9 Helpful Resources for Designers with the Travel Bug

You’ve trawled through the Lonely Planet archives and pinpointed your next adventure. Short of packing the entire contents of your flat into your name brand backpack you need to bookmark a few handy apps to help you navigate your journey. From booking that flight, to sourcing the coolest accommodation and keeping an eye on your rapidly depleting finances—there’s heaps of apps and mobile sites to keep in mind when you’re off on the road.

We’ve gathered 9 resources for designers with the travel bug. All you need now is somewhere to charge your phone and a forgiving Instagram audience to endure the onslaught of your stream of beautifully art directed photographs.

1. On the Grid

Okay so we have a tiny confession, this isn’t strictly an app but rather a mobile site created for travelling creatives and curated by designers—so it had to make the list! Discover the best cafés, bars, shops and galleries to make the most of your city break.

2. VSCO

Instagram fanatics likely already have this one on their device but for those looking for a new way to share holiday snaps, check out VSCO. With advanced editing software and an enthusiastic community to share your visuals with, it’s a real game changer.

3. Citymapper

Google Maps has long been the go to when you’re trying to navigate yourself out of an unfamiliar spot or get from A-B in the most efficient way. But there’s now competition with CityMapper which, since launching in 2011, has grown to include over 25 global cities. Providing not only maps for pedestrianised travel but journey plans across all modes of transport, boats, cable cars, underground trains and even Uber—it’s all there! Our favourite feature is the handy ‘location helper’ which indicates which train carriage to enter for the speediest exit.

4. Darksky

Whether you’re hoping for a clear sky to spot the Northern Lights, or a healthy breeze to experience some thrill-seeking water sports—this app is your own personal weather forecaster. With unique features like ‘time machine’ and rather beautiful topographic maps, you’ll never have to rely on dubious meteorological predictions again.

5. Steller

With the ability to combine photos, videos and text it’s a must-have for a visual communicator on holiday. Put editorial twists on your photos with sleek typography offerings and then share your story. Think of it as a new age travel journal!

6. Google Trips

Google really do excel at pretty much everything so their newest venture ‘Trips’ is worth a whirl on your next voyage. With its own ‘magic wand’ you can explore your new surroundings to uncover exciting activities nearby. It also has the handy feature of gathering all booking info from your Gmail account to store in one place for safe keeping.

7. Airbnb

If you haven’t heard of Airbnb then frankly, we’re jealous! It’s the online concept which has revolutionised booking accommodation abroad. Masquerade as a home owner in the location of your choice and choose from sophisticated townhouses, rooftop penthouses or lakeside cabins—all tailored to your time period and budget. There’s even opportunities to stay in a treehouse so get scrolling before they all book up!

8. Duolingo

Whether your hoping to become bilingual or just become fluent in ordering beer and pizza, Duolingo is your one stop shop. With daily reminders to practice and exercises to help your memory you’d be surprised what you can pick up in just a week. And you get to learn from a friendly cartoon owl, how lovely.

9. Quik Go Pro

Forget the basic ‘power point montage style’ holiday videos of yesteryear and experiment with Quik. The quickest way to edit your videos to achieve impressive results. Developed by the adrenaline junkies at GoPro it’s equipped with colour filters, slow motion and speed effects.

Originally published in Shillington Post 07—The International Issue.

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