Web Design
DOVA
Each year, around 7 million children fly without a parent or guardian as unaccompanied minors, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Whether it’s visiting distant relatives, traveling between separated parents, or heading to camp, kids often fly solo—while their guardians are left with limited ways to stay connected.
That’s why I designed DOVA—an app that empowers guardians to follow and support a minor’s journey, from planning the trip to safe arrival at their destination.
Project Details
Location: Atlanta / Remote
Timeline: 2024 to 2025 / 3 months
Role: UI/UX Designer, UX Researcher
Project Type: Travel App
Industry: B2C
Prototype: Dova App Prototype
Creative Process
Every successful design begins with understanding the problem. Let’s start at the beginning.
Defining the Problem
Adults often worry about risks such as strangers, traffic, weather disruptions, and being unable to reach a child by phone while they travel alone. Although airlines have established systems to support unaccompanied minors, parents and guardians still lack a reliable way to follow the entire journey. Some airlines offer tracking bracelets, but these provide limited updates rather than a complete view of the child’s travel experience.
Understanding the Users
The app is designed for a diverse audience, including parents, grandparents, relatives, family friends, and camp representatives. Users range from approximately 28 to 80 years old and come from a variety of professional backgrounds, making accessibility and ease of use key design priorities.
How Might We Questions
- How might we reduce the stress and anxiety of parents and guardians when their children travel alone?
- How might we improve the organization and accessibility of information shared throughout a child’s journey?
- How might we provide parents and guardians with complete, accessible information throughout their child’s journey?
Research
I began the project by conducting two research methods to gain initial insights and establish a clear direction for the design process.
Methods Used
Secondary Research: I analyzed articles, industry resources, and airline websites to better understand the current unaccompanied minor travel experience, existing services, and industry standards.
User Interviews: I conducted five 30-minute interviews with individuals who had either used the unaccompanied minor service or were considering it. These conversations provided valuable insights into users’ concerns, expectations, and pain points.
As the project progressed, I adopted a human-centered design approach, ensuring that every design decision was grounded in user research rather than assumptions. By focusing on users’ behaviors, motivations, and challenges throughout the design process, I was able to create a solution that is meaningful, intuitive, and addresses real user needs while minimizing potential risks.
Empathy Map
Using the research findings, I created an empathy map to synthesize our primary users’ thoughts, feelings, needs, and motivations into a clear, user-centered perspective.
USER JOURNEY
I conducted interviews with five frequent app users from diverse backgrounds to uncover key pain points and understand their goals. Using these insights, I brainstormed potential solutions and developed detailed process flows to map the user journey, ensuring an intuitive and user-centered experience.
Minimal Design
Responsive Design
Creative Idea
Bringing the Concept to Life
I began by sketching concepts for an accessible, user-friendly app designed to support parents and guardians throughout a minor’s entire travel journey. The experience was thoughtfully mapped from trip planning and check-in to drop-off, real-time flight tracking, layover updates, and airport pickup. Throughout every stage, I prioritized clear navigation, timely information, and easy access to customer support, ensuring users felt informed, connected, and confident from departure to arrival.
Sketches
Starting with sketches allowed me to quickly visualize ideas, explore different concepts, and establish the foundation for the design.
A story in Research
Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit laborum. Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo ipsum quia dolor sit amet qui dolorem.
Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt neque porro quisquam est.
English (UK) 
English (United States) 
Portuguese 
French 
Spanish 
Italian