5 Real-World UI/UX Projects You Can Try While Studying in Mumbai

Published by Shikha Kumari on Oct 29, 2025

Try redesigning the Mumbai local train ticketing app to simplify ticket booking for commuters, creating a Dabbawala delivery app for efficient lunch orders, building an e-commerce platform for street markets to enhance vendor-customer interactions, designing a fintech app for small businesses to streamline payments, and developing a healthtech app to track air pollution for better daily health decisions. These projects draw from Mumbai’s daily life challenges and prepare you for 2026 admissions by building practical skills in user research and prototyping. In this blog, you will learn detailed steps for each project, tools to use, how they connect to local issues, and tips to include them in your portfolio, helping you stand out in design programs focused on real-world applications.

Why These UI/UX Projects Fit Mumbai’s Student Life

Mumbai’s bustling environment offers unique opportunities for UI/UX students to tackle projects that address urban challenges like crowded transport and diverse user needs. These hands-on efforts help you apply design thinking to problems faced by over 20 million residents, such as navigating public systems or managing small business finances amid high competition. By working on them during studies, you gain experience in empathy mapping for multicultural users, which aligns with 2026 admission requirements at programs emphasizing industry-relevant portfolios.

Projects like these encourage collaboration with local communities, such as interviewing commuters for feedback, fostering skills in iterative design that startups value. They also allow integration of trends like AI for personalized interfaces, boosting your readiness for roles where user retention drives success. This approach not only builds technical proficiency but motivates you to see design as a tool for positive change in the city.

Before starting any project, review this table of essential tools and their roles in Mumbai-inspired designs.

These tools, accessible with student plans, ensure your projects remain practical and scalable for 2026 portfolio submissions.

Project 1: Redesigning the Mumbai Local Train Ticketing App

Focus on improving the user interface of apps like those for Mumbai’s suburban railway, which handles over 7.5 million daily passengers. Start by researching pain points such as confusing navigation during peak hours, then create wireframes that prioritize quick ticket purchases and live updates. This project teaches you to design for time-sensitive users, incorporating features like offline access for spotty signals in trains.

Begin with user interviews at stations to gather insights on frustrations like long queues or unclear route maps. Define the problem as enhancing accessibility for first-time riders, including multilingual options for Hindi and Marathi speakers. Ideate solutions like a simplified home screen with one-tap booking, then prototype in Figma to test flows where users select origins and destinations via interactive maps. Iterate based on feedback from 10-15 testers, aiming for a 30% reduction in steps compared to current designs.

• Conduct 5-10 commuter surveys: Focus on age groups from 18-35 for tech-savvy insights.
• Create personas: Include a daily office-goer needing fast renewals and a student seeking affordable passes.
• Add accessibility features: Voice commands for visually impaired users in crowded settings.
• Measure success: Use A/B testing to compare load times and error rates.

This redesign builds your skills in responsive design for mobile-first experiences, motivating you to contribute to Mumbai’s transport efficiency while preparing for 2026 programs that value public service projects.

Project 2: Creating a Dabbawala Delivery App Interface

Draw from Mumbai’s Dabbawala system, which delivers over 200,000 lunchboxes daily with 99.999999% accuracy, to design an app that connects home cooks with customers for seamless orders. Emphasize tracking features that mirror the system’s precision, using simple icons for status updates like “picked up” or “en route.” This project hones your ability to blend traditional logistics with digital interfaces, addressing needs of busy professionals seeking healthy meals.

Map the user journey from order placement to delivery, incorporating real-time GPS for Dabbawalas on bicycles. Define key problems like coordinating pickups in dense areas, then brainstorm interfaces with minimal text for quick scans. Prototype screens showing menu selections from local cuisines, payment integrations, and feedback loops to maintain high service ratings. Test with small groups, refining based on how easily users track their dabba amid Mumbai’s traffic.

Before prototyping, consider this table of app features inspired by the Dabbawala model.

• Interview Dabbawalas: Learn coding systems for efficient sorting in app filters.
• Design for scalability: Handle 1,000+ daily orders with intuitive dashboards.
• Include eco-friendly elements: Options for reusable containers to reduce waste.
• Validate with prototypes: Share links for user testing in Mumbai neighborhoods.

Completing this equips you with expertise in service design, encouraging you to innovate on cultural traditions for modern users as you gear up for 2026 admissions.

