Canva
Layout, typography, photo treatment, and the final 12-page social media set.
Ruihan Xu · WRIT 105M
One question, three projects.
What makes an unfamiliar restaurant feel trustworthy before a student traveler has tasted anything?
Topic · Audience · Process01
For a travel meal, the choice often begins on a screen.
College students balance time, budget, distance, and the uncertainty of an unfamiliar place. Search rank, review scores, polished photos, famous guides, recognizable chains, and local platforms can all make one option feel safer than another.
I chose this topic after noticing how easily a polished online image becomes an expectation—and how different the real serving can feel. The portfolio asks which signals earn trust, what they leave out, and how students can compare them more deliberately.
02
Primary audience
College students and young travelers choosing where to eat.
The explanations on this website have been adapted for visitors. They translate the projects’ purposes and design choices instead of copying the original author’s notes word-for-word.
03
Project progression
The same idea moves from evidence to argument to action.
- 01 View project
Padlet Research
Collect examples and identify recurring trust signals.
- 02 View project
Image / Text Argument
Compress the expectation–reality gap into one visual claim.
- 03 View project
Social Media Field Guide
Turn the research into portable advice for student travelers.
04
Software & resources
What I used—and what each tool contributed.
Padlet
Source collection, research organization, and a visible map of recurring trust signals.
Original photos
Smartphone photographs from real restaurant experiences supplied the visual evidence.
Guides & platforms
Michelin Guide, Yelp, Tabelog, CATCHTABLE, and Dianping provided contrasting examples.
Archive material
A 2005 Dianping restaurant guide helped connect today’s app habits to an earlier format.
AI-assisted planning
Used for early brainstorming and layout planning; Ruihan revised the final selection, writing, and design.