Molly Wiegand | Adventure Away

•

Site Logo

Month View

Lodging Search Page

Day to Day View

Profile View

Background Information

I began this project wanting to help my mom; she spends hours and hours looking through different browsers and companies trying to find the best deals and things to do and ends up making several different spread sheets to organize the trips she plans. I couldn’t imagine that she is the only one that does this and after several interviews it turned out I was right, people go from company to company looking for the best deals that suit their needs because they don’t trust one website to show all the flights and their best prices. I wanted to help these people that like traveling and going new places and like to be organized when they do so, so I started looking at what different websites had to offer. What I found was a lot of the same. Companies like Expedia, Kayak, Travelocity, JetBlue, Priceline, Southwest, Delta, Hotels, Booking all look pretty much the same, some are so similar they look like they’re owned by the same mother company. So why is this layout the same? All formatted with in-your-face deals “Go here!” “Stay with us!” “This is the best deal!” “Actually this is the best deal!” The designs of these websites are ugly and not personal at all. Each can make someone feel like a number and not a valued customer. Some are formatted better like Airbnb and Ireland.com but there is still a lot of information to sort through.

Project Intent

I wanted to make a website that makes people feel more welcome and less stressed to find what they’re looking for. I aimed to create more of a community rather than a business because with social media constantly at our fingertips who do we trust more? The people we follow and our friends with or the corporations that shove advertisements in your face? I also wanted to make it easier for people to plan their trips by being able to see trip summaries that include day to day views where they could plan different trips and choose from the one they end up preferring, total travel time, the total monetary amount spent.

Audience

My audience is people that enjoy travelling and want to plan responsibly but don’t necessarily have the time to bounce between hundreds of websites looking for hotels/B and B’s/condos, flights, and activities to do while you’re there.

Research Process

I started by interviewing different people to see what they would improve on current travel websites then asked if my modifications would help them in planning a vacation/get away. I received positive feedback so I began looking at what was working in current websites, what do these large companies have that makes them so successful?

Design Process

I began by creating a logo for my company, I wanted it to be friendly and not overpowering or the same as all the other logos I had seen. When I started sketching I looked at circles and a way to show airplanes or directionality and I thought I was headed in a good direction but when I took a step back I realized that the logos I had made looked just as corporate as the ones I was attempting to avoid. Therefore, I went with a handwritten typeface with large, swooshing crossbars to represent going around the world. I also began putting together different wireframes to see what layout would serve my purposes best. From there I added information and subject matter.

Conclusion

I would like to do more research on this and improve it more. Honestly, it would be cool to make it a real company but that would take a lot more people, a lot of information gathering, and a lot more money invested in order to be successful. Personally, I figured out that I need to do more research in the design aspects of the website. I feel that it could have been more successful.

References

AA.com

Airbnb.com

Booking.com

Cheapoair.com

Delta.com

Expedia.com

Eploringvacations.com

France-justforyou.com

Ireland.com

JetBlue.com

Kayak.com