Beagle started from a simple complaint: travelers don't lack information about a city, they're drowning in it. This project, developed at IED Madrid in 2017, took that problem from market research through to a full personalization system and a business model for getting it into travelers' hands. 

The challenge

Arriving in an unfamiliar city with limited time often means choosing between extensive research and wandering without a plan. Beagle was designed to remove that friction by turning a few intuitive choices into a personalised route through the city.

The insight

Research suggested that travellers did not necessarily want more information. They wanted a useful starting point, enough structure to avoid wasting time and enough flexibility to remain spontaneous.

The system: mood, then focus, then route

Rather than asking users to plan a day from scratch, Beagle narrows the decision in two quick steps — how do you feel right now, and what do you want more of — before generating a route shaped by both.

1. Choose a mood

The user decides what kind of experience they want at that moment, rather than completing a conventional travel questionnaire.

2. Select a focus They choose what they would like to see more of, food & drinks, arts & culture, shopping or nature.

3. Follow the route Beagle combines those choices into a practical itinerary, displayed as both a map and a sequence of stops.

Every finished route can also be saved and browsed by friends, quietly turning frequent users into local guides for the next visitor. A lightweight growth loop built on real recommendations rather than star ratings.

The business model and distribution strategy

White-label distribution

I designed Beagle as a white-label layer that other companies could carry: airlines offering it as an in-flight, post-booking touchpoint (and as a perk for crew during layovers); hotels handing it out at the concierge desk as a starting point for a guest's day; and city tourism boards deploying a lite version at airports and city centers to give arriving visitors an immediate sense of place.

Premium routes

Alongside the core service, users could purchase curated routes as add-ons. These premium itineraries would be created around specific interests, local expertise or seasonal events. For example they might follow a local fashion figure to their favourite shops, or explore Madrid during Madrid Grand Prix season through Carlos Sainz's preferred restaurants and neighbourhoods, as though walking in their footsteps.

Looking back

Beagle was an early exploration of how personalisation could reduce decision fatigue without removing spontaneity from travel. The strongest part of the concept remains its simple Mood–Focus–Route structure and its ability to extend across multiple physical and digital travel touchpoints.

Today, I would simplify the social features, prioritise real-time context such as location, opening hours and available time, and validate the route experience through prototype testing.