BNDWGN: Website Build
Client: Hans Marshalleck | 2024 | Duration: 2.5 Weeks | 4 Person Group | Role: UX/UI Designer & Project Manager
BNDWGN is a startup that seeks an intuitive design to help investors paint the future of travel. The current high-fidelity prototype lacked coherence, feeling like an "incomplete thought" because travel influencers cannot fully complete the intended user flow from signup to promotion of travel packages. The goal was to create an end-to-end user experience that authentically tells BNDWGN's vision through interactive design.
Scope of Work
Bold, Fun, and TikTok Inspired: A UX Adventure in Travel Magic
Our journey began with a mission to create a website that screams fun and levity, just like TikTok, where travel influencers could easily sign up, create, and sell their curated travel experiences. A platform as dynamic and engaging as your favorite social media platform, where wanderlust becomes reality.
BNDWGN Differentiator
A cornerstone of BNDWGN's business model is its cutting-edge technology and open API's, which seamlessly consolidate everything a travel creator needs into one platform. Most importantly, BNDWGN prioritizes privacy above all else, ensuring user data is securely protected and never monitized. It prides itself in safe, secure, and splendid travel.
Our Goal
Design a seamless user experience that lets influencers showcase and sell their travel package in ONE click, in ONE hub.
How we Did It:
We kicked off with a clear plan, closely collaborating with our client and breaking the project into four phases, each with its own checkpoint.
1. Research: Uncover what influencers crave and where they struggle
2. Define & Refine: shape a hypothesis, define the user, problem, and solution
3. Ideate & Iterate: sketch, wireframe, and test the design UX and UI
4. Deliver & Delight: finalize annotations, hand off to DevOps, and Present to client and stakeholders.
Research Method
I began with a detailed project plan that clearly defined deadlines and deliverables for each team member, ensuring accountability and a smooth workflow.
We leveraged user interviews, task analysis, C&C analysis, and Tree testing to understand our users, client, and market. User interviews provided direct insight into user motivations and pain points, while task analysis allowed us to observe how creators interact with current systems, revealing area's of improvement. While C&C analysis uncovered successful strategies within the industry, but also drew valuable lessons from adjacent industries. This holistic approach informed our design solution and final product.
Primary
User Interviews
6 Participants
Task Analysis
Secondary
SWOT & Comparative Grid
Tree Test to build & test IA
Primary Research Insights
Simplified Planning
Users want easy-to-use features for organizing trips, including managing accommodations, transportation, and dining.
Influencer Credibility
Users prioritize traveling with credible influencers and rely on reviews and testimonials, affirming a positive experience and peace of mind for their physical safety when traveling in a foreign country.
Communication & Sharing
Effective communication and information sharing within groups is critical to customer decision-making.
Customization & Experience
Users seek to meet specific needs within group travel and are focused on creating meaningful travel experiences.
Privacy Concerns
User highly value protecting their personal information online
Secondary Research Insights
S. Established Trust in the Industry
W. Limited Trip Customization
O. Quality Control
T. Intense Competition
Simplified IA, UI, and design
The User
Fatimah, 29
Content and Travel Curator
Fatimah has a profound passion for sharing her unique travel experiences. Whether planning trips for groups in her professional or personal life, she thrives on creating unforgettable moments with her travelers. She is challenged with finding an intuitive trip-planning platform that eliminates the need for using multiple platforms and manual spreadsheets. Her objective is to find a platform that streamlines the planning process to simplify her tasks.
Goals
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Give her travelers a unique experience
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Allow travelers autonomy to make changes to the itinerary
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Establish credibility as a travel creator
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Create compelling travel content
Behaviors
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Thorough research of destination and travel requirements
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Relies on reviews and testimonials for bookings
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Values unique experiences when traveling
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Loves meeting new people and creating new experiences
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Takes adequate measures to secure hers and her travelers information and safety
Needs
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Streamlined booking process all in one hub
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Access to travel planning tools and resources to organized efficiently
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Assurance that her information is protected
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ease of sharing and communicating within groups
Pain Points
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Faces challenges with communication especially when managing large groups
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Uses too many platforms and tools to organize her trips and it makes her processes arduous
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Difficulties meeting all traveler's specific needs
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Difficulties managing customer (travelers) payments
Tasked with two weeks to research, test, and deliver both a logo and functional prototype, we concentrated our efforts on the first two phases of the journey map. This would allow us to design a compelling story and highlight key features and integrations BNDWGN planned to introduce.
Retrospective Journey Map
Influencer experience creating group travel
Research
Create
"Overwhelming amount of tabs open on browser"
"Time-consuming manually organizing and tracking all aspects of trip"
Promotion
"Frustrated with links to spreadsheet and frequent Q&A"
Book
"challenging communication with confirmed travelers"
Define the Design
Problem
Fatimah is overwhelmed by the many platforms needed to plan trips and seek a centralized method for the planning process
How Might We...
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assure the travel creator that their personal information is protected?
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increase travel bookings?
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we increase the credibility of travel creators?
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consolidate tools and processes needed to increase efficiency when creating a travel package?
Hypothesis
"If we can provide a seamless process to create and promote trips, we can reduce the cognitive overload associated with trip planning."
Minimum Viable Product
"The solution features streamlined planning experiences enhanced by AI generative components, anchored by a comprehensive sign-up process."
User Flow
Scenario:
Fatimah is using BNDWGN for the first time to create her large group trip to Madagascar.
Assumptions:
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New user
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needs to create an account
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subscribing as Influencer
Legend
START/END
DECISION
INTERACTION
ANNOTATION
Initial Design
BNDWGN emphasized having a design that imitated popular video platforms for a dynamic, engaging, and visually captivating experience.
We used Figma and Figjam to collaborate, wireframe, and prototype.
We also leveraged MAZE for usability testing both unmoderated (Mid-Fi) and moderated remote (Hi-Fi) format styles.
Additionally, we conducted a closed card sort through Optimal workshop for our footer, header, and navigations.
We facilitated lo-fi, mid-fi, and hi-fi testing with potential users and creators to ensure our design remained user-centered and media elements were engaging without distracting from desired actions.
Post-task and follow-up interviews provided glowing feedback, praising the design's ease of navigation, vibrancy, and credibility. Unfortunately, misclick test results were skewed higher due to integration glitches with Figma, which the platform couldn't resolve in time. Despite the challenges, the overall user response was highly positive, reinforcing the effectiveness of our design approach.
The design has been adapted for portfolio readability and experience.
User Flow is to sign up for "Creator Account" through Gmail and generate a trip through AI.
Final Prototype
BNDWGN's initial concepts were successfully realized, but our vision for the future includes adding a dashboard, joiner user flow, manual trip creation, and in-platform communication between creators and joiners.
Given the time constraints and the early stage of the business, we focused on delivering a compelling story, a functional UI, and a user-centered design to effectively convey BNDWGN's message. Alongside the functional design, we provided over 50 logo designs and a detailed document handoff with developer notes and annotations, ensuring the client has everything they need to expand or develop the design further.
Client Corner
"I asked for the impossible and got the unbelievable. Thank you! You deliver beyond my expectations, I've had this vision for so long and never been able to express it. This expresses it."
Hans Marshalleck, BNDWGN Founder & CEO