Expedia
The Expedia team wanted a way to notify, educate, and help travelers make sustainable travel decisions when purchasing either a flight, hotel, activity, or vacation rental home (or a combination of these lines of business).
Background
Figma, Google Suite, Agile, Sprints, Wireframing, Concept Testing, Secondary Research, High-Fidelity Prototyping, A/B Testing, Value/Effort Matrix, Data Collection, Process Flow Chart, Analogous Inspiration, Site Mapping, Visual Design, User Testing, Journey Mapping, Blue-Sky Sketching
Techniques/Tools Used
Middle-class travelers that have neutral attitudes towards sustainable policies.
User Group
Fall 2022
Duration
My Contributions
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Gathered data about sustainable travel and analytics
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Created high-fidelity prototypes
Data Collection
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Created site mockups on Figma
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Increased design fidelity over time
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Iterated mockups based on feedback
Prototyping
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Gathered insight about design direction from sketches
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Synthesized feedback from testees
Concept Testing
Project Approach
Because “sustainable travel” is such a complex problem space, our team divided the semester into two subprojects (flight and lodging) in order to let us tackle the unique sustainability issues related to air travel and home. We utilized an agile approach, implementing two-week sprints for each subproject.
Final Design: Flight
Vrbo.com (Expedia subsidiary)
Expedia.com
Low-Fidelity Mockups: Lodging
The Process: Flight
Journey Mapping
My team created a user journey map diagraming a user’s flight booking journey by using annotated screenshots from the current user flow.
Approach
Understand the current flight booking journey on Expedia and identify areas where sustainability information may be helpful/engaging.
Goal
Main Takeaways
Sustainability information is currently minimal and often buried.
The booking journey is divided into 3 main sections: initial search, flight selection, and checkout.
Sustainability information is segmented by airline rather than an overarching mission.
Journey Mapping
Example of some observations collected from the current Expedia flight booking experience.
Sustainable information is only visible in upgrades
Sustainable filters could be applied with flight tabs
Secondary Research
The team researched eco-guilt, or the guilt or shame a user feels when they make a non-sustainable choice. Alongside this, we looked into ways to make sustainable options more attractive for users.
Approach
Find methods of motivation that encourage users to engage with sustainable options and research what de-motivates users to engage with sustainability.
Goal
Main Takeaways
Striving for progress and not perfection is key to sustainable motivators.
Building a sense of community appeals to users who enjoy being a part of something bigger.
Rewarding users for making choices that benefit the planet enhances trust.
Blue-Sky Sketching
The team researched eco-guilt, or the guilt or shame a user feels when they make a non-sustainable choice. Alongside this, we looked into ways to make sustainable options more attractive for users.
Approach
Find methods of motivation that encourage users to engage with sustainable options and research what de-motivates users to engage with sustainability.
Goal
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Mid-Fidelity Prototyping
The team was split into subgroups, with one working on curating a community utilizing research findings and the other working on conceiving visual components that will drive sustainability whilst enhancing the overall user experience.
Approach
Design the best course to create an appealing yet compelling sustainable community on Expedia with tangible and visual components of the flight booking experience.
Goal
The Process: Lodging
Value/Effort Matrix
Value/Effort Matrix
The lodging team conducted research by looking at other rental home services’ sustainable practices for homes and homeowners.
Approach
Research motivators for why homeowners would want to make their home sustainable and discover methods to introduce sustainability to Vrbo Partners.
Goal
Value/Effort Matrix for sustainable implementations
Main Takeaways
There are sustainable implementations available for in-person and online Vrbo features.
Most low-effort high-impact options involve habit changes like recycling.
There is a possibility for implementation of Vrbo offering a discount for sustainable add-ons like solar panels.
Process Flow Chart
The lodging team created a flowchart of steps and actions based on screenshots of the onboarding process.
Approach
Evaluate the current onboarding process for Vrbo hosts and identify areas where sustainability information may be helpful/engaging.
Goal
Process Flow chart for Vrbo Partner onboarding experience
Main Takeaways
Most actions occur within the center section of the onboarding walkthrough.
The "House Rules" onboarding section has potential for sustainable implementations.
Most of the onboarding process is informational, which could include sections for eco-friendly hosts.
