2 weeks, December 2021
UX Developer
Integration of new feature into mid-fi prototype
Read, code, and synthesize existing interviews. Identify a missing feature from Kayak mobile app and build it into a mid-fi prototype.
Kayak, the travel website, is noticing customers gravitate towards newer sites with personality and curated, personlized experiences. I was given the academic project to design an additional feature to maintain a competitive advantage for Kayak.
I was given a set of interviews, from people who had used Kayak, or generally had opinions on travel booking. In order to understand what I need to solve, I needed to understand what users of travel sites sought out, and what frustrated them. I did this through coding and synthesizing.
I learned from users that travel needs to be personal. Sites don’t offer set packages anymore, and users don't want them. Instead, users wanted to pick from curated experiences which would match their passions and minimize time wasted.
I needed to reference user frustrations with how other travel services offered remedies. I settled on three competetors:
Expedia is the most direct in that it is an encompassing travel booking site, taking care of every aspect of travel.
Google Travel is an aggregate, which searches every other travel site and compiles the information.
Airbnb, the startup darling, is just focused on booking the stay.
I learned two main lessons from this:
1. Competitors offer more than just booking, they offer experiences. This adds expectation and excitement to a location, adding value.
2. Competitors are personalized - they will ask what you are looking for in a travel experience, and then tailor the results to your interests.
Armed with an idea but not the know-how, I leveraged the best education platform I know: YouTube. I found an excellent tutorial by Full Stack Designer, who helped me build a perfect working prototype. After peer discussion, I decided each card should have one subject only, and the swipe indicates a ‘like’ or ‘pass’ of that subject. The subject would be a famous travel experience, and be represented by a huge, beautiful photo. For instance, I pass on skydiving, I like bookstores, and I like vintage clothing. Great! I would then get reccomended a trip to Paris, or maybe Philly’s Queen Village.
I got great feedback on the swiping interface. But it is that follow-up part, the reccomendations, that would test me as a designer.
I had the feature! Now, how to make it usable? My recommendations page was not testing well. I was bringing the user to a page asking for their prefered distance to travel, and how they would get there. “All that fun swiping and now you want to ask me questions?” I sketched out some quick ideas to get users their recommendations, while having enough information.
I built, tested, and iterated. Finally, a piece of feedback resonated with me. “It’s an app right? It knows where I am already - just show me cool places.” Of course! I then referenced Apple’s HIG to understand how to add a location request at the opening of the app. In the case of the user declining, I will have another pop-up once the swiping is over which clearly explains the need and use.
With that, I decided the user would be brought to a list of locations. These would show their distance from the user in a choice of travel styles.
Let’s talk about the mechanics in the next section.
The big draw is the number of compatible experiences at a given location. Based on the user’s preference of experiences as determined in the swiping section, the app will cross reference that data with all the experiences logged in the database. It then will present locations which have the most matches of experiences, in that order.
So, for instance, Kae only indicated that they want to travel to see cool bookstores. The app would showcase Memphis, with 8 recommended experiences, all of which are bookstore-related. Next would be Austin with 6, and so on.
Using my discovery about location in the previous section, I was able to simplify the user flow at this point. A simple toggle would show the travel time to that location in a preferred method of travel.
In annotating my screens, I referred back to my competitive research to understand how to save locations. I added a heart filter that would keep that location at the top of the users searches, and could be sorted out.
The rest of the travel experience - booking, date selection, payment - is covered by the Kayak app.
Great! Now, from the existing Kayak home screen, a user can swipe through fun experiences, be recommended places to travel, and book their journey - all in a simple and joyful interface.
As a piece of deliverable beyond the assignment ask, I bought some main screens into hi-fidelity. The big, beautiful photos just make you want to travel, right?
Personal Insight Gained
I learned how important it is to look at the competition. Not only could they be doing something great, but they do things differently. It sometimes takes two different angles of an idea for a third to triangulate.
I learned that well-coded interviews, with key insights written on physical sticky notes nearby, are an essential guide. It bears repeating that I am solving for the user, not for the thrill of the problem.
