Case study: Designing a landing page for a travel agency.
A mini case study from my learning on how to design a landing page from scratch.
I got a visual design challenge to create a landing page for a travel agency. The goal of the assignment was to learn the design process and be creative with visual design.
With this case study, I’m sharing my design process and learnings from this challenge. So please go through it and let me know what do you feel about it.
What is Artic travels?
Artic travels is a travel agency that focuses on skiing and snowboarding holidays. Where travelers discover & book tours, activities, events & local experiences in town. They can customize as per their needs.
With Artic travels you can search for attractions and activities in your destination and book your next experience in just 3 taps. They can customize as per their needs. No queues, No waiting, No hassle.
Initial Research
I hopped on Google to do a small search to get a little more understanding about how people plan their trips and what are the things they make sure they know about the destination before travelling and the kind of content they consume to get the information.
- Bloggers are a trusted source.
- Currency, Safety and Transportation is important.
- Youtube and Travel apps.
Competitor Analysis
After looking at content on the internet, I used some websites to see some of the similarities adopted by these websites like booking an experience and feeding their users with content that they can read up on before travelling to the destination.
- Airbnb
- Make my trip
- Booking.com
Insights
Based on the competitor analysis I found some of the similarities between these websites such as,
All these websites follow a pattern were search is found as soon as the users reach the website. Which helps the user to achieve the primary goal of searching the destinations without wasting the time.
User research
The primary users for the website are individuals or groups who are interested in planning and booking ski/ snowboarding trips.
This also includes avid skiers, families , friends, and adventure enthusiasts.
Who are looking for a hassle free way to plan and book their snowboarding trip.
Looking for convenience of having all the information and booking tools in one place.
Problems faced
There are several problems that users face while finding a snowboarding region or while booking the resort.
Information overload : With so many snowboarding destinations and resort to choose from, users may feel overwhelmed by the amount of information available.
They may struggle to compare options and make informed decisions.
Unfamiliarity with destinations : Users are unfamiliar with snow boarding destinations thus have trouble in determining the region is best for their needs and preferences.
Budget constraints : Users may have a specific budget in mind for their trip, but may not be aware of varying costs of different destinations.
Difficulty in planning : Users have the trouble in coordinating all the different components of their snowboarding trip like flights, accommodations, equipment rentals, and activities.
Uncertainty about conditions : Users are concerned about weather and snow conditions and may not have up to date information’s about the region.
User Persona
Based on the problems identified form the user research I made user personas.
Nichole-Working professional, Professional skier.
Nichole is a avid skier and has been skiing for over 10 years. He has taken multiple trips in the past and is always looking for new destinations to explore. He is also busy with work, so he values the convenience of booking in one place.
Goals :
To find new destinations that matcher his needs and preferences. To have access to real time information about weather and snow conditions. To be able to reach out to travel agents with any questions or concerns.
Problems :
Finding the time to research new ski destinations.
Shifting through overwhelming amount of information available online.
Balancing the needs for convenience and cost- effectiveness.
Jack — College student, Beginner skier
Jack is a college student who has never been snowboarding before, but is eager to try it out. He’s on a tight budget and is looking for a cost- effective snowboarding trip that still offers a fun and exciting experience.
Goals :
To have affordable and enjoyable first snowboarding experience.
To learn how to snowboard in a beginner friendly environment.
To have access to up to date information about the resort and snow conditions.
Problems :
Being a first time snowboarder and usure about the best destinations for his needs.
Balancing the budget with the needs for a high quality snowboarding experience.
Being unfamiliar with the logistics of planning a snowboarding trip.
Wireframes
Once I was sure of the information that was going in the app, it was time to wireframe and try different designs that would work. From trying different types of cards and sizes to different ways to show the categories and where the elements fit and look natural.
Visual Design
After trying different designs and ideas in the wireframe stage, I decided on the ones I was sure of and moved to Visual Design.
Explore
So in the Explore screen, I added sections that would make it easier for the user in exploring different destinations.
Features
From the competitor analysis I made some features which are essential for the website which enables the users to book for trips effortlessly.
Regions : Users can explore a wide range of regions with detailed information about regions, including popular resorts, activities, and scenic attractions.
Booking : Users can seamlessly book the flight accommodation, rental equipment, lift tickets and activities all in one place.
Resorts : A comprehensive list of resorts in each region, including details like resorts, trail maps, ski/ snowboarding packages, and real time lift and trail status.
Passes : Users can avail passes that explains different types of ski/ snowboarding passes like multi day passes, season passes and family passes.
Testimonials
I made testimonials section to built up some trust for users who are still confused about the kind of service provided.
Takeaways
Research is important when it comes to designing. Designing while keeping users in mind is crucial. And getting answers during the research is very satisfactory.
Information architecture is just as important. Having a structure of what goes into your app makes it easier.
Conclusion
Overall this was a fun and insightful project. I learned quite a lot working on from this project and how design decisions are made according to time constraint.
You can view the prototype by clicking this link.