Project 3: Building an E-Commerce Platform for Street Markets

Address Mumbai’s vibrant street markets, like those in Colaba or Crawford, by designing an app that digitizes vendor stalls for online browsing and purchases. Focus on visual hierarchies that showcase products like handicrafts or fresh produce, with UX elements that replicate the bargaining experience through chat features. This project develops your skills in creating inclusive platforms for small vendors, many without tech backgrounds, while catering to buyers seeking local deals.

Research by visiting markets to understand vendor workflows, such as inventory management amid fluctuating stocks. Define the challenge as bridging offline and online sales for over 10,000 street sellers. Ideate mobile-friendly layouts with high-resolution images and augmented reality previews for items like jewelry. Prototype user flows from search to checkout, ensuring secure payments for low-value transactions common in these settings.

• Map vendor onboarding: Simple forms for uploading products without advanced skills.
• Incorporate social proof: Reviews from buyers to build credibility for new sellers.
• Optimize for mobile: 90% of Mumbai users access via phones, so prioritize touch interactions.
• Test locally: Gather feedback from 20 market participants on ease of use.

This initiative fosters community-driven design, inspiring you to empower local economies through intuitive interfaces ahead of your 2026 design studies.

Project 4: Designing a Fintech App for Small Businesses

Target Mumbai’s small enterprises, which number over 500,000, by creating an app that simplifies invoicing and payments with clean, secure interfaces. Emphasize quick setup for merchants in areas like Dadar, incorporating features like QR code scans for instant transactions. This project sharpens your focus on trust-building elements, such as biometric logins, in a city where digital fraud concerns are high.

Start with empathy interviews of shop owners to identify issues like delayed payments. Define goals around reducing transaction times to under 30 seconds. Brainstorm dashboards showing real-time sales data, then prototype with tools like Adobe XD for animated confirmations. Iterate to include multilingual support, ensuring accessibility for non-English speakers in diverse business hubs.

Before detailing features, examine this table of key fintech elements for Mumbai contexts.

• Analyze competitors: Note gaps in local currency handling or GST integration.
• Design for low bandwidth: Ensure functionality in areas with poor connectivity.
• Include tutorials: Onboarding screens for first-time digital users.
• Evaluate usability: Conduct tests with 15 small business owners for refinements.

This work prepares you for fintech specialization, motivating you to support Mumbai’s entrepreneurial spirit through user-centered financial tools for 2026 opportunities.

Project 5: Developing a Healthtech App for Air Pollution Tracking

Tackle Mumbai’s air quality issues, where AQI often exceeds 150, by designing an app that provides personalized alerts and health tips based on location data. Prioritize clear visualizations like color-coded maps for pollution levels, helping users plan outdoor activities. This project enhances your expertise in data-driven design, using APIs for real-time updates to inform decisions for over 5 million affected residents.

Gather insights from health experts on impacts like respiratory issues, then define the app’s role in promoting preventive measures. Ideate features such as mask recommendations or indoor exercise suggestions during high-pollution days. Prototype interactive elements like daily forecasts with push notifications, testing for accuracy and user engagement.

• Integrate geolocation: Auto-detect user position for hyper-local alerts.
• Add community reporting: Allow users to submit pollution sightings for crowd-sourced data.
• Focus on inclusivity: Large fonts and audio alerts for elderly users.
• Track engagement: Metrics like alert open rates to refine notifications.

This endeavor encourages proactive health design, empowering you to address environmental challenges through accessible tech as you prepare for 2026 admissions.

Getting Started and Building Your Portfolio

Launch these projects by setting weekly goals, starting with research and ending with polished prototypes. Join Mumbai design meetups for peer reviews, enhancing your network. For 2026, compile case studies showing process and outcomes to demonstrate growth.

Conclusion

This blog details five UI/UX projects: redesigning local train apps for efficient commuting, creating Dabbawala interfaces for precise deliveries, building street market e-commerce for vendor empowerment, designing fintech solutions for small businesses’ payments, and developing pollution-tracking healthtech for daily wellness. You explored steps like user interviews, prototyping with Figma, and testing, plus tables on tools and features. These Mumbai-inspired efforts, aligned with 2026 admissions, build essential skills in empathy and iteration, motivating you to innovate for the city’s unique needs and launch a fulfilling design career.