Let’s skip over the extended intro and get straight into the juicy part as I’ve been waiting a very long time to share this news.

There’s an app coming

When I first came up with the travel journal idea I was in two minds about creating it purely as a physical journal, a digital one (in the form of an app) or both. You might remember when I first worked on validating my idea around the travel journal that I sent out just over 100 surveys. This was in parallel with my market research efforts, and ultimately helped inform the decisions I still make today regarding the journal.

One of the insights that I uncovered when distributing these surveys was that there’s a large demand, or kind of need, from people who keep a journal to have a way to back it up digitally. There’s also something indescribable about the feeling of connecting pen with paper which made me think that people should be provided with an alternative way to keep a journal rather than just using an app alone.

And that’s where the idea of creating a physical travel journal along with an accompanying travel journal app was born.

Why am I just talking about this now?

Creating the app is something that I started alongside putting the sketches together for the physical journal. It’s been a project with an equal amount of time, attention, love and dedication to both aspects of it, however, up until now, I’ve only told a small handful of people that I’ll be developing the app.

There are a couple of reasons I kept this one under wraps, and part of this is because there’s always the fear of revealing your idea prematurely and someone else running off with it. I’ve learnt to not really let this affect me too much though because if someone were to steal your idea, you’re always going to be steps ahead of them. It’s one thing to copy someone to do it better, and if this does happen, then it’ll turn into a battle of innovations (which would be a welcomed challenge as competition has the power to drive us to new levels of creativity and innovation). Also, developing an app is a very involved (and expensive) process, and so, if someone was willing to go through all that, then it’s likely going to happen irrespective of whether I share my idea early or not. And lastly, you never know what type of ideas and conversations will be had when you start sharing with others. It’s incredible how someone always happens to know someone else who might be able to help you or lead you to something new and exciting.

Another reason I hadn’t shared my news about the app is that I hadn’t even locked in an app development company until last week! As I mentioned, developing an app is a very bumpy road, and only with the right trekking boots can you navigate it. Everything from taking the idea from my mind, getting it into some rough sketches, turning that into a rough design and then working closely with a UX/UI designer to get it looking and feeling like a real app before it goes to the app developers takes a lot of time. And then there’s the actual process of finding the right app development company. This is a mission in itself. I’ll be writing another blog over the next few weeks to detail all the steps I’ve taken so far to get the app to where it currently is.

How will the app work?

Well, I’m glad you asked.

The travel journal app will be designed for users to use it either on its own or alongside the physical travel journal. It’ll provide a seamless way to save, view and organise journal entries from multiple trips. If you want to use it as a way to forever store your physical journal entries, then this is what it’ll do. If you want to use it without the physical journal and just write about your trips, and add photos of your adventures, then this is also what it’ll do. A large focus of the app will be on usability and practicality (no ads, and no fluff).

Like the journal, the app will be perfect for anything from a weekend away to a road trip or even an overseas exploration. Travel is fluid and isn’t just about large backpacks, staying in hostels or living it up in fancy hotels. It’s also there for anyone who desires to change up their weekly routine, explore a new town on the weekend, or sleep in a tent under the stars. All these moments deserve their opportunity to be written about and remembered amongst other treasurable moments you’ll come across in your life.

What are the next steps with the app?

At the moment, the app is being built out. This process could take anywhere from 12-16 weeks, so I’ll be working very closely with the app developers, UX/UI designers and project manager to ensure a smooth and effective delivery. One thing I’ve been constantly reminded is that very few things go to plan, so I’m not holding my breath when it comes to that 12-16 week window, but hopefully, I’ll have some exciting updates to share as development progresses.

There’s also something else exciting coming up with the app. Once I have the beta version, or the first completed draft version of the app ready, I’ll be looking for keen beta users who would like to test it with me. This will involve downloading the app and having a play as if you were using it for its intended purpose. You’ll be able to try out all the features, see what’s working, what doesn’t work, if any bugs are apparent etc. All this quality assurance testing will be a massive priority before the app hits the app stores, so anyone that might be interested in participating is more than welcome! I’ll likely need to keep the numbers somewhat controlled, so let me know of any expressions of interest either by commenting on the blog or flicking me a message on Instagram via SharedNarrative.

Keep an eye out over the next few weeks as I share more details about the process of taking the app from idea to implementation.

Take care!