"Your next trip starts with how you feel."
ROLE
UX / UI Designer
SKILLS
UX Research, UX/UI Design
A next-generation travel planning system using real-time emotional and behavioral data to create deeply personalized, healing, or energizing trip experiences, dynamically adapting throughout the journey.
Overview
The emotional meaning of travel has shifted.
Modern travelers are emotionally motivated — seeking meaningful experiences, personal renewal, and inspiration. However, the current planning process fails to support this emotional intent.
PROBLEM DEFINITION
Feature 1:
Emotion-Based Suggestions That Sync with Your Life
Share your travel preferences to help us better understand what you enjoy.
By connecting with your calendar, Apple Health, Google Maps, Spotify, and social media, we analyze your lifestyle and current condition.
This allows us to recommend travel experiences that are perfectly tailored to you — right when you need them.
SOLUTION
Feature 2:
Real-Time Itinerary Adjustment
We gather real-time data from synced apps — including your mood, condition, weather, and traffic — to automatically adjust your travel itinerary.
Feature 3:
Post-Trip Feedback & Reflection
AI analyzes data from connected apps to show how your mood and condition shifted throughout the journey.
This helps you better understand and care for your emotional and physical well-being on future trips.
BACKGROUND
“This project didn’t begin with a grand idea — it started with listening.”
While supporting travelers alongside our company director, we began noticing a recurring discomfort.
It wasn’t about picking the perfect destination — it was about knowing how to even start the journey.
RESEARCH - survey and interviews
18.7%
Asked if their plan was
doable or realistic
26.8%
Submitted overpacked or geographically unrealistic plans
15.8%
Had no plan at all,
asked to start from scratch
️What we kept hearing:
What users truly needed wasn’t just a destination —
They needed structure, rhythm, and emotional alignment: a guide not just for time, but for energy and mood.
61.3%
of users showed signs of planning uncertainty
What are your expectations for your trips?
Modern travel is visual. But what you see isn’t always what you get.
Common answers from interviews:
Curiosity & Novelty
To try something new
Cultural Exploration
To dive into a different culture
Escape the Routine
To break the routine
Emotional Recovery
To recharge
However, we uncovered deeper insights:
96%
Social media letdown
Expectations didn’t match reality.
76%
Stuck in the familiar
Didn’t know where to start, stayed close.
100%
Tool overload
Used 3+ apps — wasted time & energy.
98%
Trip burnout
Felt misaligned, tired, or overwhelmed.
TAKEAWAYS
The real barrier wasn’t time or money — it was emotional fatigue.
It starts with excitement
Planning a trip feels exciting — full of dreams and possibilities.
Then comes the deep dive
You open tabs, scroll endlessly, read blogs, save posts… wanting to get it just right.
But it gets overwhelming
The more you research, the harder it gets to make decisions. Everything starts blending together.
And the excitement fades
By the time you’re done planning, you’re already tired — before the trip even begins.
The emotional meaning of travel has shifted.
Modern travelers are emotionally motivated — seeking meaningful experiences, personal renewal, and inspiration. However, the current planning process fails to support this emotional intent.
PROBLEM DEFINITION
What if the app could read your emotional state — before it ever asked where you want to go?
INSIGHT
We thought:
Instead of asking:
Let us sense that
for you.
Where do you
want to go?
We didn’t want to create just another travel planner.
We set out to build an emotionally intelligent travel companion —
one that doesn’t wait for you to explain how you feel, but understands it first
How are you
doing today?
or better
How might we
help people travel in ways that support how they feel — without asking them to plan at all?
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
Feature
Current Travel Apps
( Wanderlog, Triplt, Tripsy,OOO,NOL,MRT,PackPoint, MyTrip,TRIP)
Emotion-Aware Smart Travel Planner
Focus
Destination-based
Emotion-based
Planning
Search where/when to go
Start from how you feel
Adaptability
Static Itineraries
Real-time Emotional Adjustment
Integration
Maps, Calendar
Wearables, Emotional Feedback
Personalization
Top attractions
Tailored emotional journeys and experiences
Predictive Ability
Based on user inputs
Predicts needs based on emotional signals
Key Takeaway
Current Apps Plan Your Trips. We Heal Your Journeys.
SOLUTION – Emotion-Aware Smart Travel Planner
What we sync:
Core idea:
Your body already knows what you need —
your sleep pattern, heart rate, the music you’ve been listening to, your stress levels.
We just needed to listen to those signals… and respond with a trip that fits your emotional state.
Apple Watch
sleep, heart rate, stress
Google Calendar
schedule intensity
SNS & Screen time
Mental fatigue signals,overstimulation
Spotify
Emotional tone in music
KEY SCREEN
9:41
Happy Monday!
Monday 4/14
Your condition:
46%
You're down 25% from last week in overall condition.
You got 5.5 hours of sleep.
heart rate is slightly low.
