So, to our basic filter system, I added thematic filtering with a tagging system — for users to easily find their own interests.
during the research, I found that the user group who provides trip services through the app are people from very different cultural and technical contexts. This led to the design of a very simple account management and trips publication flows.
In wireframing phase, we structured our ideas into feature flows and I mapped them out as basic lo-fidelity wireframes, ready for visual design to follow.
Visual concept
For visual concept, I explored various patterns for core features, aiming to balance clarity and structure with a travel magazine–inspired minimalism aesthetic. Below is a trip page, where users can discover the experience in detail and seamlessly join liked trip.
