Most travel safety apps tell travelers what is risky. The rest step in once something already is. Nobody was building for the whole trip, from the planning to the street to the moment the signal drops.
Safe Travels changes that. A proactive travel companion that turns risk awareness, trusted contacts, and essential trip information into one calm, reassuring experience.
Over three months, I helped take Safe Travels from research to final design. I led motion design for the onboarding flow and the animated bear interactions, and shaped the core UI flows and the Smart Travel Tag component.
Skip to Final Design
Travel is growing, but travelers’ confidence has not kept pace.
Travelers are taking more trips and managing them through digital channels. Yet unfamiliar environments still bring health, safety, and logistical risks that are difficult to anticipate.
The growing travel safety market reflects a clear demand for more reliable protection and assistance throughout the journey.
64%
of travelers use multiple apps during a trip
88%
of women have felt unsafe during solo travel
$1.64B
travel safety app market in 2024, set to double by 2030
We set out to understand how travelers prepare for safety among adults 18+ who travel at least once a year. The focus was on the groups who report the most concern: solo travelers and exchange or study abroad students, women and LGBTQ+ travelers, families traveling with kids, and business travelers who want something simpler than corporate tools.
To see where preparation actually breaks down, we asked them where they turn for safety information before a trip.
14 (30.4%)
22 (47.8%)
29 (63%)
27 (58.7%)
7 (15.2%)
0
10
20
30
Limited preparation
Travelers lack clear plans for unfamiliar situations.
Unverified guidance
Travelers rely on informal sources instead of trusted safety information.
Heightened vulnerability
Overlooked risks leave solo travelers anxious and unprepared.
Market gap
Existing apps focus either on real-time risk awareness, such as GeoSure and Citizen, or emergency response, such as Noonlight and International SOS. As a result, pre-trip planning, local guidance, and offline access remain fragmented, forcing travelers to rely on multiple tools throughout their journeys.
Traveler needs are not fully addressed, leaving users underprepared and without consistent support in unfamiliar environments.
Goal
Create a travel safety experience that helps users feel secure, informed, and in control in unfamiliar environments.
For Users
Feel safe with clear guidance, trustworthy offline information, and faster support in emergencies.
For Business
Build trust and grow revenue through secure, localized content, subscriptions, and strategic airline partnerships.
Business model
Everything a traveler needs before leaving is free. Everything that works during the trip is paid. The line falls where preparation ends and live protection begins.
Free
Plan Smart, Travel Safe
Access to trip planning tools
Destination database with cultural tips and safety information
Trip syncing to generate tailored reminders
Premium
The Confident Traveler
Live safety monitoring and alert notifications
Local emergency support
Offline mode
Exclusive offerings from affiliate programs
Revenue streams
Three compounding sources: subscription conversion at the moment of departure, partnership revenue from Star Alliance, and affiliate commissions from insurance and service partners.
Freemium Conversion
Free users get value early — safety data and prep tools — and are naturally prompted to upgrade before departure for live protection.
Star Alliance Partnership
Revenue from premium memberships, co-branded promotions, and commission from airline upgrades or lounge access.
Insurance & Service Partners
Additional revenue through affiliate commissions and premium service upsells.
Design showcase
Safe Travels is a trusted companion in an unpredictable world, designed to bring reassurance and confidence to every journey. It helps travelers stay prepared, informed, and on track, whether they are exploring solo or traveling with loved ones.
Trip planning
Designed the pre-trip flow as one connected journey, moving from trip planning and destination checklists to offline access for emergency contacts, maps, trip details, and documents.
Turned dense advisories into a clear risk gauge with key hazards below. Travelers can track changing conditions and adjust plans across multiple trips.
Smart alerts
Smart Alerts helps travelers stay informed as conditions change. Surfaced local emergency numbers and the nearest embassy on the landing screen, so they are never a search away, with live safety alerts underneath tagged high or medium.
Kept weather and health on their own screen, with current conditions and a six-day forecast, so travelers stay informed and healthy during the trip.
Gave every alert category its own toggle and priority level, so travelers tune what reaches them.
Quick connect
Organized urgent and everyday support in one hub to reduce searching during high-stress moments. Prioritized Emergency SOS, followed by family check-ins, local advice, multilingual assistance, and Smart Travel Tag for continued support throughout the trip.
Smart travel tag
A premium tag that tracks bags in real time, switches to Lost Mode the moment one goes missing in transit, and helps recover it if it is stolen.
Maps
Maps carry hospitals, embassies, police stations, and safe zones on one interactive layer, with step-by-step navigation to the nearest help resource. Downloaded ahead of time, the whole layer keeps working offline.
Apple watch
The watch app is a shortcut to the tools that matter on the move: translation, tickets, and emergency contact. With notifications enabled, Safe Travels sends SMS alerts when a safety warning arrives, and itinerary reminders come through the same way.
Visual system
Soft greens and blues capture the essence of reassurance and peace in travel. The visual language evokes calm spaces in busy places, balancing protection with warmth and belonging.
Friendly bear mascots embody the spirit of warmth, reliability, and protection, making the experience feel personal and familiar.
Brand applications
