Tripigator

• A whole trip at a glance

  Multi-city plans mix flights, trains and cars over several days. The itinerary had to read in one look and still be editable.

• Interests, not filters

  Travellers think in terms like family, hideaway, spiritual or wildlife. Custom icons had to make those choices quick and clear.

• Let the landscape lead

  India's scenery is the reason to travel. Photography had to flow through the interface without drowning the information.

• From planning to being there

  The app had to stay useful on the trip itself, with what is nearby sorted by distance in real time.

1. What is the smallest set of inputs that still produces a personal plan?
2. How do you draw a round trip with three cities and three modes of transport?
3. Which interests do Indian travellers actually plan around?
4. What does a traveller need when they step out of the hotel?

The app is built on a warm swatch: vermilion as the primary colour and amber black as the secondary. Full-bleed landscape photography runs through the landing page, such as a desert camel fair behind "Be a traveller not a tourist". My Trips, Plan a trip and Explore India stack over it. A dark sidebar holds notifications, favourites, recently viewed, places nearby and account settings.

The T-arrow mark on vermilion, and the landing page over a desert camel fair.

One short form: starting point, destinations, interests, dates with a nights count, adults and children, and an optional budget. Custom icons for interests such as friends, hideaway, spiritual and wildlife, plus pickers for travellers and price range, keep each input to a tap or two.

The plan-a-trip form beside its interest and travel-partner filter.

Results arrive as ranked plans. Each one draws the round trip as a loop: Bangalore to New Delhi by air, on to Chandigarh by car, and back by air. Days, nights and an approximate price in rupees sit on the loop. A list view compares plans side by side, and a map view traces the same route. Plans can be shared with friends or added to My Trips.

Ranked plans, the loop and the same route on a map.

Destination screens collect what matters: weather, best time to visit, suggested days and nights, and price. Activities, hotels, eateries and ways of getting there each have their own list with filter and sort, down to hotel detail with guest ratings and amenities.

Hotel detail at the centre of activities, hotels, eateries and ways of getting there.

Explore searches destinations by interest and shows how many people have been there. A radial menu opens activities, eateries, hotels and practicalities around you. Filters cover month, travel partner, interests and region, and the near-me list scrolls by distance, nearest first, with the live distance shown on the scroll bar.

The near-me list sorts by distance; Explore opens a radial menu around you.

National Geographic Traveller India reported that India now had an official travel planning app. Condé Nast Traveller India wrote that it "could quickly become your go-to app for holiday planning", and International Business Times covered it as the Incredible India Android app on Google Play.

• Draw the plan the way people picture it. A loop of cities explained a round trip faster than a list of bookings.
• Let the place do the selling. Photography carried the mood so the interface could stay quiet.
• Design for home and the street. A travel app plans the trip, then has to help once you are there.