Kuoni
Responsibilities
Research and analysis, design feature path, create wireframes, expand existing style guidelines, interface design, usability testing
Background
Kuoni’s travel experts create tailor-made trips for clients, offering personalized experiences based on what the customer wants and their budget. Until this point Kuoni agents have managed all aspects of client trips offline, but this concept project proposes adding a feature to offer Kuoni’s clients the ability to view and manage their bookings, travel details, and quotes. Ultimately, however, the clients will still need to work with their agents to make any changes. The project also involves designing a mobile app interface for Kuoni in which the new feature can be accessed.
Goals
Learn the challenges and goals of travelers in booking their trips to determine how they would like to manage a pre-planned itinerary and contact support. Design a feature that allows users to have some control over their trip package details and reach out to their agent to make adjustments. Then create a mobile app interface based on existing brand guidelines that will allow users to access the feature from anywhere.
Process
Research market trends, competitors, and user needs
Design a path for an added trip management feature
Layout wireframes for the feature within a mobile app
Expand existing brand style guidelines
Test the usability of the new feature
Market Research
The first step was conducting secondary research to learn more about travel industry statistics, trends, and the pros and cons of travel agencies vs self-booking companies. A competitive analysis revealed the strengths and weaknesses of Kuoni’s direct and indirect competitors.
Surveys and Data Synthesis
A survey was designed to understand the frustrations, successes, goals and needs of the user. Participants were chosen based on whether or not they had ever booked their own travel plans in the past. From the data received, a persona named Travis Carmine was created to represent the patterns of user needs and frustrations derived from the survey data.
The User Story, Illustrated
After Travis’ bio was completed, a storyboard was laid out to explore challenges he might encounter as a traveler, and the solutions that could be provided by Kuoni’s new feature.
The Golden Path
The user flow for the added feature was illustrated in a golden path diagram. After discussing the ideas of the feature path with another designer for feedback, the main goal was simplified and the branching task options were condensed.
From Ideation Exercises to Mockups
Brainstorming through boot up notes generated a list of ideas to explore from the golden path. A Crazy 8s sketch activity initiated a variety of layouts to explore. From there, additional thumbnail sketches provided guidelines for cleaner low-fidelity mockup drawings.
Creating Mid-Fidelity Wireframes and the UI Kit
The next step was creating mid-fidelity wireframes from the layouts in the mockup screens. Design choices were made with consideration to the project goals for user interaction.
The UI Kit was created with existing logos, brand colors, typography, and component states from Kuoni’s website. Additional icons were either designed in Illustrator or downloaded from icon fonts in Material Design. Remaining component designs and various states were added to complete the guidelines.
High-Fidelity Wireframes and Prototype Usability Testing
Applying the guidelines from the UI kit to the mid-fidelity wireframes resulted in more design decisions. A feedback session with fellow designers on the high-fidelity wireframes illuminated additional issues, and solutions were applied in further adjustments.
Participants were recruited for remote usability testing on Zoom to complete tasks and give feedback. The observations gathered from each session were placed on a feedback grid, where patterns were discovered, as well as ideas for next steps.
Final Wireframes and Prototype
The high-fidelity wireframes were further adjusted to make the feature more intuitive and successful for users. The final prototype demonstrates a feature that addresses the goals and needs of the user as discovered through various rounds of feedback.