Roadtrippers Trip Planner Enhancements

Overview

Project Teton was a comprehensive redesign of the Roadtrippers trip planner platform, focusing on enhancing the experience for power users—those who plan long, detailed road trips. As the lead designer, I collaborated with the Director of Product, two PMs, and another Sr. Designer to transform the platform’s core functionality and visual system. The project’s scope included creating a modular trip planner, improving search and filter capabilities, and developing a future-proof color system that would serve as the foundation for the Bonfire Design System.

Challenge

The existing Roadtrippers platform faced several critical issues that needed addressing:

• Power users lacked advanced functionality for planning detailed, multi-leg journeys
• Users couldn’t effectively segment itineraries by day, making long trip planning cumbersome
• Search and filter tools were inefficient, limiting detailed trip planning capabilities
• New user onboarding created friction due to a difficult-to-navigate interface
• The color scheme was inconsistent and didn’t meet accessibility standards
• The platform needed to maintain consistency across iOS, Android, and Web platforms
• The route line needed to remain on the right-hand side as part of brand identity
• Updates needed to be shipped in phases while maintaining functionality

Solution

The solution was implemented through several key initiatives:

1. Modular Trip Planner Development

   • Created hundreds of prototypes focusing on critical UI details
   • Built interface to handle future features like daily trip segmentation
   • Designed robust, modular components for easy developer implementation

2. Color System Overhaul

   • Conducted comprehensive color audit across all platforms
   • Developed five distinct color ladders meeting accessibility standards
   • Ensured 4.5:1 contrast ratio between lightest and darkest tones
   • Created semantic and intentional color system foundation for dark mode

3. Cross-Platform Consistency

   • Standardized UI components across iOS, Android, and Web
   • Implemented consistent typography while maintaining platform-specific requirements
   • Developed flexible baseline grid system for cross-platform compatibility

Impact

The redesign delivered significant improvements to the Roadtrippers platform:

1. Technical Achievements

   • Successfully implemented an accessible color system meeting WCAG guidelines
   • Created modular components that simplified feature integration
   • Established cross-platform typography system maintaining baseline grid consistency

2. User Experience Improvements

   • Enhanced trip planning flexibility for power users
   • 20% increase in multi-leg trip planning
   • 30% increase in the number of trips planned by power users
   • Improved search and filter functionality
   • Maintained platform consistency across all devices

3. Future-Proofing

   • Set foundation for future dark mode implementation
   • Established groundwork for the Bonfire Design System
   • Created scalable architecture for future feature additions

The project successfully positioned Roadtrippers as a more reliable and intuitive “copilot” for travelers while establishing a strong foundation for future platform enhancements.