A different way to see a city.
Through the people who call it home.
City Puzzle is a brand and travel experience concept for discovering a destination through local places and businesses.
The assignment was to identify a problem connected to a personal interest, define a desired change, and develop a cohesive visual system across media. I explored local travel through City Puzzle as a solo project for Visual Thinking in Spring 2021.
I wanted to encourage travelers to look beyond a checklist of popular sights and discover local places and businesses. The design challenge was to make that experience fun and exciting while appealing to a broad audience. “Unconventional” and “adventurous” shaped the brand’s visual direction.
My exploratory travel interviews surfaced an interest in local recommendations, a slower pace and affordable ways to explore. These themes sit at the center of City Puzzle’s local-discovery concept.
One interviewee described seeking local recommendations for food, accommodation and cultural places rather than relying only on tourism sites.
In the concept: local experiences and interest-based groups offer ways to connect with a city.
Both interview notes questioned checklist-style travel: packing in too much or moving on before experiencing a place.
In the concept: spontaneous events and activity cards leave room for discovery during the trip.
One interviewee emphasized budget-friendly accommodation, food and local experiences.
In the concept: the travel survey gathers budgets and preferences, while event filters include ticket price.
Source: two documented exploratory travel interviews. These are qualitative themes, not a representative survey or a usability test.
The process book explores three audience contexts: a returning visitor reconnecting with home, a recent graduate discovering new cultures, and a new resident getting to know a city. These personas broaden the concept beyond holiday travel.
The logo combines a location pin with a building to symbolize city life. Coral, playful illustrations and an angular frame carry the adventurous direction across the identity and campaign.
My initial poster idea highlighted a lesser-known place near a popular destination. I revised it to include distance information, making that connection more concrete, and added small illustrations to bring out the brand’s playful character.
Look closer. Follow your curiosity. Find another side of the city.
The two routes respond to different comfort levels with uncertainty. “Surprise me” invites a traveler to hand over more of the planning; “Let’s explore” keeps the destination familiar while introducing unexpected local stops.
For travelers open to surprise, a survey gathers interests, budget and specific needs before a proposed package is prepared. The surprise still starts with the traveler’s preferences.
For travelers less comfortable with surprise, choosing the destination comes first. The proposed itinerary mixes familiar sights with unexpected local places, making discovery more approachable without requiring a fully unknown trip.
In the concept, travelers select local experiences through the app. It proposes events based on interests, spontaneous plans, interest groups and conversations with locals. The wireframes below show the structure behind the interface direction.
One journey / Find a local event
Six original interface screens show the proposed event flow, from discovery to the updated home screen.
The project brings together a visual identity, destination campaign, two desktop planning routes, app wireframes and interface concepts, and a travel kit. The camera, journal and activity cards extend the proposed experience from choosing a trip to exploring and recording it.
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