UX Travel Sprint 2019

Don't miss this chance to test your design skills under the guidance of talented mentors! Join Kiwi.com's Design Team for this two-day event with talented people, delicious food, and a great deal of design.

The deadline for applications is Monday, 15 April!

What is a sprint?

Our UX Travel Sprint is an event that takes attendees through an end-to-end UX process, including research, ideation, prototyping and user testing. Teams will be formed with members of complementary skill sets. The UX mentors will then support teams as they perform research, iterate on ideas for improvement via sketching, wireframing, prototyping, and user testing. At the end of Saturday, teams will present to our panel of esteemed judges, and prizes will be awarded.

We held a similar event last year and it was a blast. You can read about it on our blog.

The challenge

We’re keeping this a secret for now. But it will be travel-themed (obviously) with a splash of emerging technologies.

The cost

It’s completely free. If you’re not from Bratislava, we’ll give you a 50 € Kiwi.com voucher to experience our product and book your flight, train, or bus with us to travel to the event. We can also help you arrange accommodation. Food and drinks will be provided throughout the event.

The capacity

24 participants.

Who can apply?

Anyone interested in creating great products. Some examples include UX, Interaction, Product, and Graphic Designers, as well as Researchers, Product Managers, Developers and anyone interested in learning about design. Don’t be afraid to apply if you’re not a designer yet or if you’re a beginner. We’re looking for a variety of skillsets and maturity levels.

The application process

Whenever there’s a free event, lots of people sign up but don’t pitch up. We don’t want this to be a paid-for event, so we decided to select the applicants. And because people learn the most in diverse teams, we’ll create interesting groups with a mix of motivated beginners together with senior people from diverse backgrounds.

This selection process is designed to help our mentors form a personal connection with every participant.

The agenda

The event starts at 5 pm on Friday.

Day 1

• Networking

• Kick-off and introduction of the challenge

• Understanding phase: research, problem definition, and interviews

• Dinner (included)

• Ideation

Day 2

• Breakfast (included)

• Deciding on the ideas

• Prototyping

• Lunch (included)

• Testing

• Presentation

• Winners announcement

• Afterparty

The perks

After the final presentations, the jury will choose the two best projects. The winning teams will be awarded awesome prizes including Kiwi.com travel vouchers. But the biggest prizes will be the lessons learned and friendships built.

A little advice from us

1. Come prepared

You should familiarise yourself with the design process. There are tons of blog posts out there that outline the design thinking process and UX workflow.

Bring these essentials:

• Your laptop & charger

• Your phone & charger

• Sketchbook, notepad

• Download any apps that might be useful (for inspiration & work)

• A mouse (not mandatory, but useful)

• A jacket and warm clothes for venturing outside

• Bring a comfy backpack that you can take outside in any weather

2. Work efficiently

Since the UX Sprint is extremely short, teams should work together efficiently. Rather than brainstorming out loud, it’s more effective to ideate and sketch in silence and then regroup. Teams should divide up the work and have different teammates working on different tasks. Half the team could work on the final prototype while the other half could focus on the presentation. We recommend getting in touch with your assigned team upfront to open a discussion about what each person hopes to gain and what their strengths and weaknesses are. These discussions are crucial in setting the tone for the event.

3. Document the process

Documenting the process and keeping track of what was completed at the event is a great way of adding value to your experience. Some designers go to sharpen their skills and refine their process, so documenting can be extremely helpful. This allows designers to reflect on the experience more objectively and identify areas for improvement the next time around.

Throughout the UX Sprint, attendees should photograph their activities. Pictures of post-its, user interviews, journey maps, and rough wireframes are great to have when reflecting back on the process. It might also be beneficial to have a designated scribe for documenting the ideas that were discussed throughout the day. Projects completed are great starter pieces in any portfolio. They can be useful for demonstrating your thought process to hiring managers as well as your willingness to be immersed in new challenges.

4. Focus on the experience

You should go into the UX Travel Sprint expecting to learn something new and also be excited about meeting new and like-minded people. These will be the ultimate takeaways so it’s crucial to take advantage of every moment of the event.

The FAQs:

Who will judge the ideas?

We’re still in the process of arranging the right judges for the event. The panel will probably consist of two senior designers from outside Kiwi.com and two people from Kiwi.com but not from our design team.

What do I need to apply?

Fill out some basic information in the application and write a short paragraph about yourself. If you can show any type of work design, development or anything from your life, don’t hesitate to attach a portfolio or a link to the application. This will give us a better idea of who you are.

We invest a lot of time and resources into the organisation of the event and it will really help us if you only sign up only if you’re serious about joining.

If you have any additional questions, don’t hesitate to contact MJ:
martin.jancik@kiwi.com