A better journey
Brief
I was asked to evaluate and understand the booking magnet with the aim of identifying and exploring areas for improvement.
Current homepage
I looked closely at the entire page from a user-centred perspective, identifying UX shortfalls that inhibited the overall goals and tasks at hand. From a visual perspective, I felt the page had certain artefacts that inhibited a smooth user-experience.
Hero image detracts from primary function of page
Hero image and title could be mistaken for search result or a specific location-only search function
Lots of primary/secondary links
Search boxes look outdated
Heuristic evaluation of ‘current’ page
Too much of the content fight’s for a user's attention, detracting from the booking engine itself, the primary purpose of this page.
Visual styling lacks consistency.
Supporting content feels forced and at odds with Hero advert e.g. travel classes and bag restrictions. These last two points might be better placed in the booking results page or, if absolutely necessary, it could be labelled as supporting ‘travel information’.
Booking engine ‘re-design’ evaluation
Hero could be a live video feed of Paris
Primary functional purpose maximised
First scan cognitive load is minimised
Breathing space is introduced to aid comprehension and hierarchy
Perceptive completion time is shorter
Language tweaked to aid taxonomy and comprehension
Completed input states are clearer.
New homepage evaluation
Primary interaction is easier to discern
First scan cognitive load is minimised
Breathing space introduced to aid comprehension and hierarchy
Language tweaked to aid taxonomy and comprehension
Tablet and Mobile breakpoints
Concept homepage, final design
This is the new design, with its tangible sense of travel excitement, improved input fields, imagery, colour palette, hierarchy and simplified global navigation—it was very well received.