With that big meeting ahead, try starting your morning with a calming tea break.
Coastal trail + seaside brunch
Goal: Gently activate your body and calm your mind through coastal nature and nourishing food.
Ideal when sleep or energy is low.
Botanical garden visit + tea house
Goal: To provide a mental reset through quiet immersion in nature and stillness.
Ideal for those feeling overstimulated or mentally cluttered.
Goal: To provide a mental reset through quiet immersion in nature and stillness.
Ideal for those feeling overstimulated or mentally cluttered.
Theme: Healing / Quiet Escape
Trip Type: One-day local retreat
You’ve been running low on sleep — probably from prepping for today’s meeting.
This Saturday could be the perfect time to rest and refresh!
Suggestions based on your condition:
Home
Trip
Mood
Discover
Acoount
Check your emotional and physical condition for the day.
9:41
Save to My Trips
Coastal trail + seaside brunch
Goal: Gently activate your body and calm your mind through coastal nature and nourishing food.
Ideal when sleep or energy is low.
Destination: Land’s End Trail + Outerlands Café (San Francisco)
Distance & Time: 40 min by car / Half-day (4–5 hrs)
Activities:
Easy hike with ocean views
Rest on scenic lookout benches
Brunch at a cozy café near the beach
Why we recommend this:
You've been short on sleep and working hard. This light movement by the sea and nourishing meal can help you recharge.
Suggestions based on your condition:
Theme: Healing / Quiet Escape
Trip Type: One-day local retreat
Home
Trip
Mood
Discover
Acoount
View your personalized itinerary tailored to your needs.
Sat 4/19
08:00 AM
Wake-up stretch + herbal tea
Wake up gently, no alarm. Stretch lightly and enjoy a warm cup of herbal tea.
08:30 AM
Drive to trailhead
Recommended: Land’s End Trail (SF) or Crystal Cove Trail (OC)
09:15–10:30 AM
Coastal trail walk
Walk at your own pace, take in the breeze and ocean views. No headphones.
10:30–10:45 AM
Art Gallery or Museum Stop
e.g., SFMOMA, Asian Art Museum, small local galleries
11:00 AM
Drive to brunch café
Suggested: Outerlands Café (SF) / Malibu Farm Café (LA)
Morning – Slow Start & Transition into Nature
Late Morning – Seaside Brunch
Update
9:41
Coastal trail + seaside brunch
Goal: Gently activate your body and calm your mind through coastal nature and nourishing food.
Ideal when sleep or energy is low.
Ongoing
Past
Home
Trip
Mood
Discover
Acoount
Get real-time itinerary updates based on traffic, weather, and your condition.
Sat 4/19
Morning – Slow Start & Transition into Nature
Late Morning – Seaside Brunch
08:00 AM
Wake-up stretch + herbal tea
Wake up gently, no alarm. Stretch lightly and enjoy a warm cup of herbal tea.
Stretching this morning got your heart rate up — a refreshing way to kick off the day.
08:30 AM
Drive to trailhead
Recommended: Land’s End Trail (SF) or Crystal Cove Trail (OC)
09:15–10:30 AM
Coastal trail walk
Walk at your own pace, take in the breeze and ocean views. No headphones.
You stayed 15 minutes longer than planned, and your heart rate looked calm — seems like you were really enjoying the break.
Update
Quick insight from your recent trip — to help you stay in tune with your mood and condition.
9:41
Coastal trail + seaside brunch
Goal: Gently activate your body and calm your mind through coastal nature and nourishing food.
Ideal when sleep or energy is low.
Home
Trip
Mood
Discover
Acoount
Ongoing
Past
Review your trip feedback and personal travel habits.
TAKEAWAYS
What we built
An emotionally intelligent system that…
Understands your rhythms
Suggests healing and energizing trips based on real-time signals
Helps you feel restored, not just entertained
Because sometimes, the best trip doesn’t just take you somewhere new —
It brings you back to yourself.
What we’re still exploring
Balancing privacy with personalization
→ How much data is just enough to be helpful — not intrusive?
Designing for emotional nuance
→ How do we differentiate “calm and tired” from “drained and numb”?
How to make emotional UX feel trustworthy and warm, not overly automated
What’s next?(Opportunities + Ambitions)
We see real potential in expanding this into B2B spaces, such as:
Employee wellness programs
→ Recommend restorative trips based on burnout signals and work calendars
Healthcare or mental health partnerships
→ Integrate with journaling, therapy apps, or digital health insights
Travel platforms
→ Offer emotion-based trip bundles as part of premium services
What we learned
Travelers don’t just need destinations — they need emotional clarity and rhythm.
The real overwhelm isn’t where to go,but how to begin.
The core problem? Not lack of info — but emotional fatigue.
And that led us to a new kind of design — one that listens before it speaks.
Meili
