Travel Super Market
Product Innovation
My Role - Project Lead, Creative Direction, Design Direction, Design, UX
Brief
An Easy & Useful Way To Search For Holidays.
Planning the ideal holiday can be a daunting task, often leaving you unsure if you've stumbled upon the best possible deal.
'Super Search' was a project aimed at revolutionising the holiday search experience, aligning it more closely with the expertise of a travel agent.
Customer Journey
Understanding our customers journey was pivotal in shaping new ideas.
Customer Journey
Acknowledging TSM's initial focus on a specific customer journey segment, our strategic evolution involves a meticulous dissection of each stage — from inspiration to post-travel reflections.
This exploration aims to enrich the entire holiday experience. Beyond a mere roadmap, it's an infusion of customer-centric insights, propelling us toward heightened satisfaction, deeper engagement, and unlocking new dimensions of business growth.
Ideation
Swiftly sketching up ideas and collectively exploring their validity became our dynamic approach.
Group Sessions
During the TSM digital transformation project, high-level ideas were hashed out in group sessions.
Visualised as sketches on the wall or on note pads, we thought out loud and rapidly generated concepts.
When a design clicked with everyone, we translated it into a digital mockup, seamlessly blending our immersive design process with the broader transformation efforts at Travel Supermarket.
My Sketch Book
The cornerstone of my idea generation process involves the humble sketchbook—filled with low-level sketches, almost like scribbles or doodles.
It's the rapid extraction of ideas from my mind onto paper, allowing thoughts to materialise swiftly. In this unrefined state, ideas converge and take shape seemingly from nothing.
The amalgamation of creative and analytical thinking organically organises these raw sketches into more coherent and efficient formations, unveiling innovative possibilities born from the simplicity of pen meeting paper.
Concept Product Design
Crafting product designs was the key to breathing life into ambitious ideas. Through careful execution, we translated conceptual aspirations into tangible and functional realities.
Search How You Think
This holiday search transcends the ordinary, offering more than a routine search - although it may look familiar at first glance. It's a journey tailored to align with your innermost thoughts and preferences - how you think you normally search!
As you embark, ponder: How far is your ideal destination? Craving warmth? What activities ignite your passion? Perhaps you're drawn to coastal tranquility or urban vibrancy?
Imagine a process that allows you to dial in these considerations, echoing the questions that naturally arise in your mind. It's an exploration that adapts to your unique preferences and thoughtfully posed inquiries. Your holiday unfolds as a personalised adventure, guided by the distinct rhythm of your aspirations and curiosities. Welcome to a new era of tailored, mindful holiday exploration.
Natural Language Search
In the realm of holiday exploration, envision a seamless journey inspired by the natural ease of Google's long-standing natural language search. The idea is simple: express your vacation aspirations in plain language, much like you would in a casual conversation. The process is intuitive; type in a string of words representing your thoughts, and behold the tailored results.
This concept mirrors the effortless approach we've all grown accustomed to on search engines. Yet, it goes further. Drawing from our extensive holiday cache, we not only present results but also anticipate your needs. If a tweak is in order or if we sense alternative options tied to your keywords, we offer prompts, guiding you towards an enriched exploration of holiday possibilities. Welcome to a concept where finding your ideal getaway is as easy as expressing it in natural language.
Chat With A Travel Agent
In the bygone era, booking a holiday meant stepping into a travel agency or relying on Ceefax in the '90s. While travel agents persist, their association has evolved, leaning towards luxury and tailored experiences.
Now, imagine if conversational bots seamlessly assumed the role of a travel agent. What if the booking process felt like an engaging dialogue with a real person, suggesting holidays and refining results in an organic, human-like manner? This is the innovative experience we're delving into.
Our concept explores the intersection of technology and personalized service, creating a travel planning encounter that mirrors the warmth and expertise of interacting with a travel agent. It's not just about transactions; it's about crafting journeys through a conversation, providing a bespoke touch to your holiday aspirations. Welcome to the future of travel planning—conversational, intuitive, and distinctly tailored.
Information To Hand
In contrast to routes reliant on intricate technology creation, "Information To Hand" stands out as a journey made possible with current technology. This approach took Travel Supermarket's static results to the next level by enhancing the design of travel "cards" across all channels. Notable improvements include the integration of a map and the meticulous organization of details, creating an intuitive and user-friendly result experience.
Unlike conventional search processes within results, "Information To Hand" offers a streamlined experience. The focus is on presenting information in a clear and accessible manner, eliminating the need for users to dig through results for essential details. It's about making travel information readily available, accompanied by visual aids like maps, for an enhanced and efficient user experience. Welcome to a travel result revolution where clarity and ease of use take center stage
My Suitcase
The inception of "My Suitcase" marked a pivotal moment as an idea transformed into a potent tool, catalysing an extraordinary 4X increase in customer value through conversions.
At its essence, "My Suitcase" introduced an innovative approach, seamlessly allowing users to curate their search results. Serving as both a basket and a bookmarking tool.
No longer constrained to passive browsing, users could actively gather, organize, and revisit their preferred options at their convenience. "My Suitcase" streamlined decision-making but also cultivated a profound sense of ownership and personalisation. Moreover, it facilitated easy sharing with others, fostering a collaborative dimension to travel planning.
Prototypes
Working with engineering and creative technologist we shaped fully functioning prototypes.
Tech-Driven Travel Exploration
Working with Technologists and Engineering to create a working prototype, I lead the development of a cutting-edge prototype.
This travel map empowers users to conduct a comprehensive search across the entire travel market.
Fuelled by captivating imagery, real-time temperature data, resort information, and pricing details, the map offers a dynamic user experience.
Notably, users can seamlessly zoom in to the granularity of individual hotels and effortlessly transition to street view, providing an immersive exploration of the surrounding areas.
Proof Of Concept
Securing budget approval from MoneySupermarket at Travel Supermarket involved dynamic presentations showcasing high-fidelity designs and motion prototypes. These immersive pitches brought our concepts to life, securing buy-in and support for our innovative ideas. My team would create these video in house.
User Testing
Diving into the user testing phase, we navigated the nuances of the working prototype, crafting variations, and adjusting depth parameters.
Research Approach:
The research objectives were achieved through a series of 12 one-to-one lab-based sessions. Each session lasted up to 60 minutes.
The structured sessions commenced with a brief opening interview, followed by core tasks, and concluded with a short closing interview to summarise the participants' experiences.
To ensure balance, the order of site presentations was counterbalanced, with half the participants using the new site first and the other half starting with the existing site.
Moderation Style:
Participants were initially prompted to conduct a holiday search on TravelSupermarket, sharing their thought processes aloud. Emphasis was placed on not spending excessive time on third-party websites, allowing for a natural flow of the user's experience.
Once participants found a suitable holiday, they were guided back to the search and results pages to test key functions aligning with the research objectives, such as filters.