HIGHLIGHTS
From trip details to a smart packing list in minutes - personalised for where you're going, how you're travelling, and what's in the forecast.
Packaway App
Self-led - 2026
My Role
Solo Designer & Developer - Product Design, Interaction Design, Visual Design, React Native Development
Stack
React Native, Expo, TypeScript, Figma
Timeline & Status
2026, MVP complete
Overview
Packaway is a mobile travel app that helps users prepare for trips faster. It generates personalised packing lists from destination, dates, luggage type, airline, travel style, and weather - designed and built entirely by me, from the first Figma frame to a working app on iOS and Android.
0.1Trip setup - destination and dates.
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0.2Generating a tailored packing list.
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0.3Smart list with a live destination forecast.
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0.4Packaway in hand, mid-trip.
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CONTEXT
Where Packaway started.
Packing is the worst part of travelling.
Everyone knows the feeling: the trip is booked, the excitement is real, and then comes the suitcase. Packaway started from a simple question - what if your packing list built itself from the details of your trip? (Figure 1.0).
1.0Early product direction.
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Designed and built end-to-end.
There was no handoff and no translation loss between design and code. I owned the flows, the visual language, and the implementation - iterating in Figma and shipping directly in React Native. (Figure 1.1).
1.1First working screens.
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PROBLEM SPACE
Generic lists don't travel well.
Most packing apps miss the point.
Static checklists ignore the variables that actually change what you need: weather at your destination, how long you're away, carry-on vs checked luggage, and whether you're on a beach holiday or a city break.
Emerging opportunities:
What if a packing list could adapt to real trip inputs? What if saving past trips made the next one even faster?
2.0The gap in existing packing tools.
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THE FLOW
Smart lists from real travel details.
Trip in, list out.
Users enter destination, dates, luggage type, airline, travel style, and Packaway pulls weather data to generate a tailored list. Trips can be saved and revisited, with reminders so nothing gets left until the last minute. (Figure 3.0).
3.0Core list generation flow.
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What it all leads to - design principles:
Personal, not generic
Every list should reflect the specific trip - destination, duration, weather, and travel style - not a one-size-fits-all template.
Fast and glanceable
Packing happens in a rush. The UI needs to surface what matters quickly, with minimal taps from setup to a finished list.
Built to ship
React Native and Expo let me go from concept to a device in someone's pocket - the fastest path to learning what actually works.
RETROSPECTIVE
What shipping taught me.
One codebase, both platforms.
Packaway runs natively on iOS and Android from a single React Native codebase. Building the MVP myself meant I could test ideas on real hardware the same day I sketched them.
I still learned a lot though!
Design and code in one loop
Owning both sides removed handoff friction. When something felt wrong in the app, I could fix the flow and the UI in the same session.
Constraints breed clarity
Weather APIs, baggage rules, and trip types forced a focused MVP. Scope stayed tight because every feature had to earn its place.
Ship to learn
Getting Packaway onto a real device revealed friction that Figma couldn't - especially around list editing and trip setup pacing.
